How is shopping in Lincoln? (Omaha, Center: organic, live, groceries)

[NicePolishBoy]

We're thinking of a move to Lincoln and we're wondering about the shopping situation there. As it is, we are a bit worried about the nasty winds of the deep midwest, but maybe a good mall is a nice place to hide in :-) The items are a bit diverse but we are wondering if we can find them in Lincoln. Are there:

Big Dillard's and Younkers or small ones?

Good camera stores?

Good soccer stores?

Cool independent bookstores?

Opticians that sell Armani and similar frames?

Organic groceries?

Italian groceries?

Korean groceries?

Polish groceries?

Stores like World Market or DSW Shoes?

Is the shopping getting better or stagnant in Lincoln?

Thanks for your advice!

[awoods2]

I can cover a couple of these.

Dillard's or Younkers? I belive one of these is in Gateway Mall.

Good camera store? I always liked Harmon's, it's on O street about 14th street.

Is the shopping getting better or stagnant in Lincoln? There seems to be more and more shopping areas entering the picture all the time. There seems to be way more stuff than 10 or 15 years ago.

Adam

[mattpoulsen]

NicePolishBoy,

I would say the shopping is getting better. I'm not a big "shopper", but there has been a fair expansion of retail availabilities. I would say the Younkers and Dillards are big...but I'm not sure what to compare it to exactly. Actually, the best department store would be Von Maur. Its a regional store, which caught a lot of national attention last month. They have stores in and around the midwest. At any rate, its a very nice store and, in my opinion, is quite a bit nicer than Younkers or Dillards. Its worth mentioning that Von Maur is at the SouthPointe Mall and Younkers and Dillards are at the Westfield Mall (formerly known as the Gateway Mall). Between the two you have a very nice mix.

Good Soccer stores? Hmm...I'm not a soccer player, but Scheel's sporting goods is a huge sports outlet and carries a fairly large soccer offering. Scheel's is also located at the South Pointe Mall.

Independent Book Stores. I know there are some and I know there are a few of the beatnik variety down by the NU campus.

I can't comment much on the grocery stores. I know very little about that.

Keep in mind that Omaha (which is quite a bit larger and offers much better shopping) is only a 45 minute drive away, so its an easy shopping trip. Omaha has 3 very large malls and several smaller ones.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

Keep in mind that Omaha (which is quite a bit larger and offers much better shopping) is only a 45 minute drive away, so its an easy shopping trip. Omaha has 3 very large malls and several smaller ones.

And one of those 3 large malls is the newest outdoor mall, Shadow Lake, built on the same premise as SouthPointe Pavillions in Lincoln (both RED Development). Just mentioning it because its actually just off the first exit coming into the Omaha metro from Lincoln - so from 84th & Hwy 6 in Lincoln you are less than 40 minutes to the Shadow Lake Towne Center - so not too far out if you want to venture out for an afternoon.

[awoods2]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

Keep in mind that Omaha (which is quite a bit larger and offers much better shopping) is only a 45 minute drive away, so its an easy shopping trip. Omaha has 3 very large malls and several smaller ones.

Also remember that KC is only about 3 hours away. No I am not trying to dis Omaha. Of course where I grew up it an hour to the nearest McDonalds and 2 hours to Wal-mart, so how far you want to travel to shop is all relative. lol.

Back to topic. Lincoln shoping to growing, but there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of little shopping areas with some really neat independent stores. Downtown and the Haymarket also some cool stuff.

As far as Korean groceries, well, the area around 27th and Vine has quite a bit of Asian population, and I know there are some Asian grocery stores in that area. I do not know if if they sell what you are looking for, but it is a good place to start.

Adam