About Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom
Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom no longer operates in Omaha. The city’s final two restaurants—Oakview at 2643 South 144th Street and Eagle Run at 13110 Birch Drive, Suite 180—closed in early October 2024. By November 13, 2024, local business reporting described all remaining Omaha metro locations as closed, and the brand’s current location directory lists Lincoln as its only Nebraska market. There are no Omaha events, reservations, tickets, or 2026 reopening announcements under the Old Chicago name.
Old Chicago was a casual pizza restaurant, sports bar, and beer-focused neighborhood taproom rather than a purpose-built performance venue. The brand began in Boulder, Colorado, in 1976 as Old Chicago Pizza & Arcade. Its identity combined Chicago-inspired pizza, sports-bar energy, 1970s nostalgia, and a name partly inspired by an Old Chicago pinball machine. The best-known attraction was the World Beer Tour, which encouraged regulars to sample a rotating selection of 110 beers and record their progress.
In Omaha, its importance came less from headline concerts than from everyday social life. It was a familiar place for pizza after work, family meals, televised sports, beer-tour meetups, trivia-style games, and informal pregame gatherings. Longtime customers particularly remember the downtown and Cass Street restaurants as busy late-1990s and early-2000s hangouts, when a broad craft-beer selection was far less common in Nebraska bars.
History of Old Chicago in Omaha
Old Chicago operated several Omaha-area restaurants over the years. Known city locations included 1111 Harney Street in the Old Market, 425 North 78th Street near Cass Street, 13110 Birch Drive near 132nd Street and West Maple Road, and 2643 South 144th Street near Oak View Mall. A separate metro location operated at Shadow Lake Towne Center in Papillion.
The Old Market restaurant occupied part of the historic Millard Block Number Two at 1109–1111 Harney Street, an 1887 commercial building designed by Isaac Hodgson and Son. That setting gave the downtown branch more architectural character than the suburban restaurants: exposed historic fabric, pizza-parlor decoration, a long wooden bar, and easy access to the Old Market’s nightlife. It closed in fall 2019.
The Papillion restaurant closed in March 2020, during a difficult period for the chain’s former parent company. CraftWorks Holdings entered bankruptcy that year, and a newly created hospitality group took over Old Chicago and related restaurant brands in June 2020 through a $93 million credit bid. The Omaha restaurants that survived continued trading under the Old Chicago identity.
The Cass Street restaurant was still identified as operating in March 2020, but its space was being remodeled for a replacement tenant by September 2021. Delivery records describe it as closed by October 14, 2021. This left Oakview and Eagle Run as the final Omaha restaurants.
Those last two locations remained open through much of 2024 before closing abruptly in early October. Former employees and customers reported that the restaurants shut earlier than some staff had expected. The Oakview premises were subsequently remodeled, and a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant opened there in September 2025. The brand itself continued nationally and changed ownership again in July 2025, but no Omaha return was announced through August 2026.
Events and Programming
Old Chicago’s Omaha programming centered on low-key restaurant entertainment rather than ticketed performances. The best-documented recent offering was music bingo. The Eagle Run restaurant hosted a recurring Monday game, while a music-bingo series was publicized for the Oakview location beginning in spring 2024. Customers typically identified songs, artists, or musical themes while eating and drinking, with small prizes rather than paid admission.
Visitor accounts also mention occasional Monday guitar performances at Oakview. These appear to have been small-scale background sets appropriate to a dining room or bar, not amplified concerts with touring artists, reserved seating, or a formal stage. Other recurring activity included televised football, hockey, basketball, and major sporting events; seasonal beer mini-tours; promotional kickoff parties; and World Beer Tour milestones.
Local recollections indicate that Eagle Run’s Monday music bingo had ended by September 2024, shortly before the closure. Research found no verified Omaha concert calendar, touring-artist history, comedy program, or ticketed performance series from 2021 through 2024. Because the restaurants closed in 2024, there were no Omaha performances in 2025 or 2026 and nothing announced for 2026 or beyond.
Tickets, Reservations, and Group Booking
There are no tickets to purchase because Old Chicago is closed in Omaha. When it operated, music bingo, casual live guitar, beer promotions, and sports viewing were restaurant activities rather than separately ticketed shows. Admission was normally free, with guests paying for their food and drinks. No evidence was found of a dedicated box office, artist presales, VIP concert packages, or standing-room concert admission.
The Oakview restaurant was generally listed as not taking ordinary reservations. Larger groups could encounter waits during peak meal periods, sports events, and weekend evenings. Catering and party-style food packages were part of the wider Old Chicago model, but there is no current Omaha group-booking operation under this name.
