Gone But Not Forgotten: Jerry Foster’s Jerico’s Restaurant

June 7, 2024

Gerald “Jerry” Foster was born in Falls City in 1940. He moved to Omaha and opened one of the city’s oldest steakhouses in 1978. From the time he was a boy, he always said that if he ever owned a restaurant, he would name it Jerico’s. He did exactly that when he opened his “prime and wine” establishment in Richland Park Plaza at 11732 West Dodge Road.

Jerico’s offered “an open kitchen concept and lovely decor,” targeted at business professionals and families alike. During its grand opening, they offered a complimentary half liter of house wine with the purchase of two meals, or a full liter with four.

Looking at Jerico’s along 117th and West Dodge Rd. Courtesy of Jerico’s Facebook page.

Foster used a top-of-the-line prime rib oven that slowly cooked the meat and then held it until it reached the desired degree of redness. This, along with the quality of the beef, helped Jerico’s earn its reputation for having some of the best prime rib in town. It was also one of the few restaurants to serve lamb chops. Despite its success, Foster sold the business in 1989 and returned home, where he found work as a communications salesman. He passed away just five years later at only 54 years old.

Looking at the dining room in Jerico’s with brick wall and arches separating the rooms. Courtesy of Jerico’s Facebook page.

Born in Illinois, Chuck DiDonato started his career as a meat cutter for Kroger. He learned a great deal about quality meat during his career in the meat and grocery business. He landed in Omaha after becoming the director of meat merchandising for Hinky Dinky. From there, he took over Jerico’s when Foster retired. At the time, he said the founder did not expect the restaurant side of his bar to sell much food. As a result, Foster built an open kitchen that extended into the dining room so it could be turned into a dance floor if needed. Instead, Foster ended up with a pretty good prime rib and sandwich restaurant to complement the bar.

Looking inside Jerico’s at the open kitchen that extends into the dining room. Courtesy of Jorge Balderas.

DiDonato expanded the menu from 14 or 15 items to around 80. He upgraded the quality of the meat, which had been good before but became top notch. With business slowing in 2007 due to construction at 114th Street and West Dodge Road, he took the opportunity to complete an extensive remodel. DiDonato went on to operate Jerico’s for the next 25 years. He was just as passionate about the friendly neighborhood restaurant, which he described as cozy, comfortable, and just a bit romantic.

Described as larger than life, DiDonato turned one of Omaha’s most popular steakhouses into a shrine to his beloved Huskers football team. He began collecting sports memorabilia in 1980, which included pictures of Tom Osborne and golf balls signed by Gary Player and Chi Chi Rodriguez. DiDonato owned the restaurant until his death in 2014 at the age of 72. During that time, he did it all, from bookkeeping to marketing, staffing, and hosting.

Prime rib and baked potatos at Jerico’s. Courtesy of Jerico’s Facebook page.

Jerico’s is proof that you should not judge a book by its cover. Despite sitting in a strip mall beneath the West Dodge Expressway, it offered an old-school vibe with dim lighting, white linen-covered tables, leather chairs, walls separated by brick arches, and a bar that ran along the back. According to DiDonato, the mission was always to serve the finest selection of beef, pork, chicken, and seafood, paired with the best service around. While the menu offered filet mignon, strip steak, porterhouse, and sirloin, its prime rib was the star of the show and was widely regarded as the best in town. After DiDonato’s death in 2014, his son Chuck DiDonato Jr. carried the restaurant forward for another decade before closing its doors for the final time in 2026.

Nearly 50 years after Jerry Foster opened the restaurant, Omaha said goodbye to another one of its classic steakhouses.

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More pictures

A look at the Husker memorabilia inside Jerico’s.

1952 Durham Museum photo looking east on Dodge with 120th in the background.

Google Earth view looking east on Dodge with 120th in the background. Jerico’s is where the push pin is located next to the West Dodge Expressway.

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Omaha Exploration, 2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links can be used, if full and clear credit is given to Omaha Exploration with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Sources

Omaha World-Herald archives
Omaha Magazine, An Omaha Legacy Steakhouse, 2023.

Omaha Exploration