Whether it’s an energy drink mixed with cream and flavored syrups or a soda blended with fruit purees and lime, “dirty sodas” and customizable, specialty drinks have quickly become one of the metro’s fastest-growing beverage trends. Not only are they available at familiar chains such as McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and Dunkin’, but specialty beverage shops have also become increasingly common throughout the Omaha metro. 

Now, the craze has made its way into Gretna and Millard, where three specialty beverage chains are expected to open new locations within 10 minutes of Gretna East by the end of 2026.

The first of the three, having its grand opening today, is FiiZ, located in the Tiburon Point retail strip off of 168th and Cornhusker.

The Utah-based specialty soda shop franchise, which currently has over 70 locations throughout the country, is hosting its grand opening event on Saturday, according to FiiZ Branding Operator Carly Howrey. 

“We’re super excited just to bring this concept to Omaha,” she said. “We’re so happy to have people there, and we’re just so excited to welcome them through our doors.” 

According to its website, FiiZ offers more than 10,000 drink combinations by mixing sodas, sparkling waters and energy drinks with flavored syrups, fruit purees and creams. Customers can choose from popular brands such as Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper, Sprite, Coke, Pepsi and Monster, or opt for the company’s proprietary energy drink, FiiZ Fuel. The store will also offer desserts and pretzels. 

Besides having an extensive menu, one of FiiZ’s other priorities, according to Howrey, is customer satisfaction.

“The branding is so much fun, and it really is just about having the best experience possible, literally just down to the nines, and just getting a drink,” Howrey said.

While this is FiiZ’s first location in the state, another drive-thru coffee and beverage chain that specializes in customizable drinks and specialty coffees will be opening a third metro-area location.

With current locations off of 178th and Maple and off 180th and Burke streets, the Midwest-based franchise, Hyper Energy Bar, broke ground on their 204th and Harrison location in February and is expected to open sometime this summer.

“Nebraska has been something we’ve been thinking about for over three years now,” Hyper Creative Director Dre Slick said. “We would love to be everywhere, but it’s not as easy as people think to open locations.” 

The Harrison Street location is one of several planned expansions in the West Omaha area as the company continues growing throughout the metro.

“There’s more area to develop out this way compared to the older areas of town, and people don’t always take that into consideration,” Slick said.

According to Hyper CEO Chris Whalen, the company specifically looks for fast-growing suburban areas with expanding retail development and younger populations.

“I see that long term as really a great corridor,” Whalen said about the Harrison Street area. “I think that whole 204th section is going to be a completely transformed area.”

Whalen said the company is also planning an additional Gretna-area location near Highway 370 and 192nd Street in the Gretna Landing development. This location is projected to open in late fall 2026.

“We like to be where there’s strong communities, strong support that support business and support growth,” Whalen said.

While FiiZ focuses heavily on customizable sodas, Hyper centers much of its menu around specialty energy drinks and coffees. 

According to Slick, Hyper was founded partly as a response to the lack of face-to-face interaction that became common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Founder Chris Whalen wanted to combine hospitality with customizable drinks in a fast-paced drive-thru environment.

“With COVID, he [Whalen] noticed how people started lacking face-to-face communications,” Slick said. “He was like, ‘I would love to bring back that hospitality, that face-to-face, those connections.’”

The company opened its first location in Waukee, Iowa, in 2021 near a high school and has continued expanding throughout the Midwest since.

Instead of using traditional sodas as the base for many of its drinks, Hyper uses its own energy drink base alongside flavored syrups and customizable add-ins. The company also offers sugar-free and caffeine-free options, lemonades, cold brew coffee and handcrafted lattes, with more than 100 flavors available for customers to mix and match.

Hyper’s customer base primarily consists of teenagers and college students, though the company has recently seen growth among parents and other adults as well. The company places a strong emphasis on customer interaction and hospitality, something Slick said has helped build loyal customers at existing locations. 

“We’ve seen people drive like 40 minutes to a location just because of the staff,” Slick said. “They created connections, they created friendships.”

The company’s popularity among younger customers reflects a broader trend of caffeine consumption among teenagers. 

According to a study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, roughly 73% of children and adolescents consume caffeine on a daily basis. 

Slick also said Hyper traditionally partners with local school foundations during grand openings. One of the opening events for the Harrison Street location will benefit a Millard school foundation, while the future Gretna location will partner with a Gretna foundation.

The largest and perhaps most anticipated beverage chain slated to open in the Millard-Gretna area is 7 Brew. Jessi Rettig, a spokesperson with 7 Brew’s public relations agency, confirmed on May 21 that the company will open a location near 168th and Harrison Streets this fall, and said additional details will be released closer to opening. 

Interest in the chain has already been evident at its first Omaha-area location near 180th and Maple Streets, which regularly draws long lines of customers throughout the day.

The drive-thru chain, which currently operates more than 735 locations across 38 states, offers a variety of coffees and dirty coffees, but also features six other beverage categories: 7 Energy, 7 Fizz Sodas, Teas, Chai & Matcha, Lemonades, Smoothies and Shakes. According to the company, customers can create more than 20,000 drink combinations.

This will be 7 Brew’s second Omaha-area location. The first location opened Jan. 19 and quickly became one of the busier drive-thru beverage destinations in the area.

Despite the long waits that sometimes accompany peak hours, the popularity of the Maple Street location suggests strong demand for another location farther south.

As Gretna and the surrounding area continue to grow, beverage chains are betting that local residents’ appetite for customizable drinks will grow along with it.

“I think it’s so fun that people are getting so excited about soda,” Howrey said. “It’s something that we’ve had for so long, but just bringing a new take on it, bringing fresh ideas and bringing a new energy into the space is doing great things. It’s been received so well.”