Seating and Layout
Both final Omaha locations used a conventional casual-dining layout: table and booth seating, a prominent bar, televisions positioned for sports viewing, and outdoor patio seating. Eagle Run’s patio was located at the northeast end of its building, with the main entrance immediately to the south. Oakview visitors also reported using a patio in favorable weather.
There was no general-admission floor, balcony, theater-style seating, permanent VIP area, or documented stage. For music bingo or a guitarist, bar seats and nearby tables would have provided the most direct engagement, while booths farther away suited diners who preferred lower participation. Television sightlines depended on the individual table, as they do in most sports bars.
No reliable public source gives a verified fire-code capacity, individual dining-room dimensions, seat count, or bar-stool total for either final restaurant. The Oakview restaurant occupied space in Summit Pointe, a shopping center built in 1999 with approximately 29,409 square feet across the entire property and 204 shared parking stalls. Those figures describe the retail center, not Old Chicago’s individual suite.
Architecture, Design, and Production Capabilities
The suburban restaurants were designed as neighborhood taprooms rather than architecturally significant entertainment halls. Their visual identity used dark wood, beer signs, sports memorabilia, framed graphics, television screens, and Chicago-themed nostalgic decoration. The bar and tap display were focal points, while booths separated family dining from the more social bar atmosphere.
Old Chicago did not publish Omaha-specific sound, lighting, rigging, loading, stage, or backline specifications. No evidence was found of a professional front-of-house mixing position, theatrical lighting grid, dressing rooms, greenroom, permanent dance floor, or artist loading dock. Music bingo and occasional guitar sets would have required only portable sound equipment or the restaurant’s basic audio system. Visitors should not confuse the former restaurants with dedicated Omaha concert venues.
The most substantial later alteration occurred after Old Chicago left Oakview. Its replacement remodeled the premises around a more bar-focused layout before opening in 2025. That work belongs to the new business and should not be interpreted as an Old Chicago renovation or reopening.
Getting There and Parking
The former Oakview restaurant stood at 2643 South 144th Street , on the northeast corner of 144th Street and West Center Road, across from the Oak View Mall area. It was reached most directly from 144th Street or West Center Road and used the shared Summit Pointe surface lot. Property information lists 204 spaces for the shopping center; no separate Old Chicago parking charge was documented.
The location had considerably better transit access than many outer Omaha restaurants. The current network includes Route 15 along Center Street and the weekday Route 94 West Center Express, with stops around 144th Street, West Center Road, and Oakview Drive. Those routes now serve the surrounding commercial district rather than an operating Old Chicago.
The former Eagle Run restaurant stood at 13110 Birch Drive, Suite 180 , near 132nd Street and West Maple Road. It used a shared shopping-center parking lot and was primarily car-oriented. Rideshare pickup would have taken place along the storefront or within the plaza’s internal drive, subject to traffic and property rules. No dedicated venue shuttle, valet service, bicycle parking program, or event drop-off zone was documented.
Inside the Former Restaurants
Guests entered a full-service restaurant rather than passing through concert security. There were no routine metal detectors, ticket scans, wristbands, bag searches, merchandise booths, or coat-check facilities. Service was provided at dining tables and the bar, with takeout and delivery also available during the final years.
The menu emphasized pizza on several crust styles, calzones, Sicilian pepperoni rolls, wings, burgers, sandwiches, pasta, salads, desserts, and children’s meals. Beer remained the distinguishing feature, supported by local drafts, national craft brands, imports, cocktails, and nonalcoholic drinks. Former customers frequently recall Italian nachos, pizza rolls, build-your-own pizzas, calzones, and the beer-tour rewards.
Televisions and background music created a casual sports-bar atmosphere. Wi-Fi performance, cellular reception, electrical outlets, restroom placement, and charging facilities were not documented in sufficient detail to provide reliable visitor guidance. Neither restaurant advertised a public coat check or regular artist-merchandise sales.
Accessibility and Inclusive Facilities
The Eagle Run restaurant was listed as wheelchair accessible, and both final locations occupied single-level suburban retail properties with adjacent surface parking. However, no detailed Omaha-specific accessibility guide was published describing door widths, accessible table heights, restroom transfer space, low bar counters, hearing assistance, sensory accommodations, or the exact number and placement of accessible parking stalls.
Because the Old Chicago businesses are closed, their former accessibility arrangements cannot be relied upon for the present-day tenants. Anyone visiting either address must follow the accessibility information and operating policies of the business now occupying the property.
