With visions of a resurgent neighborhood, supporters of redevelopment in the Saddle Creek see couples strolling through the neighborhood enjoying date nights, families grabbing a bite to eat and bicyclists pedaling around the area.

Some business owners, though, can't see past the delayed construction work, driving away customers and threatening their very existence.

Dana Peffer said she's been hit hard financially because of construction delays. Peffer, who's managed Sgt Peffer's Italian Cafe for several years, took over as the sole owner from her father earlier this year.

"I'm lucky enough to have catering," Peffer said. "Catering is a huge part of our business. Honestly, if I didn't have catering, I probably would not survive just on in-house business."

Construction started mid-July and was supposed to take about 45 days, she said. Weather and other issues have delayed construction completion, which will stretch into at least November.

When the street in front of Sgt Peffer's was shut down, it closed her drive-thru window for about two months, Peffer said.

"About 65% of my business goes through that drive-thru window," she said.

Overall, she saw about a 10% drop in sales, which is threatening to a restaurant, where the bottom line is razor thin, Peffer said. Neighborhood residents have helped carry the restaurant, she said.

"We have such a good following," she said. "And because I post on Facebook every day and just keeping everybody updated, it helps with keeping the word out."

Sgt Peffer's has been a stalwart of the Saddle Creek neighborhood for nearly 40 years. Tim Peffer, a former co-owner of the old Pefferoni's, opened the restaurant at 1501 N. Saddle Creek Road.

Known for his affection for The Beatles, Sgt Peffer's took its name from "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," Peffer said. Customers routinely gifted her father memorabilia of the band - including posters and figurines - which led a British music invasion of the United States during the 1960s, she said.

Dana Peffer even coined the line "Eight days a week" in promoting the eatery's operating hours.

With a menu featuring pizza and pasta, Sgt Peffer's may be best-known for its grilled chicken salad, Peffer said.

With three of the largest businesses on the street - Sgt Peffer's, Homey Inn and Janousek Florist - impacted by the construction, Saddle Creek Business Improvement District leader Josh Hannum sees better days ahead.

"If you've been in Omaha long enough, you've seen it in Blackstone, you've seen it in Benson, that this core creates enough buzz," Hannum said. "It starts resonating out from that, and it helps with the neighborhood and around it, and it keeps going."

The Saddle Creek Business Improvement District was formed in late 2022 with the goal to maintain and promote the North Saddle Creek area from Metcalfe Park at the Northwest end to Northwest Radial Highway on the East. Board members - led by Hannum, who owns A United - consists of six property owners from area businesses appointed by the Omaha City Council. The Saddle Creek BID, which represents about 15 businesses, meets monthly.

With vacant and rundown buildings, panhandlers and houseless people are common in the area, Peffer said. Omaha officials should have addressed those issues before redevelopment, she said.

"There are just a lot of abandoned buildings that could have been addressed before coming down here and disrupting our business when we were doing fine and the streets were fine, the sidewalks were fine, that kind of thing," Peffer said.

While addressing the houseless and panhandling situation is a city responsibility, Hannum believes the development will resolve those issues.

"In five years, I expect that all the empty lots will be filled with new developments," he said. "All the buildings that appear to be unused or vacant, or whatever, will be filled with something that is conducive to a vibrant business district."

Tasty Pizza plans to open a new location south of Janousek Florist, which is currently a vacant industrial site.

A $40 million apartment, affordable housing and retail development is being pursued on the vacant car lots to the east, which currently experience problems such as trespassing and houselessness, said Omaha City Council President Pete Festersen.

Development will be consistent with neighborhood character because the City Council also adopted an area of civic importance zoning overlay, Festersen said.

While she's not opposed to neighborhood development, Peffer said she's unsure how it will create a better environment in the historic area.

"They want people to park and walk," she said. "That was one of the things that they wanted to do was have like park and walk, because they want to make it like Blackstone. And they're going to put some lights up and trees and stuff like that. Elderly people are not going to park two blocks down and walk up here. They're not going to, they're going to be like, 'Oh, never mind.'"

Hannum said he believes business owners' concerns will be allayed once construction is completed and word gets out about the new-look of the Saddle Creek neighborhood.

"It will drive significantly more traffic into the area, so they're going to have the opportunity to have a much higher sales revenue because of the new traffic," he said. " I would say be patient and be prepared for when this increased parking, this increased buzz, the increased development comes in and be prepared to serve new customers. They're coming."

While he understands local business owners' concerns, in the end, they'll see better times, Festersen said.

"Neighborhood business district renovations involve intensive construction, but in every case the end result has benefited small businesses and the surrounding neighborhoods and ensures they are successful in the long-term," he said. "This $5 million public and private investment adds dozens of parking stalls, slows down traffic, improves security, ensures pedestrian safety, and will dramatically improve the landscaping, lighting and aesthetics of the area. All of these things are good for business."

Tim Trudell is a freelance writer and online content creator. His work has appeared in Flatwater Free Press, Next Avenue, Indian Country Today, Nebraska Life, Nebraska Magazine, Council Bluffs Daily Non-Pareil and Douglas County Post Gazette, among others. He is a citizen of the Santee Dakota Nation.