Baker's to Open New 123,000-Square-Foot Store

The new Elkhorn marketplace adds 300 jobs and intensified retail competition, forcing nearby businesses to evaluate service models.

Updated on Oct. 31, 2026 in Openings & Closings

A modern, large-scale grocery store exterior with expansive glass walls and a wide parking area under bright daylight.
Baker's announced the opening of a new 123,000-square-foot marketplace store in Omaha's Elkhorn neighborhood, creating 300 local jobs. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Baker's is set to open a 123,000-square-foot marketplace store in Omaha’s Elkhorn neighborhood on November 4, 2026. This new location, which includes a pharmacy, fuel center, and Starbucks, is part of an $85 million regional expansion project.

Why it matters

The $40 million investment represents a significant scale increase for grocery competition in the Elkhorn area. For local operators, the arrival of a major store with high-volume digital fulfillment capabilities often signals a shift in consumer traffic and labor demand.

Baker's is investing more than $40 million into the 123,000-square-foot facility, a portion of the $85 million the company is spending on two new marketplace projects. The store will add more than 300 jobs to the local economy.

The players

Baker's

A regional grocery retailer that operates large-format marketplace stores featuring pharmacy, fuel, and food service departments.

The details

The new facility features integrated services including a pharmacy, fuel center, and an on-site Starbucks. It is designed to support high-volume demand by incorporating both traditional retail space and infrastructure for online shopping, including pick-up and delivery services. The store’s labor model will add 300 positions to the local market, with opening day traffic management supported by a gift card promotion for the first 250 customers.

Timeline

  1. The store opens to the public on November 4, 2026, at 8 a.m. following a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Market Landscape

This development follows a broader industry trend of consolidating fuel, pharmacy, and retail services into single, large-footprint destinations to increase per-visit revenue. The project signals an aggressive expansion in the Elkhorn market as competitors scale up to capture suburban consumer traffic.

Operators in the Elkhorn area should monitor the potential impact on local labor availability as the new store brings 300 new positions to the market. Small businesses nearby should also evaluate how the increased foot traffic from the new marketplace site might affect current consumer parking and access patterns.

The takeaway

Large-scale retail investments shift the competitive floor for service convenience and digital accessibility in suburban markets. Operators should track the hiring timeline for the new site to anticipate local labor market fluctuations in the weeks surrounding the November 4 opening.

Further reading

For more on new commercial projects in the city, visit our section on Omaha Openings & Closings.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Omaha World-Herald.

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Do you believe the expansion of large marketplace stores benefits your local community?