Visitor Experiences and Reviews
Recent feedback before closure was mixed. Positive reviewers praised the family-friendly atmosphere, attentive employees, crispy pizza, substantial toppings, craft-beer range, patios, and the nostalgic feeling of returning to a familiar neighborhood restaurant. An August 2023 Oakview review described good food and friendly service, while delivery customers at Eagle Run complimented its calzones and garlic bread.
Negative accounts commonly mentioned slow food and drink service, inconsistent orders, rising prices, reduced portion sizes, and uneven food quality. One local visitor reported waiting more than 90 minutes at Oakview, while other customers felt later visits no longer matched the quality and energy they remembered from earlier decades. Beer-tour participants also complained about delays receiving promotional rewards.
These contrasting experiences help explain the restaurant’s legacy. Old Chicago was not universally regarded as Omaha’s best pizza, but it inspired unusually strong loyalty among regulars who associated it with coworkers, hockey nights, beer-tour plaques, familiar servers, and years of informal celebrations.
Venue Policies and Rules
Old Chicago functioned as an all-ages restaurant with alcohol service, not a 21-and-over nightclub. Children could dine with adults, while alcohol purchases and participation in beer-based rewards required legal drinking age and valid identification. The Omaha restaurants were non-smoking indoors.
No formal concert bag policy, camera restriction, re-entry rule, or dress code was documented because there were no conventional ticketed shows. Normal restaurant expectations applied: shirts and shoes, responsible alcohol consumption, supervision of children, and respectful behavior toward staff and other guests. Patio pet access was reported at Eagle Run, but that historical arrangement should not be assumed to apply to its present occupant.
What Made Old Chicago Special to Omaha
Old Chicago arrived before craft beer became an expected part of Omaha’s restaurant culture. Its extensive selection, rotating local taps, mini-tours, and Hall of Foam nameplates turned trying new beer into a long-running social ritual. In 2019, local readers recognized the chain for its restaurant beer selection, illustrating how closely the brand remained associated with craft beer even as more independent taprooms entered the market.
The Cass Street branch became remembered as a pregame and postgame gathering point for University of Nebraska Omaha hockey supporters. The downtown location connected the chain with the Old Market’s historic architecture and nightlife. The suburban branches gave West Omaha families and sports fans a late-night, approachable alternative to a traditional beer bar.
The closures removed a familiar gathering place and disrupted longtime staff and customer communities, although the Oakview property returned to restaurant use in 2025. No verified public study quantifies Old Chicago’s employment, tax revenue, or wider economic contribution, so claims about its financial impact should remain modest. Its clearest cultural impact survives through personal memories, beer-tour memorabilia, and the continued search by former regulars for comparable pizza-and-craft-beer gathering places.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Old Chicago Pizza + Taproom still open in Omaha?
No. Omaha’s final Old Chicago restaurants at 2643 South 144th Street and 13110 Birch Drive closed in early October 2024. All other Omaha-area branches had already closed. The brand’s current location list contains no Omaha restaurant, so visitors should not travel to either former address expecting Old Chicago food, drinks, music bingo, or sports viewing.
Does Old Chicago Omaha have any events scheduled for 2026?
No. There are no 2026 Omaha events because the restaurants have been closed since 2024. No reopening, replacement Omaha branch, concert, music-bingo series, or future event program under the Old Chicago name had been announced through August 2026. Current national promotions at operating Old Chicago restaurants do not apply to the closed Omaha locations.
Where were the final two Omaha locations?
The last restaurants were Oakview at 2643 South 144th Street, near 144th Street and West Center Road, and Eagle Run at 13110 Birch Drive, Suite 180, near 132nd Street and West Maple Road. Oakview’s former space now houses a different restaurant. The Eagle Run address should also be treated as a former Old Chicago, not an active branch.
What replaced the Oakview Old Chicago?
A breakfast-and-lunch restaurant remodeled the former Oakview space and opened there in September 2025. The replacement preserved restaurant use at the property but introduced its own menu, operating hours, policies, and bar layout. Old Chicago gift promotions, beer-tour records, menu items, and event traditions should not be expected at the new business.
Was Old Chicago Omaha a real concert venue?
No. It was primarily a full-service pizza restaurant, sports bar, and craft-beer taproom. The Omaha locations occasionally hosted music bingo or a local guitarist, but there is no verified history of a permanent stage, ticketed touring concerts, theatrical lighting, artist dressing rooms, or formal general-admission shows. Entertainment was secondary to dining, drinking, and televised sports.
Did visitors need tickets for music bingo or live music?
