Cedar Creek Coffee & Art has become a well-known local staple in Elkhorn. Run by Tyra and Joey Kaplan, they serve specialty coffee and display artwork from local artists in their coffeeshop/art gallery. They also drive a coffee van that enables them to serve coffee at local farmer’s markets and events. They were even the exclusive coffee supplier for Billie Eilish’s backstage crew during her recent tour stop in Omaha!
Located on the east side of the Elkhorn Landing building, they love collaborating with other small businesses and getting involved in the community. We’re proud to shine a spotlight on this growing local business.
The Cedar Creek Experience
As soon as you walk into their café, the first thing you see is a glimpse into their art studio, where Tyra is often at work painting and throwing pottery for her own business. At the coffee bar, you’ll meet baristas who are also artists. Many of their baristas have artwork on display throughout the shop that are available for purchase.
We try to work together with as many local businesses as we can – whether that’s using their products, sending customers their way, or collaborating for special events. For creatives, we have an open gallery application and invite local artists to apply on our website to be featured in our gallery space or mug program.
The shop is open every day from 6am – 4pm (6am – noon on Mondays) and doubles as a café and art gallery during the day. Throughout their sitting area, you’ll find a wide variety of for-sale pottery and original artwork on display. So when you visit, you can simply sit and relax or you can walk the perimeter of the shop to view the incredible artwork.
How Cedar Creek Got Started
While attending the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Tyra and Joey wanted to figure out a way to share their love for great specialty coffee while also supporting young and emerging artists. The idea was born to create a specialty coffee shop and art gallery combination where artists and coffee lovers alike can come together in one community.
They began as just a coffee van by converting a 1963 Chevy Stepvan, and made their first sale in 2024. They drove to local events and farmer’s markets before opening their brick and mortar location in Old Towne Elkhorn January 2026.
We are so glad they chose Core Bank as their banking partner:
At the moment, their outdoor space is under construction, but is soon to be converted into something very exciting!
We feel at home in Olde Towne Elkhorn. In 2024 when we signed our lease for the cafe, we also purchased a home nearby and moved in. Next, we began frequenting the local businesses and getting to know all the owners in the area. Joining the Business Association resulted in involving ourselves in local events and helping in any way we could. We experienced incredible support from all the community members on opening day.
We are so glad Joey and Tyra chose Core Bank as their banking partner.
The local and community focused aspect of a bank is the most important aspect to us. We love supporting a local business that also supports many other local businesses. Knowing we have support in town that we can go to whenever we need it is invaluable.
What’s Next for Cedar Creek?
They’re expanding their space to include an outdoor patio, and their coffee bar will double as a cocktail bar on the weekends.
We are currently working on opening up our cocktail lounge in the coffee shop space. We plan on operating a high end specialty cocktail lounge on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings featuring craft cocktails, Juke’s beer (a local brewpub only a stone’s throw away in Old Towne Elkhorn), and live music.
When you visit, look closely at the far wall of their café. The back of their seating area was built with live music in mind and features a built-in raised stage. They plan to hire local musicians – jazz artists and more – to play on the weekends. If you’re interested or know someone, they’re currently looking for bands to play in the space – check our their website to get in touch.
Visit Cedar Creek Coffee & Art Today!
They are located at 20603 Elkhorn Drive, Lower Level, Elkhorn Nebraska 68022. You can stop by or check out their website (https://www.cedarcreekcoffee.net/) to learn more.
