Betsie Freeman
Omaha World-Herald
2020 was a brutal year for many restaurants. Now after months of adaptation and learning, many are looking forward to better times.
A former Donut Professor shop was recently renovated to become SpudNutz, modeled after a popular spot at Lake Okoboji.
Fryers and dough mixers were poised to make pastries. Sparkling display cases were waiting to hold them. A sign was out front, creating buzz among many Omahans who spend part of their summers at the northern Iowa lake.
One thing was missing, however.
âWe canât open because we canât find enough staff,â owner Greg Cutchall said Friday.
La Casa Pizzaria s iconic Peppi is back after months of repairs
A large truck hit the pole holding up the beloved Peppi back in November Share Updated: 6:22 PM CDT Apr 12, 2021
A large truck hit the pole holding up the beloved Peppi back in November Share Updated: 6:22 PM CDT Apr 12, 2021
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Show Transcript EVER. KATHERINE: IT’S BEEN TEN MONTHS SINCE THE 10-FOOT ICONIC PEPPI HAS STRUMMED HIS MANDOLIN ATOP THE LA CASA PIZZARIA SIGN. IT’S BEEN SAD. PEOPLE HAVE MISSED HIM. KATHERINE: CO-OWNER AND GENERAL MANAGER NICOLE JESSE SAYS, IN NOVEMBER, A LARGE TRUCK HIT THE POLE HOLDING UP THE BELOVED PEPPI. THE DAY THAT HE WAS HIT, WE HAD NUMEROUS PEOPLE CALL AND SAY, WHAT HAPPENED? OR WHERE DID HE GO? KATHERINE: FOR JESSE AND OTHER FANS OF THE HISTORIC RESTAURANT, PEPPI’S ABSENCE HAS BEEN AKIN TO THE LOSS OF A FAMILY MEMBER. THIS IS KIND OF A COMFORT PLACE FOR PEOPLE. KATHERINE: FORMERLY HER GRANDPARENTS’ HOME, LA CASA PIZZA
Thatâs where vaccinations are now making a difference.
While La Casa Pizzaria in Omaha has done pretty healthy takeout business during the pandemic, General Manager Nicole Jesse has recently seen a noticeable uptick in dine-in customers.
âA lot of the people we are seeing now are some of our older customers,â Jesse said. âThey are coming in and telling us, âWe got vaccinated.â â
Ricketts said heâs optimistic that as vaccination numbers continue to rise, the economy will, too.
âUltimately, the way you work your way out of this pandemic is getting everyone vaccinated,â he said.
The Nebraska economy was humming along quite nicely entering March last year. The biggest obstacle was not unemployment but a shortage of skilled workers needed to fuel job growth.
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