[McBain II]

I've seen similar threads on some of the sub-forums here on City Data and thought it would be a good idea to get one going here, since they seem to get a lot of traffic in other places. So here's the deal; Post about something that used to be in the area but has since been demolished, torn down, went out of business... etc. Any interesting stories or anecdotes you can personally share are fine too.

I'll start off with a couple from Council Bluffs.

Royal Fork Buffet: Located at the North End of the food court in the Mall of the Bluffs, I remember this being fairly unique in that it was essentially closed off to the rest of the food court. In fact, if I remember correctly, the wall separating the Royal Fork from the rest of the food court was without any windows allowing your to see into the mall or vice versa. It closed sometime in 1998 I believe and most of the space was turned into a Hot Topic, which still exists today apparently.

Derby: This fast food restaurant on East Broadway was sort of an offshoot of the Don & Millie's/Kings restaurants that used to be very popular in the Omaha metro. I used to love ordering the footlong hot dogs and seasoned fries there. It closed down in the late fall or early winter of 1997 and the building sat vacant for several years until it was eventually demolished. A Jimmy John's now stands in its place.

[jon rockefeller]

I love Jimmy Johns. Freaky fast.

[Aredhel]

Caniglia's Venice Inn. Their liver pate will never be forgotten, and it was my first introduction to the gastronomic mutation that is fried ravioli.

[empires228]

Did Omaha ever have Gibson's Discount Center or Taco Tico?

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Caniglia's Venice Inn. Their liver pate will never be forgotten, and it was my first introduction to the gastronomic mutation that is fried ravioli.

A very recent departure from our city. While I always liked Venice Inn, for my money Mister C's was the best of the Caniglia family empire.

Originally Posted by empires228

Did Omaha ever have Gibson's Discount Center or Taco Tico?

Neither of those ring a bell to me, but I am only 29 so it's quite possible if they existed in Omaha it was simply before my time.

[McBain II]

Here's a couple more on the hot dog theme...

W.C Frank: Had various locations around the city, but I only remember visiting the one in Bel Air Plaza. Great hot dogs and tons of arcade games made good times for me as a child and preteen. I last remember visiting in 1998 or 1999 after most of them had closed down. The one in Bel Air Plaza couldn't have lasted much longer than that.

W.C Frank has recently returned in the Brandeis Building food court, minus the arcades of course.

A&W: I know they had multiple locations throughout the area during my parent's day, but by the time I came around the only one operating in the area (to my knowledge, at least) was in the food court at Mall of the Bluffs. Surprisingly, the food at this A&W seems much better than the food I get at the A&Ws here in Tampa. This location lasted until probably late 1998.

Stadium Dog: Served ball park style hot dogs in the food court on the 2nd floor of Crossroads Mall. To this day they were some of the best hot dogs I can remember having, though they were a bit odd in that they were more Chicago style while I remember the owners having distinct New York accents. Still, very good food. Probably closed down around 1996 or 1997.

[Gunluvver2]

I am not an Omahan but I have been a frequent visitor for sixty years. Things I remember from Omaha that are no longer there: The stockyards (first visited when I was in grade school), Peony Park, Aksarben Horse races, Zuider Zee after the horses ran, The Spotted Leopard(?) Lounge (72nd and Dodge?), Johnny's Steakhouse (24th and L IIRC), all of the old packing houses that I delivered and picked up at in the 1970's, the small Jewish Grocery store on 24th & Lake(?), Ernie Chambers Barber Shop LOL, the three Kosher markets that I used to deliver meat to (Diamond,s, Shukert's and Nebraska Kosher) and the original Joe Tess's. The original JT's is where I discovered that CARP were not only edible but fantastic when fixed right. Oooops. I left out Orange Julius. Man I loved them back in the day.

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by Gunluvver2

Oooops. I left out Orange Julius. Man I loved them back in the day.

You will be happy to know you can still get an Orange Julius in the food court of Westroads Mall; they share a stand with Dairy Queen.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

You will be happy to know you can still get an Orange Julius in the food court of Westroads Mall; they share a stand with Dairy Queen.

Yes there is some outfit using the Orange Julius trademark. There is at least one here in Lincoln at the WalMart Andermatt shopping mall. They are good but not nearly as good as they were in the 1970s. Maybe my memory is just faulty though.

[empires228]

Originally Posted by McBain II

A very recent departure from our city. While I always liked Venice Inn, for my money Mister C's was the best of the Caniglia family empire.



Neither of those ring a bell to me, but I am only 29 so it's quite possible if they existed in Omaha it was simply before my time.

Just curious . Taco Tico made it into Iowa (Fort Dodge is one of the last like 3 open) and Gibson's made it to Nebraska in at least Broken Bow and O'Neill located at 404 E Highway 20, but I'm sure there were more than those two. At one point they were second to only Kmart in size!