Mary Vogel couldn’t have imagined the impact a trip to Washington, D.C., in 1970 would have on her life—let alone on the city of Omaha. While visiting the capital’s historic Georgetown neighborhood, she was inspired by its restaurants and pubs. Then it hit her: why not create something similar back home, in Omaha’s historic Old Market district?
Mary was 54 years old at the time. Though she often volunteered, starting a restaurant was completely outside her wheelhouse. Even so, the widow of two prominent Omaha businessmen persisted. She found a home for her pub in the location of the original Mercer Hotel. The hotel had been destroyed by fire in 1905, and when a new building was later constructed in its place, it became a fruit and vegetable warehouse for the Trimble Brothers. Like many others in the Old Market, the building had been decaying for some time. This was the early 1970s, and most Omahans still viewed the Old Market with skepticism. The district was only beginning its transformation into the vibrant entertainment area we recognize today. Other than a few shops and a bookstore, it housed just one restaurant—The French Café—and a pub called Mister Toad.
When Mary first walked into the large space at 422 S. 11th Street, she found crumbling walls, bricked-up arches, cobweb-covered light bulbs, and stairs hidden beneath plywood. Despite all that, the spot felt just right. It gave the impression of both intimacy and spaciousness. Mary partnered with Cedric Hartman and others who had previously designed The French Café to bring her vision to life. A lifelong preservationist, she wanted to respect the building’s simple warehouse architecture. The team restored the ceilings and walls, painting them white. The bricks inside the arches were replaced with glass, while mirrors and brass complemented the exposed brick walls. Most furnishings were custom-designed for the space, with one notable exception—a Gothic brass candelabra salvaged from an old church. The bar, topped with green marble, was built on-site.
With her vision of combining the elegance and sophistication of London pubs with their sociability, charm, and excellent food, Mary opened M’s Pub in 1972. She called it an extension of herself—reflecting her passion for preserving old things. As hostess, she frequently checked in with customers to ensure they were happy. She disliked pretentious restaurants and wanted every diner to feel like a guest. The early menu, limited mostly to Mary’s own recipes, was well received. It included sandwiches, soups, salads, and even hot dogs. In 1975, when Gourmet magazine asked for permission to publish her beef burgundy soup recipe, she replied that she didn’t actually know it—saying, “You just throw in this and that and taste and taste until it’s right.”
Mary sold the restaurant in 1978, though she returned as hostess when its new owner, Kate Mellen, invited her back. Kate revamped the restaurant’s menu, which had taken a continental turn after the sale. Two years later, Mary retired to pursue other interests, including a two-year effort to restore the old soda fountain at the Western Heritage Museum (now the Durham Museum).
By the time Mary passed away in 2000, M’s Pub had become a fixture in the Old Market and one of Omaha’s best-known restaurants. That was no small feat, considering that in its early days the pub had been thought of simply as a bar that served food. Over the years, it evolved into an extremely popular restaurant with a lively bar scene—so popular, in fact, that at one point it sold more wine than any other restaurant in the state.
Tragedy struck in January 2016, when an explosion and fire destroyed M’s Pub along with an adjacent clothing store and the condos above. Despite fears that M’s Pub would become just another entry in Lost Restaurants of Omaha, it miraculously reopened nearly two years later. Fortunately, the current owner had access to the original plans and one of the original designers. Together, they restored the restaurant so faithfully that it looks nearly identical to the space Mary painstakingly created decades earlier.
M’s Pub—along with The French Café—helped redefine Omaha’s restaurant scene. While The French Café closed in 2012, M’s Pub continues to thrive today, almost as though that tragic fire in 2016 never occurred.
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