Omaha Exploration

In 1904 the Metz brothers opened a saloon for their brewery in Fort Calhoun, more than 20 minutes north of Omaha. Today, the historic building is home to Too Far North.

The two-story building at 111 N. 14th Street was a saloon where the Metz Brothers Brewing Company could sell their fresh beer. The second floor had a different purpose altogether; it is rumored to have been a brothel.

Run by Carl Schmidt and later Herman Wolff, the saloon’s days as a local watering hole came to an end once prohibition went into effect. After that, the brick building between Omaha and Blair and situated along the Lewis and Clark Scenic Byway on Highway 75 served various purposes. Among them were a drugstore, butcher shop, store that sorted and sold apples, doctor’s office, art gallery, motorcycle shop, American Legion post, and a cabinet making shop, and likely several others that I missed.

With dreams of opening their own winery, Sandy and Dane Kucera attempted to grow their own grapes in the early 2000s. A vineyard disaster put the kibosh on that plan and instead, they pivoted from the production business to the retail business. They bought the old Metz saloon at 111 N. 14th Street in 2005 and jokingly named it Too Far North, a reference to its distance from Omaha.

Many have found a reason to travel to the Kuceras’ labor of love due to its cozy confines, which offers wine, beer, chocolate, and cheese, with an emphasis on locally produced products. The store also doubles as a gift shop with locally created crafts and antiques available for sale. To honor its history, Too Far North is decorated with lots of Metz memorabilia.

The name aside, many of us don’t find that Too Far North is, in fact, too far north.

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