The Streetcar's Last Big Closure Stops a Few Doors From the Quarters' Busiest Block

"I just had my sister-in-law this morning tell me it took her 30 minutes just to get through," the owner of Zen Coffee Company told WOWT in early October. She meant a coffee stop that should take two to five minutes.

The 30 minutes is real. So is the closure that caused it. The trouble comes from treating the whole stretch around 24th and Farnam as unreachable, because the fence has a clear western edge. Zen Coffee, Very Important Pizza and The Next Chapter bookstore all sit just past it, on the 2500 block. The approach is different this fall, but the block is open, and drivers who come in from 25th Street skip most of the backup.

Where the Fence Actually Ends

The Omaha Streetcar project's Farnam/Harney update for the week of October 12 lists three closed segments, each expected to last about two months:

• 24th Street, from Howard Street to Douglas Street
• Farnam Street, from 20th Street to 24th Avenue
• Harney Street, from 20th Street to 24th Avenue

The project calls this the last major utility closure of the whole build. To keep businesses and residents reachable, the project says temporary traffic changes will be put in place, including switching some one-way streets to two-way, and it asks drivers to follow posted signs while they get used to the new patterns. On-street parking is closed inside the work areas. Pedestrian access to every business along the corridor stays open during business hours.

The western stopping point is 24th Avenue, which is why it matters so much. Zen Coffee is at 2504 Farnam Street. Very Important Pizza opened next door at 2502 Farnam this spring, and The Next Chapter bookstore shares the row. All three are on the open side of the line.

The 2500 Block, Reached From the West

Zen's owner gave WOWT the route. The flagship can still be reached from South 25th Street and Douglas. Her staff have driven the routes themselves and posted them for customers. Coming in that way keeps you off the closed stretch of 24th Street between Howard and Douglas, which used to be the obvious north-south approach.

Parking on this block is easier than in most of the corridor. In a July visit, the Omaha Exploration blog pointed out that Zen has off-street parking along 25th and Farnam, which many nearby businesses lack, plus meters out front.

International Cafe is also part of the Quarters near 24th and Farnam, according to the same Omaha Exploration post, though that post doesn't give a street number.

Hours were last published over the summer and could change during construction. In July, Zen listed 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Check the shop's website before you go.

Inside the Fence, on Foot

Two stops sit inside the closed blocks, so they take a little more planning but stay open.

The Grove Juicery & Wellness Cafe has its downtown flagship at 2401 Farnam, within the closed Farnam segment. Its website lists daily hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a 2026 cafe menu. Since the city keeps pedestrian access open during business hours, you can park west of 24th Avenue and walk over. A Zen run and a Grove run fit into one parking stop.

The Rose Theater sits at 2001 Farnam, at the eastern end of the closure. Its calendar has Bunnicula on October 16 and 17, 2026. Families heading to those shows have a different approach from the 2500 block crowd. From the east, Farnam and Harney are closed starting at 20th Street, so budget extra time and follow posted detours, as Public Works advised in its statement to WOWT.

A Block With a Long Memory

The building Zen uses dates to 1924, according to county assessor records cited by Omaha Exploration. This stretch was once part of Omaha's auto row, with dealerships including Rosen-Novak, and the nearby All Makes office equipment store has been in its building since the 1960s. The Zen building was home to Old Hickory Barbecue for a while, and later to Smoke Pit Barbecue and its well-known "Happy Anniversary Forever in Blue Jeans" billboard, before a 2015 renovation.

That history explains how the Quarters came to be a cluster of independent spots in older commercial buildings. Fewer passing cars hurts that kind of block quickly.

What a Slow Quarter Looks Like Here

Crews have been working along Farnam since January. Zen's owner told WOWT that third-quarter revenue at the downtown location fell 40%, even with the College World Series and summer events bringing people downtown. She said the shop used to be one of the company's most profitable locations, and that she has cut some operations and employee hours.

Her biggest concern was perception. "When the city is basically saying we're inaccessible, people believe it," she said. Zen found out about the 24th Street shutdown when Public Works crews went door to door the week before.

This corner has already lost one regular stop. The Reader reported in August 2025 that Bad Seed Coffee & Supply, formerly at 24th and Harney, would close both locations after September 13, 2025, and that its owners partly blamed streetcar construction.

Route businesses now have money to draw on. WOWT reported in August that a $5 million Streetcar Business Impact Fund had launched, built by the Nebraska Enterprise Fund together with a private donor and the Streetcar Alliance. It has three phases:

• $10,000 grants to 27 businesses the city confirmed had documented sales declines
• another $10,000 grant and a fully forgivable loan of up to $50,000 for businesses that can show a 10% year-over-year revenue drop
• loans of up to $100,000 at 2% interest for newer businesses on the route

In March, Mayor John Ewing said, "We want these businesses to survive, and we need the people of Omaha to patronize them."

The city's parking help mostly serves the downtown end of the route. As KETV reported in March, route-business employees and customers can get validated $1 parking at the garages at 1516 Douglas and 899 Farnam, and public $1 parking is available at 1215 Capitol at certain non-event times. In the Quarters, the practical answer is still the lot at 25th and Farnam and the meters out front.

The Calendar From Here

The western approach is already improving. Farnam Street is open again between 28th Street and Park Avenue, and the project says the rebuild of the Farnam and Harney bridges over I-480 is nearly complete. The project asks drivers to take care while they get used to traffic on that stretch again. The next dates:

1. October 16 and 17: Bunnicula at The Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam.
2. Late October: Northbound I-480 moves to its permanent lanes.
3. By Thanksgiving: At least one lane open at the 24th Street closure at Harney and Farnam, according to Public Works.
4. Around the turn of the year: Utility work wraps up. The project's page says "by the end of the year" in one place and "early next year" in another, and Public Works told WOWT it would finish after the New Year.
5. 2027 to 2028: Testing and commissioning, with streetcars in service in 2028.

When the line opens, the closest stop to Zen will be at 24th and Farnam. Until then, the 2500 block is reached the way the shop's owner described it, from South 25th Street and Douglas.

Construction like this changes how a block feels to visitors and to buyers. At Ralph Marasco Real Estate Group, we keep track of what's open, what's closed and when each closure ends, because that context shapes how a home near the route is valued. If you own near the streetcar line and want to know where your home stands before the tracks open, start with a free home valuation.