Omaha Exploration

Living in Omaha’s Little Italy neighborhood, the Cascio brothers would become well known for the steakhouse that they opened along 10th Street in 1946. Prior to that, however, Alfred, the oldest son of Filadelfo and Virginia Cascio was arrested at 18. It seems that Cascio’s oldest child got mixed up in bootlegging just before prohibition ended in 1933.

After the 18th amendment was repealed, Alfred would go into business business for himself opening Rinky Dink Tavern at 1916 S 6th St. Joseph who was eight years younger would go to work in the meat packing plants in South Omaha before serving in the Army during World War II.  

Successful running his bar and grill, Alfred would go into business with his brother Joseph after the war ended. Together they opened Cascio’s Steakhouse in 1946. The restaurant was located in a former drug store which had a second floor apartment at 1620 S 10th St. The restaurant quickly gained a reputation among those in the surrounding Little Italy neighborhood for its steak, pasta and pizza.

In the early days, the brothers often worked 18 hours a day and were joined by their sister, Rose, who first made her goudarooni, a double crusted pizza, at the restaurant. In 1965 when Rose opened Big Fred’s Pizza with her husband Fred Bruning, she added it to her own menu as Goodie Roonie.

Cascio’s, meanwhile, continued to operate from the two story building for more than 30 years. That came to an end in 1978 when 60 firemen battled an out-of-control fire that ultimately destroyed the restaurant. By 1979, the brothers reopened the restaurant in a brand new building in the same exact location. With a capacity of 1,500 the massive 36,000 st ft building had seven party rooms making it a popular spot for special events such as weddings and anniversaries. 

The brothers would go their separate ways in 1986 after an argument between the two. Joseph, who also operated a tavern called The Nip which he later converted into a salvage store, ended up selling his stake to Alfred. In addition to operating the restaurant, Alfred also owned a number of race horses at Aksarben.

It wasn’t until after Alfred passed away in 1999 that Larry Cascio would take over returning the restaurant to the Cascio family. Its new owner had lots of experience at the restaurant having worked there from the time he was eight years old. He closed the restaurant briefly for a renovation and when it reopened, he brought back its longtime chef of 25 years.

While Larry would only operate the restaurant for nine years before retiring himself in 2008, he would turn it over to his son who, like his father before, began working there at a young age. The current owner is currently the third generation of Cascio’s to run the restaurant. His grandfather, Joseph, who enjoyed a career in politics in addition to founding the restaurant passed away in 2012.

Cascio credits its success to hard work, smart decisions, family and its employees some of whom have joined after Anthony’s and Lo Sole Mio closed. Customers, many of whom live nearby and walk to the restaurant, continue to return due to its use of original recipes and quality of the food. They serve only Angus beef and everything is prepared from scratch. The steaks are aged 21 days and cut in-house, the pasta is imported from Italy while the spaghetti sauce is simmered over seven hours and the breadsticks are baked on premises.

Nearly eighty years since they first opened, Cascio’s is the last of the original 19 Italian steakhouses in Omaha. In fact, it’s also the third oldest steakhouse in town behind only Johnny’s Cafe (1922) and Gorat’s (1944). In a story posted to their website, they state that “When you give good food, great service, and their money’s worth, they return. If you’re open for 65 years, you’ve got to be doing something right.” 

Please feel free to comment and share your memories. Thank you for following along as I explore Omaha and the surrounding area!

You can read my history of Johnny’s Cafe, Gorat’s and The Drover on my page.