What started as a bowling alley in 1957 would become the center of the Omaha music scene before closing its doors in 2005. The Ranch Bowl started as just one of 27 bowling alleys in the area. With the city on its way to becoming the bowling capital of the world, three entrepreneurs wanted a piece of the action. That’s when I. B. Ziegman, Jerome Milder and Morris Brick decided to open Ranch Bowl just west of the Aksarben Race Track and Coliseum on 72nd and Hickory.
Adorned in oak, brass and mirrors on the inside, the ranch style building featured 24 lanes and automatic pinsetters. It also had a cocktail lounge with fireplace, snack bar, party room, and nursery where parents could drop their kids while they bowled and enjoyed a couple of drinks. These features weren’t unusual for bowling alleys at the time which faced fierce competition that led to the opening of a full service restaurant complete with cloth napkins and tablecloths.
The Ranch Bowl was in need of new life by the mid-1970’s. That’s when Larry Good convinced his childhood friend Matt Markel to return to Omaha from Myrtle Beach where he was restructuring failing hotels for Hilton. Matt’s talent for fixing broken things made him the perfect business partner to reinvigorate the once popular bowling alley.
While in the process of an extensive renovation of the new Ranch Bowl, they auctioned off a number of items from its past life during the summer of 1978. Items listed included a complete 22 seat snack bar, kitchen supplies, classroom style school desk, neon signs, Johnny Rodgers liquor statues, console television, plastic plants, over 100 liquor decanters and bottles from faraway places like Uruguay, Mexico, France, Scotland, Czechoslovakia in addition to hundreds of other items. It seems that the renovation was complete a couple of months later as advertisements for the new Ranch Bowl appeared in the newspaper in September.
Just days after reopening, burglars broke into the bowling alley through the roof where they forced open a safe, ransacked the office, broke into 13 pinball machines and ran off with $10,000 in cash. While things started off slow, they picked up steam as its reception business went up 80% just one year later as the venue had the capacity to handle five receptions per day. To further diversify its income stream, they introduced live music on the weekends performed by Sweet Country.
The pair would go on to purchase the bowling alley after managing it for two years. By that time, Larry was content to manage the bowling side of the business while Matt saw an opportunity with live music. To that end, they closed the kitchen and converted it to a space dedicated to live music. Utilizing connections he made while working in the hotel industry, Matt continued to book local acts and even some national acts by 1984. By that time, the Ranch Bowl consisted of a bowling alley with two large entertainment rooms. One was a lounge that featured live music and another used for wedding receptions and other events. By now the performing rock bands attracted large college crowds.
They continued to modify the space by converting offices into Matthew’s Pub in 1983. Located in what had been office space, the pub was designed for a 25 and older crowd with its low lighting, dark wood, brass rails, booths and maroon upholstered chairs. It was targeted at people that wanted to enjoy a drink and conversation rather than watch and listen to the band.
In addition to the occasional national act, Matt was successful in booking popular cover bands that attracted a large audience. As music became its primary focus, Larry sold his share of the business to Matt in 1987. In 1990 Matt converted the old nursery into Snooker’s, a space that contained snooker and billiards tables, dartboards, video games and screens for watching sports. The space featured an elevated bar that had stools lined along the railing. Tables, meanwhile, surrounded a dance floor that stretched all the way back to the glass doors. Outside those doors were sand volleyball courts. By this time, the Ranch Bowl Entertainment Complex was largely complete.
After purchasing radio frequency 93.3 from the Federal Communications Commission in 1991, Matt remodeled the space to add a studio and offices for his K-ROCK radio station. His goal with the station was to compete with Z-92. It became the first station in Omaha to play heavy metal bands such as Metallica and Iron Maiden though he would eventually switch the format to alternative rock which featured such bands such as R. E. M.
Already traveling to meet with the agents of up-and-coming bands such as Pearl Jam that were interested in playing at the Ranch Bowl, things really took off with the launch of the radio station. This allowed Matt as the promoter of the show to advertise it as much as he wanted to on the radio station that he owned. That led to Ranch Bowl hosting acts such as 311, Joan Jett, Nirvana, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers and LL Cool J. Some of these acts would draw 1,000 concert goers into a space that had a capacity of 350. He continued to book local bands to open for the larger acts as well as guests that appealed more to his own musical acts such as B. B. King and Buddy Guy.
Matt had exclusive booking rights to Sokol Auditorium, Westfair Amphitheater and Anchor Inn while also booking shows at Aksarben Coliseum and the Civic Auditorium. It’s important to note that while it became widely known for its live music, much of the Ranch Bowl’s success can be attributed to the bowling alley which helped pay its bill in the early days while later providing performers an outlet to escape after being cooped up in tour buses and hotels. Bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers would even bring their bowling shoes when they performed there.
After selling the business to Mike Brannan amid declining health in 2003, the new owner announced plans to remodel and expand the music venue which had fallen into disrepair over the years. Two years later, he announced that the Ranch Bowl would be closed. Not long after that, Walmart built a midtown store on the beloved site that once hosted John F. Kennedy in addition to its share of bowling tournaments, weddings, dinners and concerts.
Upon selling the Ranch Bowl, Matt said that “It was a good time while it lasted. I’m not sad about it, because it was in terrible shape. Everything has to come to an end. I had my time.“ The godfather of the local music scene won the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards lifetime achievement award in 2010. He was working on a book titled Ranch Bowl – A Party Every Night when he passed away in 2014.
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