Rusty Harmsen’s Billy Frogg’s Grill & Bar

October 19, 2023

After a falling out with his business partners that got very messy and involved multiple lawsuits, Rusty Harmsen was looking for a new start. Before we get into that, let us rewind for those that are unfamiliar. Harmsen was one of the Old Market’s earliest tenants and went on to become a prominent Omaha restaurateur. Among the restaurants he started are Redick Grill, Cafe Carnevale, Bellevue Yacht Club, Doodles, Gallagher’s, Scribbles and S.P. Ghetti. Today just three remain open: Mister Toad, Spaghetti Works and Billy Frogg’s.

The Woolworth building hasn’t changed much since it was built in 1887.

It was 1989 and Harmsen returned to a familiar place for his next business venture: the Old Market. This one was just down the street from Spaghetti Works on 11th and Howard Streets. Located inside the historic Woolworth building which dates back to 1887, Billy Frogg’s was somewhere between a fast-food joint and a full-scale restaurant. After seating yourself, a server would come by to take your drink order. When you were hungry, you walked up to a window in the back to order food. This allowed you to dine at whatever pace you liked. The concept was very similar to a Kansas City burger joint called Fred P. Ott’s, which was looking to expand into the Omaha market at the time.

Billy Frogg’s signage and patio outside the Woolworth building on Howard Street in the Old Market.

The opening of Frogg’s stopped Ott’s in their tracks as the expansion never materialized. Rusty being Rusty, he wanted his new place to be one where you could see anything on the walls. To accomplish this, he retrieved items from his personal vault and loaded the space with metal signs, posters, brass items, a bust of Abraham Lincoln and hundreds of other collectibles. Harmsen proved he still had the touch when he opened the doors in 1989. It quickly caught on with the college crowd with its burgers, cheap beer and signature pitchers like Pond Scum, Groggy Bottom and Blue Whale. It proved so popular that he soon opened another location on 87th and West Dodge Road.

The Billy Frogg’s on 87th and W Dodge Rd in 2014 before it closed a year later.

The location on Dodge was even more popular, prompting Harmsen to consider opening franchises in Lincoln, Des Moines and Kansas City — take that Fred P. Ott’s! I believe the only location opened outside of Omaha was in Lincoln. Perhaps the concept never caught on in Lincoln or maybe there was just too much competition for the college set, but it closed shortly afterward in 1996. For reasons that are unclear to me, the West Dodge Road location, despite being constantly packed, also closed in 2015. Today only the original Billy Frogg’s in the Old Market remains open. It is also worth pointing out that all Ott’s locations have since closed.

Interior shots of Billy Frogg’s showing the decor that Rusty collected during his travels.

In an interview with the Omaha World-Herald in 2006, Jim Trebbien of Metropolitan Community College’s Institute for the Culinary Arts said that Harmsen helped transform the Omaha restaurant scene from predominantly steakhouses. When asked, Harmsen attributed his success to serving good food in a pleasant atmosphere, which was inspired by his travels across the world. While Harmsen passed away in 2006, these three ventures live on.

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