Alderman’s Bar is among Omaha’s most iconic dive bars. It was started by Edward Alderman who was born in Kansas in 1893. The son of a farmer, Edward found work at the Farmers Union Cooperative grocery in Centralia, KS. Described as “one of the promising young men of the community”, he married Lenora Graner in 1916. They lived in a small cottage in Vermillion, KS until he was drafted into World War I in 1918. Upon his return, he and Lenora relocated to Glasco, KS where they took over the Granger Store in 1919 which had been owned by her father. They operated the grocery store until 1934. The couple which didn’t have any children would divorce shortly thereafter.
By 1937 he married Troy Butler in 1937. Soon after that the couple relocated to Omaha where he opened Alderman’s Market at 3216 Leavenworth. Given his background managing stores back home in Kansas, it makes sense he would take ownership of the former Quality Market which sold fruits, vegetables and beer. This isn’t the building that sits on the lot today. It’s likely the original building was much closer to the street. I’m not sure at what point it converted from a market to a full fledged bar but in those early days, it went by the name Alderman’s Shack and it had a dirt floor.
He listed Alderman’s Tavern and the building for sale in 1949. Unable to find a buyer that met his terms, Ed would continue to operate the bar until his death in 1957. Troy took over and appears to have operated the bar for a time. Eventually, their daughter Michelle (Mickey) referred to as the “Queen of Leavenworth” and her husband Jack took ownership and ran the bar until the early 2000’s. According to the assessor, the original building was torn down and replaced with the current building in 1969. The new building was set back further from the street to allow space for a parking lot.
More recently the bar has been a popular destination for the Leavenworth Bar Crawl not to mention St. Patrick’s Day celebrations when it opens at 6 AM. The neighborhood dive is also known for karaoke which occurs from Thursday through Saturday. When its current owner, Mark McClellan, took over, he wanted to pay tribute to the old school corner bars he grew up in. Mark got his start in the bar business working at his father’s bar, Candlelight Lounge. He covered nearly every inch of the place with memorabilia that he started collecting when he was just 12 years old. The collector started with beer cans and moved on to signs and clocks.
Along the Leavenworth strip which has its fair share of old bars, Alderman’s stands out for its sense of humor and its personality. This is clear by the many slogans behind the bar not to mention the sign out front which changes frequently. Earlier this year it read “Ruining Your News Years Resolution Since 1937.” In addition to pool tables, dart boards and a jukebox, the bar has a patio named Omazone that was added to the west of the building in 2015.
While I doubt that Ed would recognize the bar today, Alderman’s is about as old school as you’re going to find these days. It can best be summed up by its owner who said in an Omaha World-Herald interview, “We’re not about 320 tv’s. I’m not about 64 beers on tap. We don’t make craft cocktails”.
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