Theodore (Ted) Ganaros wasn’t one to quit easily. It was 1907 and after arriving in the states by himself at the age of 14, he failed to land work at the stockyards. After the foremen told the crowd of 1,500 that they weren’t hiring, most left. Ganaros stuck around though. It paid off when he was approached by a stranger who gave him a job in a tin factory making $6 per week, which was a pretty good amount of money for a kid who had to quit school after seventh grade because his parents couldn’t afford to buy the required books.
Opportunity presented itself to young Ganaros once again as he was reading a newspaper in a Greek restaurant. Once again he was offered a job, but this time it was at a confectionery store in Columbus, Nebraska. This allowed him to learn the candy business while earning $15 per week. He began saving his earnings until he returned to Omaha in 1909. He proved to be a quick learner as he picked up English while learning the ins and outs of the service industry.
Back in Omaha he went to work at one of the city’s finest candy stores, Olympia Candy Kitchen. Located at 1518 Harney Street in the Theater District, Ganaros would soon go on to become partners in the business. By Ganaros’s account, however, he and his partner attempted to expand the business too rapidly and it ultimately failed. Nearly 30 years old now, Ganaros was forced to start over.
During the Depression he worked as a watchman for the railroad before getting into the bar business. He would move his family, which now included two kids, to the Florence neighborhood in North Omaha. He found his community here and would remain there for the rest of his life.
In 1936 he took over a restaurant and opened Ted’s Tavern in addition to a package liquor store. He was joined by his young nephew Sam Koliopoulos. Ganaros would eventually open Ted’s Steak House in the same location at 9202 North 30th Street next to the Florence Mill.
Ganaros, of course, not being satisfied with operating just a bar, restaurant and package liquor store, would also open Ted’s Stables in 1944. Located near his other businesses, it offered the chance to ride along the nearby Missouri River in addition to hayrack rides in the fall and sleigh rides in the winter. The stables appear to have closed in the mid-1950s. Its proximity to the nearby highway occasionally caused issues like the one time a horse bolted and hit a car. The horse was badly hurt and had to be put down while the passengers in the car were also injured. This was around the time that the Mormon Bridge was being constructed, which increased traffic in the area. It was no longer the idyllic setting for horseback riding as it had been years earlier.
What started as a tiny restaurant had expanded to two large dining rooms, a banquet room and two bars by 1970. Ganaros was living upstairs at the time. Unfortunately, he was forced to close his business that same year due to the construction of I-680. At 78 years old, Ganaros briefly retired but he was lonely and bored. In 1971 he opened a new restaurant a few blocks south at 8405 North 30th Street. Within the same block he also opened Ted’s Motel and Ted’s Liquor.
Since Ganaros passed away in 1976, his motel would go on to become the Mormon Trail Apartments. His restaurant closed in 1983 and would become O’Henry’s Restaurant and is now a CHI Health Outpatient Rehabilitation Center. The last business bearing his name, Ted’s Liquors, was purchased by his nephew Sam, who ran it for 67 years. His story is equally fascinating and I may cover it in a future story. When Sam announced his retirement earlier this year, the last of Ted’s Florence business empire had closed. The liquor store has been leased to a vape shop. While it may not be as apparent today, that 14-year-old kid with a seventh grade education left a lasting impression on the 30th Street corridor.
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