In 1929 Dixie Cream Donuts got its start in Dallas as an effort to provide cheat food for customers during the Great Depression. They were the first bakery to develop a donut mix that only required adding water and yeast and expanded rapidly as a result. At its peak it had over 400 stores nationwide. While there had been other Dixie Cream Donuts in the area, by the time Glenn Simmons opened a location at 516 N 16th St in 1951, it was the only one.
Sylvester “Pete” Pettit was born in Kansas and relocated to Washington County, Nebraska at a young age. By 27, he was managing an Alamito Dairy station and just five years later he relocated his family to Ohio where he found work managing an Omar Bakery. By 1950 both of his sons, Jack and Richard, were also working at the bakery. That marked the beginning of a legacy that continues to this day.
Pete and family moved back to Nebraska and settled in Omaha. By this time he was ready to go out on his own. In order to do so, he bought the Dixie Cream Donuts that Glenn Simmons opened in the Jefferson Square neighborhood in north downtown. At that point, his son Richard, was serving in the Korean War. Upon his return home in 1954, he went to work with his dad at the bakery.
Throughout the 1950’s, the bakery continued to do well but the area surrounding it began to change. Those changes would have a profound impact on the working class, melting pot neighborhood that had supported many businesses including Gordmans which would go on to become a nationwide retailer and Canfield’s Army Surplus. First, the streetcars that ran along 16th stopped which marked the end of the area as a middle class neighborhood and resulted in a drop of foot traffic. Second, the Omaha City Council voted in 1967 to level Jefferson Square Park, Omaha’s first park, to make way for Interstate 480. It seems this area was deliberately chosen as the park had become a gathering spot for the homeless. The park was turned into parking lots while many of the buildings were demolished or vacated.
After Pete had passed away in 1964, his son Richard continued to operate Dixie Cream with the help of his wife Florence. When the original building was demolished in 1968 the address changed to 502 N 16th St. In another blow to the area, construction of the Hilton Hotel in 1970 blocked 16th, the main conduit from North Omaha to Downtown. Despite that, the Pettit family remained as an anchor within the Jefferson Square neighborhood. In 1972 Richard changed the name from Dixie Cream to Pettit’s Pastry to emphasize that it was a family-owned business. I imagine seeing his family name upon the business was a source of pride for Richard and probably served as a tribute to his father who started the business nearly two decades earlier.
Pettit’s Pastry remains at this location and continues to endure changes surrounding it which now includes the acquisition of long-vacant lots and buildings by nearby Creighton University and Kiewit. The area is in the process of being redeveloped as the Builder’s District which will stretch from 14th to 22nd and from Cuming to Cass and includes Kiewit’s corporate headquarters. Plans include apartment complexes, retail, office buildings and a park. The project is seen as a catalyst for further growth that supports expanding Creighton University.
In 2019 the developers said that Pettit’s was safe for the foreseeable future as they were located on the fringes of the district. The store is now run by a third generation of Pettit’s. Co-owner Mark Pettit said at the time that he thought they would be saved as the store brings a lot of people to the area. He also thought the increased foot traffic would help his business.
Long regarded as one of Omaha’s best bakeries, Pettit’s at one point had locations in Papillion, 156th and Pacific, 120th and Blondo and a kiosk store near Southport Parkway and Giles. The bakery has two locations today including the original. Both locations offer a simplified menu with donuts, rolls, cakes, cupcakes, muffins and cookies.
In 2024 the Omaha City Council approved the commemorative renaming of a portion of 16th after Richard Pettit who passed away in 2008. I read that Richard loved baking pastries and was happy to deliver his baked goods all across town. Even after retiring, he would continue to drop by the shop to help his sons. In an interview with WOWT in 2024, Mark said of his father: “My dad was a very humble man, he wasn’t in it for glory, but he just always pushed quality product and service and people kept coming back.”
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