The documented music-bingo nights and small guitar performances were casual restaurant entertainment, with no evidence of a separate admission charge or conventional ticketing. Guests generally participated while ordering food and drinks. Prizes could accompany games, but these evenings did not operate like reserved-seat performances, and the closure means there are no current door sales or event bookings.
What was Old Chicago Omaha’s capacity?
No reliable public record gives a verified occupancy or seated capacity for either final Omaha restaurant. Published property figures for the Oakview shopping center cover the entire development rather than Old Chicago’s individual suite. Any capacity advertised by an event-listing page without a building record, fire-code document, or venue statement should therefore be treated cautiously.
Did the restaurants have patios?
Yes. Historical visitor reports describe patios at both final locations. Eagle Run’s patio occupied the northeast end of its building, while Oakview guests also reported outdoor seating during good weather. Details concerning heaters, shade, smoking boundaries, pets, table reservations, and seasonal opening dates were not consistently published and no longer apply now that Old Chicago has closed.
Was parking free at Old Chicago Omaha?
The suburban locations used shared surface parking lots, and no routine customer parking charge was documented. Oakview shared the Summit Pointe lot, which property materials list at 204 spaces for the whole center. Eagle Run used its retail plaza’s common lot. Spaces were not reserved like event parking, so busy restaurant periods could still create competition with neighboring businesses.
Could visitors reach Oakview Old Chicago by bus?
Yes, the 144th Street and West Center Road area has fixed-route service. The current transit network lists Route 15 along Center Street and the weekday Route 94 West Center Express, with stops close to 144th Street and Oakview Drive. These services now reach the surrounding shopping district and the replacement restaurant, not an operating Old Chicago.
Was Old Chicago Omaha wheelchair accessible?
Eagle Run was listed as wheelchair accessible, and both final restaurants were single-level suburban properties with surface parking. However, no comprehensive accessibility specification was published for entrances, restroom clearances, table heights, hearing assistance, or sensory support. Since Old Chicago has closed, visitors with access requirements must rely on the current tenant’s arrangements rather than historical listings.
Were children allowed inside Old Chicago?
Yes. Old Chicago was an all-ages, family-oriented restaurant serving children’s meals alongside pizza, wings, pasta, and bar food. The bar and alcoholic beverages did not make the entire building 21-and-over. Adults had to meet legal age and identification requirements to purchase alcohol or participate in the beer-based portion of the World Beer Tour.
Did Old Chicago have a bag or camera policy?
No Omaha-specific concert bag or photography policy was published. Guests entered as restaurant customers rather than ticket holders, so routine purses, backpacks, and phone cameras were generally handled under ordinary restaurant expectations. Professional photography, large equipment, disruptive filming, or bags blocking aisles could still have required management approval, particularly during crowded dining periods.
What food was Old Chicago best known for?
The Omaha restaurants were known for customizable pizzas, multiple crust styles, calzones, Sicilian pepperoni rolls, Italian nachos, wings, burgers, pasta, salads, and large shareable starters. Individual menus and prices changed over time. Former regulars most often remember the pizza rolls, calzones, handmade pizza dough, Italian nachos, and food-and-beer combinations connected with seasonal mini-tours.
What was the World Beer Tour?
The World Beer Tour was Old Chicago’s long-running loyalty program built around trying beers from a numbered selection. Completing 110 qualifying beer credits marked a full tour, while repeat participants could earn recognition, prizes, mugs, or Hall of Foam nameplates under the applicable rules. The program required legal drinking age and was subject to state alcohol laws.
Why do longtime Omaha customers remember the Cass Street location?
The Cass Street restaurant developed a strong neighborhood following and was remembered as a gathering place before and after University of Nebraska Omaha hockey games. Regulars also formed relationships with staff and displayed completed beer-tour plaques. Its atmosphere appears to have been more community-driven than the later suburban experience remembered by some customers.
What was special about the downtown Old Chicago building?
The 1111 Harney Street restaurant operated inside an 1887 Old Market commercial building, giving it historic brick-and-timber character unavailable at the suburban branches. Visitors remembered a long wooden bar, old-fashioned pizza-parlor decoration, and the surrounding district’s walkable nightlife. Parking was less convenient than at the West Omaha restaurants, but the setting was more distinctive.
Is there still an Old Chicago anywhere in Nebraska?
As of August 2026, the brand’s official location directory lists a restaurant in Lincoln but none in Omaha or the Omaha metro. Because restaurant portfolios and operating hours can change, anyone planning a special trip should confirm the destination’s status immediately before traveling. Omaha beer-tour plaques, mugs, and rewards may not automatically transfer without meeting current program rules.
