Omaha Exploration

Some have referred to the Surfside Club as one of the city’s best-kept secrets, in part because there aren’t many places to dine along the Missouri River.

The Surfside Club is located near the northern edge of Douglas County. The original marina was built in 1955 by Edward Henkel. Henkel was a member of the Omaha Boat Club, which relocated from Carter Lake to the Missouri River in the early 1950s. Before finding its forever home, the club temporarily launched their boats beneath the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge.

In 1962, they relocated to Henkel’s marina and proceeded to build a clubhouse in 1965. In 1968, the Omaha Boat Club became Surfside North when partners including Boniface (Barney) McGuire bought it. At the time, the marina provided boaters with the opportunity to dock and refuel while getting food and drinks before continuing their journey along the river.

Omaha’s first riverside restaurant, Surfside North Marina, advertised that “you don’t have to be a boater to enjoy a big surfburger and a beverage on its spacious patio overlooking the river.” By that time, if you were a boater, you could dock for just $1.25. They didn’t change their name to the Surfside Club until 1970. In those days, it operated under a private club license, which allowed anyone to eat but restricted adult beverages to members, at a cost of $2 a year.

By 1972, Joe Lombardo and his wife Frances Oliver were brought in to operate the restaurant, which remained open from March through October when it closed for the season. Both Joe and his brother Jim operated several restaurants in the area. By this time, Surfside had picnic tables overlooking the river from the patio in addition to an indoor cafe with Formica tables and vinyl chairs. At that time, the restaurant had a long tradition of serving soft drinks for just a dime, though you had only two options: Pepsi or Teem. The restaurant was severely damaged by a fire in 1981 but reopened just three weeks later.

It was a kid who grew up on a farm in Iowa who had the biggest impact on Surfside’s legacy. Tom Mailander left the farm to attend Creighton, where he worked in food service to pay tuition but found his calling there. He went to work at the restaurant in 1974 shortly after getting married and became its owner and manager. He had an operating philosophy that the food had to be consistent, service had to be good, and the owner needed to be seen. He said, “I think for family-owned restaurants, it is important for the owners to be there to make sure everyone is getting what they need.” The good service can largely be attributed to its longtime waitress, Jo Rotella, who worked there from 1968 until her death in 1993.

Mailander’s attentiveness and operating philosophy served the restaurant well as it became increasingly popular. One of Surfside’s key attractions, of course, is its location along the river. That has also proven to be a curse over the years when water levels rise and the river floods, as it did in 1993, when a river full of debris and dead animals made dining on the patio an unpleasant experience. Fortunately, the water never made its way to the parking lot and the restaurant remained open.

It wasn’t so fortunate in 2011, as the flooding made it inside the restaurant. At the time, it seemed they would be forced to close permanently or relocate. The flood ended Mailander’s active role with the restaurant. When the partners decided to put it up for auction, he intended to buy it outright and keep it running. That didn’t happen. Instead, Mike Walker, another partner who also owned Boondocker’s in North Omaha, reopened the restaurant and took over the day-to-day operations.

Despite significant damage, it managed to reopen two years later after an extensive renovation, which was sorely needed. Mailander remained an owner and shared the recipes with Walker, who continued to serve the chicken, fried catfish, and corn fritters while also expanding the menu. It also reopened with a goal of attracting boaters as it had when it was founded decades earlier. While Mailander passed away in 2024, the Surfside lives on.

The Surfside remains a destination restaurant that allows its customers to relax and enjoy food and drink 25 feet from the river’s edge on its huge, shaded patio. It remains a unique place in the Omaha metro area where you can take in the scenery along the river while listening to live music and enjoying a drink. Just beware: you may also get an eyeful from the boaters who pass by.

Content written by Omaha Exploration. Feel free to leave a comment or a suggestion. Until then, keep exploring!

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Sources

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://justaguywithanappetite.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/restaurant-review-the-surfside-club/
• Thomas Mailander Obituary (1948 – 2024) – Atlantic, IA – Atlantic News Telegraph
• French fries, fritters, other fried foods make Surfside Club fun-filled time for the family | Archives | unothegateway.com