Omaha Exploration

While The Mill Coffee & Tea has become one of my go-to spots in the morning, it is the Art Deco building that it calls home that is the primary focus of this post. It was built as Safeway’s second store in Omaha in 1932 – its first opened two years earlier at 30th and Cuming Streets.

This store was located on the south side of Leavenworth where it intersects with St. Mary’s Ave and 31st Streets. At this point, the grocery chain already had 3,700 locations across the country. The Leavenworth location had larger aisles, more floor space, lower shelves, free parking and electric refrigeration unlike its earlier stores. This was part of the grocery store chain’s plan to open 50 stores across the state.

1949 Durham Museum photos of Glidden Paints. The first picture is looking southwest from St Mary’s Ave where it intersects with Leavenworth. The second photo is inside the store.

Safeway continued to operate a store out of this building until the late 1940s. By 1949 Glidden Paints moved in and operated out of this location for the next 20 years. When Glidden departed in 1969, nothing showed up in the newspaper archives until 1972. I suspect the building sat vacant for a period of time. 

In 1972 the Cosgrave Company moved from its home at 1515 Dodge Street southwest to 3105 Leavenworth. Founded in 1929, the company sold church supplies, religious articles and flags. The company even had a church design division. It remained here until 1988 at which point the company opted to relocate even further southwest near 84th and I-80.

Alamar Uniforms was up next and operated out of the old building from 1991 until 2019. Over that time the store continued to grow while opening stores in three states. Its owner sold the company in 2016 after retiring at which point Galls Uniforms took over. In 2019 the space was sold to a developer for $1.1M. 

The $2.5M Leavenworth Pointe project was announced in 2020 and included a plan to rehabilitate the three buildings at 31st and Leavenworth including the former Safeway. In total the buildings contained 11,500 sq ft of space for retail and restaurant use. The goal of the project was to make the corner a go-to spot for those that live nearby and to help build pedestrian traffic in the area. The plan also included razing a house that was built in 1900 that sat directly behind the building. 

Before moving into the Art Deco building on 31st and Leavenworth, The Mill Coffee & Tea opened five locations in Lincoln. Its first was in 1975 in a bike shop. They opened the Omaha location nearly 50 years later in 2023. In order to do so, they essentially gutted the interior to create a warm and cozy atmosphere in the 4,500 sq ft space. The owners did the design work. After delays, they opened with the intent of serving as a gathering place for the community. The space has 136 seats inside and 60 more on the patio. In addition to coffee and tea, The Mill has a full cocktail bar allowing it to stay open into the evening.

It was recently announced that they will be opening a second Omaha location at the Duo Building on 15th and Douglas Streets in 2027. The building formerly known as Central Park Plaza is undergoing a renovation to transform it from an office complex to residential. The Mill will occupy the ground level storefront that had been home to Starbucks.

Content written by Omaha Exploration. Feel free to leave a comment or a suggestion. Until then, keep exploring!

More pictures

Omaha Exploration is sponsored by

Click here to contact me if you’re interested in sponsoring OE.