Omaha Exploration

The history of the Buffett family in Omaha can be traced back to 1856 when George Washinton Homan moved from New York City where he operated a bus line on Broadway and Bleecker. In Omaha he established a livery business which his grandson Sidney Buffett likely worked at when he followed in his footsteps and moved to Omaha a decade later. George served two terms on the city council before passing away as a very wealthy man in 1886.

During his first two years in Nebraska, Sidney often traveled between Omaha and Nebraska City. He ultimately settled in Omaha and decided that it presented a better opportunity for his business. With that decision he opened a small grocery business at the corner of 14th and Howard Streets in 1869. That same year, his grandfather constructed six buildings on the same corner so it seems likely one of these buildings served as Sidney’s first store.

When Sidney H. When Buffett first opened its doors, he had to rely on a steamboat to get many of the goods he sold as the bridge connecting Omaha to Council Bluffs hadn’t yet been built. Operating under the guiding principles of “quality service and fair prices,” the entrepreneur operated a wagon delivery service to deliver groceries and other goods to his customers. Just five years later Sidney moved his store to 486 14th Street before moving to its more familiar location at 315 S 14th St across the street from the Paxton Hotel.

The hours were long as Sidney and his clerks operated the store until 11 PM each night. He was joined by his son, Ernest, in the family business in 1894. At that point he proudly renamed the store S. H. Buffett and Son. By 1902 he was joined by his other son, Frank. 

In 1915 Ernest left the downtown store to open his own shop at 50th Street and Underwood Avenue in Dundee. Frank, meanwhile, stuck around the original location where he continued to work alongside his father until Sidney passed away in 1927. The downtown store closed in 1936 when Frank opted to retire from the grocery business and to instead focus on his real estate and investments.

While Frank passed away in 1949 the Dundee store that carried the Buffett name continued to operate and even included a young Warren Buffett as one of its employees for a time. The downtown location was demolished by 1980 in order to make way for the Peter Kiewit Conference Center which has recently been put up for sale. In the future we’ll explore Ernest Buffett’s Dundee grocery store.

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