Omaha Exploration

Before he got to see the world while serving in World War II, Frank Mlnarik worked in the South Omaha meatpacking plants. When he returned, he opted to embark upon a new career by opening a bar in 1947. Now in his mid-30s, it had to be a nice change of pace for the young man whose parents emigrated from Czechoslovakia and whose father also found work in the meatpacking industry.

Sitting in a building that was constructed in 1912, his bar was located along Benson’s main street at 5918 Military Avenue. Its first few years, it served as the home to funeral parlors, one of which was G. H. Tuttle Furniture & Undertaking. Yes, you read that right: when G. H. wasn’t working as an undertaker he was selling furniture, though he closed that aspect of the business in 1919. I can’t imagine why.

By 1924 it served as the home to The Benson Ladies Ready-to-Wear, followed by a millinery and beauty shop operated by Mary A. Dunham. That same year, James C. Ford, a notorious bootlegger, bought the building and opened a soft drink parlor. In 1931 it was padlocked and he was forced to close for a year once booze was discovered violating the Prohibition Act. For a few years after that it was the home to the Benson Paint Store.

It started its long life as a bar in 1935. The owners changed often over the first decade. It also operated under various names including Benson Buffet, Hayes Bar, and Trudy’s Inn. That revolving door stopped in 1947 after Frank took over what he referred to as World Famous Frank’s Musette Bar. He decided to spruce the place up in 1949 by replacing the lighting, seating, flooring, and decor. One thing that didn’t change, he said, was the bartender and the same old friendly atmosphere. With the emergence of sports bars, Frank’s decided to go in another direction by showing the “sports of yesterday” every Friday night. Shuffleboard was popular in bars and Frank was an avid player and was even a part of a league.

By now, you may be asking about the name. A musette is a small French bagpipe that gave its name to a style of European dance hall music popular in the 1940s. Whether Frank chose it for the music, the dancing — both of which he advertised — or his Czech roots, which shared some of the same polkas and waltzes, remains a mystery. To my knowledge, he never said.

Frank and his wife Lucille operated the bar until at least 1981. Frank passed away in 1986, followed by Lucille in 2000. The next few years aren’t well documented, but it seems to have continued to operate as the Musette Bar after the Mlnariks sold it. Bernyce Paltani, who owned Paltani’s Restaurant on 45th and Center, also owned it for a period of time. After that, Vern Huntley operated it through much of the 1990s.

Michele (Shelly) Hagen bought it in 1996 and moved it one block west to 6020 Maple Street in 2002. As a result of the move, she went from a 2,000 sq. ft. to a 6,000 sq. ft. space. I suspect this was in part to increase the number of pool and shuffleboard tables. Another factor may have been increased foot traffic in the new location, which was in the busiest section of downtown Benson between 60th and the portion of Military that juts off towards Maple right before turning into Northwest Radial Highway.

While the bar had a good reputation, several businesses and neighbors contested the move from the east side of the Benson Community Center to the west side. Most of the concerns had to do with parking. The library, located directly behind the new location, was concerned that bar patrons would use its parking lot. As a condition of the move, the bar had to agree to several conditions including playing only karaoke, DJ, and acoustic music, only using its back door facing the library for emergency use, leasing a 15-stall gravel lot, posting signs not to use the church lot, joining local organizations, and watching adjacent areas for litter.

The Hagen family continues to operate the old-school bar, which was around long before Benson became the hot spot it is today. In addition to pool and billiards, it has a long reputation for being a go-to spot for shuffleboard, starting with its founder and continuing today with co-owner Shane Hagen, who is a champion shuffleboard player and is in the Nebraska Shuffleboard Hall of Fame.

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