Downtown Omaha is Omaha’s most aesthetically pleasing area we have here close by. The Old Market is always filled with something different than the last time you were there. Walking around the blocks give me a sense of an actual big city like my home. Aside from the winter time lights and gorgeous pond in the middle, the best part to me is the striving locally owned business that help fuel the area.

Ashley’s

Ashley’s is a store of assortments. Lights, incense, and a massive hot sauce collection. Ashley’s isn’t much different from its neighboring Imaginarium, but where they separate themselves from the competition is their store organization, more relevant items, and the lights are just really cool. Walking through the little shop sparks interest at every turn. The little novelties scattered throughout the store have something for everyone. They do a good job of stocking up in bulk on items that aren’t common to get everywhere and they have the best selection of them. Their collection of kaleidoscopes and incense are my favorite in Omaha.

Homers

Apple Music and Spotify run our headphones but that doesn’t take away from the classic feel of opening up a record or CD packaging, and appreciating the work of an artist. Homers’ downtown location is the last location left of the company’s stores. As you take your first steps in you get somewhat overwhelmed by the massive amounts of options to search in this store. It would be very easy to kill off three hours just by siphoning through a couple sections. The stores overall vibe is very nostalgic itself. The creaky wooden floorboards go hand and hand with the smell of vinyls dating back to at least 1960s. A part of this store that never gets talked about is their movie section, which in my opinion may be just as strong as their music collection in terms of quality.

Silo

I was pretty mad at myself when I found out that there was a new clothing store/skate shop downtown and I was unaware. Silo is right on 13th street by 13th Street Coffee and doesn’t stand out from the outside, but inside is a different story. Silo has a feeling of clothing stores in bigger cities. Very simple with the layout and design but also very clean. A grid of boards is hung on the walls and all the displays are set out nice and neat. You can easily look at something and tell if you like it or not without having to move it. On top of that their collection of vans is massive. They have almost every model and a wide variety of colors. Definitely a place to stop by if you’re looking for a major city shopping experience.

13th Street Coffee

Walking into this place is like a journalist paradise, at least for me. 13th Street Coffee Company is right next door to Silo and has my favorite cup of Joe along with a good muffin. Walking in of course has a smell of coffee beans brewing and chocolate, but what sticks out to me the most is the design of the shop. The front is an open area of tables and chairs with bookshelves stacked on the sides. Something I never noticed until my last time going in there was the upper deck. Above the counter that’s in the back left corner is a balcony where you can also sit. To some its not much but to me I really felt like a bachelor looking down at the book club who was also in attendance that day. Other things that caught my attention was the big silver cup sculpture on the right wall with lights coming from it as steam. Also, the jazzy music choice was amazing .
The thing I love the most about these stores are the authenticity of them. They are unique in their own ways and that’s what speaks out about Downtown Omaha as a whole.