A beloved Midtown coffee shop will soon close its doors.
For more than a decade, Bad Seed Coffee & Supply survived everything the universe threw at it. The family owned business at 24th and Harney Streets weathered the uncertainty of the COVID pandemic, rising supply costs, a broken-down company van and a drunk driver totaling the owners’ personal vehicle – twice.
Challenges grew in recent months. Drought, floods and tariffs skyrocketed the price of coffee, and construction for the city’s streetcar line rerouted traffic away from the shop. Sales are down $90,000 compared to last year, according to Brenna McCrary, who co-owns Bad Seed with her husband, Matt McCrary.
“We’ve weathered a lot of interesting seasons on 24th and Harney,” Brenna McCray said. “When the (Harney Street) bridge came down, and we realized it would be down for the next 11 months, we got really scared.”
The Harney Street bridge over Interstate 480 was closed for demolition Feb. 3 and is scheduled to reopen in December. It’s one of several construction projects that must be completed as part of the wider streetcar project.
Utility work to support the streetcar was a topic of contention in early planning stages. Project leaders argued utility updates would have to happen eventually regardless of the streetcar. The Metropolitan Utility District pointed to a strict schedule and list of priority locations for that utility work that would be disrupted to make time for the streetcar work.
“By doing this work all at once now, it will reduce costs and prevent the need to stop streetcar operations to tear up the street and tracks to make repairs caused by breaks or collapses,” according to the Streetcar Authority website.
The City of Omaha Public Works Department and other streetcar partners will host a virtual construction update meeting Sept. 3.
Beyond streetcar construction, the McCrarys cited the costs of a recently-opened second storefront – a location in Dundee that’s also closing – and the desire to spend more time with their three young children as a reason for the closure. The last day of business for both locations will be Sept. 13.
As news of the upcoming closure spread, McCrary said she was surprised and touched by the community response.
“You know, at a certain point, the business ceased to be ours, and it became the community’s and the employees’,” McCrary said. “I would say that has been the biggest privilege of it all, like it’s a kind of a sacred responsibility to take on to provide that place for people.”
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