Robert Pascarella’s Happy Bar

April 22, 2024

Like Pettit’s Park a few blocks north, Happy Bar is a longtime survivor in the former Jefferson Square whose history continues to be erased and replaced with the new buildings and businesses that make up the Builders District.

1923 Durham Museum photo looking south from 16th and Cuming. The building that Happy Bar now calls home is few blocks down the road to the left.

More than 100 years before the Kiewit Corporation started construction on its new headquarters at 16th and Mike Fahey Streets, Meyer Tatle built the three-story brick and terra-cotta building that would become the Rex Hotel and home to the Happy Bar.

1960’s photo of the Happy Bar at 16th and Cass St before it moved to its current location.

The Happy Bar opened its doors in 1953 and while I haven’t been able to pinpoint its original location, it filed for a liquor license at 1609 Webster Street in 1955 and was operated out of the former White Swan Tavern at 501 N. 16th Street in 1957.

2011 photo before its longtime neighbor was demolished to make way for the Builder’s District.

By 1968 the bar had moved to the former Rex Hotel, which by this time was called the Wade Hotel. The family-run business was operated by both Robert (Tony) Pascarella and his wife Ann. From that point forward, it’s maintained its familiar home at 601 N. 16th Street. Their son, Robert Pascarella Sr., was operating the bar by 1978 if not earlier. He groomed the third generation, his sons Robert (Bob) Jr. and John, to take over the family business.

2022 photo of Happy Bar at the corner of 16th and California. The building still reads M. Tatle 1910. The Hotel sign sits above the door at 605 N 16th St. The Kiewit Headquarters lurks in the background.

The bar has witnessed its share of changes in recent years including the construction of Morrison Stadium, home of Creighton’s soccer team, to its west in 2003. In 2011, TD Ameritrade Park (present day Charles Schwab Field) opened to its east as the new home of the College World Series. In 2021 the Kiewit Corporation opened its corporate headquarters just north of the Happy Bar.

June 2025 photo of the Happy Bar at 16th and California Streets.

When another new office building at 1501 Mike Fahey Street opened between Kiewit and the former hotel, it appeared that the bar’s days might be numbered. Despite that, the brothers refused to sell and relocate. At the time, Bob Pascarella said, “We were here when no one else wanted to be, and now that things are changing, we’re just a little fish. We don’t want to be bought out.”

June 2025 photo of the entrance to the Happy Bar.

Sitting near Sol’s Pawn Shop and Pettit’s Pastry, The Happy has long been a gathering spot for those who live nearby as well as those who worked for Metro Area Transit and Wynne truck drivers. When the College World Series moved to North Downtown, it became a popular spot among baseball fans.

June 2025 photo looking north from Happy Bar down 16th Street.

Despite having a book of poetry named after it, Meet Me at the Happy Bar by Steve Langan, the old-school, cash-only watering hole remains in danger as developers view the land on which it sits as essential to the area’s transformation.

Looking inside the Happy Bar. Courtesy of Happy Bar Facebook page.

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