One year after The Reading Room opened inside the historic Barker Building at 1505 Farnam Street, founder Samantha Morley has built something Omaha didn’t know it was missing — a third space where regulars are known by name and their coffee order.
The problem started, as most good business ideas do, with a complaint.
Samantha Morley had moved to Omaha in 2022 when her husband took a job here. She’d worked remotely since 2019, had just had her first child, and knew almost nobody in the city. So she did what people do: she went looking for her people. She found them at silent book clubs and literary events scattered across the metro.
What she couldn’t find was a room that worked.
“A friend and I had been discussing how all of these places where we would go to relax and read books were missing an element of some sort,” Morley says. “The seats aren’t comfortable, or we can’t bring in food or drink, or the atmosphere is lacking. And then the idea just dawned on me.”
That was late 2024. On July 7, 2025, The Reading Room opened at 1505 Farnam Street in downtown Omaha. Twelve months later, it hosts open mic poetry nights that draw writers from as far as Lincoln, a writers’ group, trivia nights, multiple book clubs, and a rotating cast of regulars who have made the room part of their weekly routine.
Morley sums up year one in a single line: “A whirlwind of building connections, expanding offerings, and enduring learning experiences.” It’s a modest way to describe a room the city decided it needed. And it traces back to a kid in Colorado Springs who wrote stories to keep herself company.
From Colorado Springs to the Farnam Street shelves
Morley grew up in Colorado Springs, the youngest of three, raised by a single mother who worked constantly. Television and writing filled the gaps.
“This was before the time of the Internet,” she says. “Books were everything. Books were the entertainment. TV and movies are great, but they tell you what to see. Books describe something to see, but you then conjure it up in your head as something that may be different than another person. So it’s really a world that you can build on your own.”
She wrote constantly as a kid and sent stories to publishing houses as a teenager. A few acceptance letters came back. She never pursued them.
“Instead, I gravitated towards editing. I found that I wanted to help people make their stories better, and connect them to their readers.”
She was 15 when she started editing manuscripts online. That instinct became a career. Morley earned a graphic design degree, then a degree in English literature from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, working on the college newspaper along the way — an experience she credits for teaching her how to manage people and projects. After graduating in 2015, she completed the Denver Publishing Institute at the University of Denver, an intensive summer program covering the mechanics of the publishing industry.
In 2017 she launched her own firm, S’MORLEY’S Editorial Services, working with self-published authors and small publishing houses nationwide. That same year she joined October Hill Magazine, an online literary magazine founded by Richard Merli in New York to give unpublished authors a platform. She started as web manager. She’s now its editorial director.
The entrepreneurial instinct came from home.
“My mother started her own business when I was nine years old. I witnessed her build it and gather clients, network, and make enough money to sustain her family. I believe that that has inspired me from that point onward to have the confidence to explore my own business ideas.”
“Books describe something to see, but you then conjure it up in your head. It’s really a world that you can build on your own.”
By the time she started sketching out The Reading Room, Morley had spent a decade in and around the publishing business and run a company of her own. What she didn’t have was a room.
Why 1505 Farnam
Morley credits the location entirely to her realtor, David Carrig. He’d shown her several spaces around town — one off Cumming Street looked like a strong option — before calling with one more.
“When I walked into 1505 Farnam Street, it was a done deal for me. It was as perfect as perfect could be.”
The building has a history worth the walk-through. The Barker Building was constructed in 1929 by Kiewit Corporation for the Barker family, whose patriarch, Joseph Barker Sr., staked homestead claims in Omaha in 1856. Architects James Allan and Noel Wallace designed it in a Neo-Gothic Revival style. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
From the 1920s through the 1990s, the ground-floor retail space was Buck’s Booterie, a shoe store.
“I’ve even had customers come in and tell me about when they were a child and choosing their shoes from the shelving,” Morley says.
Those same shelves — original dark mahogany, built to hold shoes — now hold books. After Buck’s closed, the space sat empty, then became the Omaha Lounge, a jazz bar that didn’t survive COVID. Most recently it housed Pedego, an electric bike shop.
Morley took over in April 2025 and did remarkably little to it.
“I didn’t really do much to the space since moving in. Mostly painting. The biggest aesthetic improvement we did was the face of the bar. We replaced the blue plastic face with mahogany stained wood and black sound-absorbing boards.”
Her husband designed and installed it himself.
The goal for the room was specific: “The goal is for customers to feel as if they are in someone’s home den. The books aren’t in any particular order, there are decorations scattered throughout, and the seating is luxurious and comfortable.”
The third space, defined
Local television coverage has framed The Reading Room as part of a growing “third space” movement in Omaha — venues that are neither home nor work. Morley says that was the intent, but not at this scale.
“The Reading Room revives the term ‘third space’ and gives people the opportunity to be somewhere that isn’t home and isn’t work. It is a space that is welcoming and accommodating for people of all backgrounds.”
She pauses on what came next.
“The scale that it is now — the importance that it now has in the Omaha community is something I did not entirely expect. The Omaha community is making the Reading Room what it is now, and I am unimaginably grateful.”
Ask her what she’s proudest of after twelve months and the answer is unglamorous and honest: “Still being open and still going strong, with much more to come.”
Jim, Sam, and Michael
The clearest measure of what Morley built isn’t in the revenue. It’s in the fact that she can tell you what her regulars drink.
There’s Jim, 80, who comes in on Tuesdays. “He is a joy to talk to about current events — we can go into deep political or spiritual or personal conversations. When he first came in, he said he just needed a spot to be for a couple hours a week that wasn’t his home.” Coffee, with sugar and cream.
There’s Sam, a local author, who arrives most Thursdays, sits at the bar, and writes. He finished his entire second novel from that barstool. He’s working through the drink menu, but prefers wine.
There’s Michael, an artist who occupies a table for hours completing drawings in black pen. Black coffee, splash of half-and-half.
And then there are the students — dental, medical, law, high schoolers — cramming across every table in the room.
“We get to know these people by name,” Morley says, “and they invite us into bits of their personal lives.”
The events calendar has developed its own gravity. Open mic poetry, in particular, went from a slow start to one of the busiest nights of the month after a woman named Jean walked in, saw what Morley was trying to build, and offered to host it.
“It’s the only place in Omaha where I can bring a book, bring a friend, and end up staying four hours playing a board game with people I just met. It doesn’t feel like a business. It feels like somebody’s living room that happens to have a bar.” — Nick Kenney, Reading Room regular
“Since Jean became involved, poetry nights are one of the most popular nights of the month. People come from all over the state — as far as Lincoln — to present their work and hear others.”
Tequila Mockingbird and a package from Saudi Arabia
The drink menu is a running literary joke: Tequila Mockingbird, Pride & Prosecco, The Great Gatsby, Rum with a View, Catch-22, Clockwork Orange. The zero-proof list includes To Chill a Mockingbird and The Gatsby’s Glow.
“It’s a combination of us,” Morley says of the naming. “We like to keep the menu fun and exciting and adhere to the literary landscape of the Reading Room.”
The food menu carries a quieter story. The Royal Dates Plate features Khalas Al-Ahsa dates from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia — a variety Morley calls unlike anything available here.
“My husband is from Saudi Arabia. During Ramadan, his family would send these dates over. These are very special dates and they are only grown in the region where my husband grew up. When I opened the store, his family sent packages of these dates as a congratulatory present. I decided that to include these on the menu would be an homage to how helpful my husband and his family have been in the success of our lives.”
(Note: The Reading Room is currently substituting medjool dates while Khalas Al-Ahsa are out of stock.)
What year one actually taught her
The surprises were operational, not emotional.
“Figuring out the trends in customer flow,” Morley says. She knew the streetcar construction was coming before she signed the lease. What she couldn’t predict was rhythm — August slowing down as school starts, holidays emptying out as people travel, and then months she expected to be dead turning out to be her busiest.
The hardest lesson was people management on both sides of the bar: “Ensuring that I manage staff to make everyone as successful as possible. But also being able to listen and organize and accommodate customer requests.”
Family skepticism turned into family labor. Her husband painted, polished shelves, and built the bar. Friends Dustin and Shelby helped from the earliest days — Shelby now runs the Little R&R book club, which meets every third Wednesday.
“I hate that I can’t name everyone who helped this business be what it is today,” Morley says. “But at the same time, I love that there have been so many involved.”
What’s next
No dramatic expansion announcement. Just discipline.
“I really want to get this location operating seamlessly. This first year was a lot of figuring out operational efficiency, cost management, event planning, and so much more. Once a sturdy business model is established, there’s the option to have additional locations.”
And for anyone visiting Omaha who hasn’t been in yet, Morley’s pitch starts with the city, not her business.
“There’s a lot to do in Omaha, which is unexpected to many visitors. Go to the zoo, go to the gardens, go to the museums. Explore the Old Market. Eat at as many local restaurants as you can. And of course, I would love it if you could spend some time at the Reading Room while you’re here.”
Visiting The Reading Room
Address: 1505 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE 68102 (the Barker Building, downtown Omaha) Hours: Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Online: readingroomomaha.com | Instagram | Facebook
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Reading Room in Omaha? The Reading Room is a bookstore, café and cocktail bar at 1505 Farnam Street in downtown Omaha. It functions as a “third space” — a public place that is neither home nor work — where guests can read, work, meet, or attend community events. It opened July 7, 2025.
Who owns The Reading Room in Omaha? The Reading Room was founded by Samantha Morley, an editor and publishing professional who moved to Omaha in 2022. She is the founder of S’MORLEY’S Editorial Services and editorial director of October Hill Magazine.
Where is The Reading Room located? 1505 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE 68102, on the ground floor of the historic Barker Building at 15th and Farnam in downtown Omaha. The building was constructed in 1929 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
What are The Reading Room’s hours? The Reading Room is open Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
What events does The Reading Room host? Regular programming includes open mic poetry nights, trivia nights, the Write Out Loud writers group, book clubs including the Little R&R book club on the third Wednesday of each month, and private event bookings.
Does The Reading Room serve alcohol? Yes. The Reading Room has a full bar with literary-themed cocktails such as Tequila Mockingbird, Pride & Prosecco and The Great Gatsby, plus zero-proof mocktails, wine, beer and cider. It also serves coffee, tea and shareable food plates.
What was 1505 Farnam Street before The Reading Room? The ground-floor space housed Buck’s Booterie, a shoe store, from the 1920s through the 1990s. It later became the Omaha Lounge, a jazz bar, and most recently Pedego Electric Bikes before The Reading Room opened in July 2025. Many of the original mahogany shoe shelves now hold books.
Can you work or study at The Reading Room? Yes. Table and bar seating is available, and the space is regularly used by students, writers and remote workers.
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