Omaha Exploration

As unusual as it may sound, an Indian restaurant holds the distinction of being Omaha’s first craft brewery.

The restaurant and brewery named Jaipur, named for the capital and largest city in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, opened in 1992. The restaurant was affiliated with the Indian Oven in New York City as well as The Oven in Lincoln.

Jaipur was founded by Steve Gordon, who partnered with Gyanendra Bhandari and brothers Gary and Mark Herse. Gordon had experience with Indian restaurants, having been among the partners in The Oven in both Lincoln and New York City, which was also associated with the Indian Oven in the Old Market.

Jaipur opened in Rockbrook Village in a space that had been occupied by Le Cafe at 10922 Elm Street. The brewery was likely incorporated to make the restaurant stand out from the competition and to capitalize on the growing popularity of craft beer. Lazlo’s opened the first brewpub in Lincoln a year earlier and had tremendous success, so it’s plausible this provided some inspiration. Even so, the pairing made it not just unusual but perhaps the only Indian restaurant of its kind in the world, as the Hindu religion generally prohibits alcohol.

After the brewpub opened, it was an immediate hit due to the food coming out of Bhandari’s kitchen and the beer produced by Lunn and the Herse brothers out of its on-site brewery. First and foremost, the beers were designed to complement the food. When the state legalized beer production, it required that any brewery also serve food. Among its first offerings were a Cherry Wheat, Pale Ale, and Brown Ale. The beer selection evolved as they discovered which varieties paired best with the cuisine and what customers preferred, which trended toward lighter beers. They expanded the offerings to include a Raspberry Wheat, Jalapeño Ale, India Pale Ale, and a Stout.

After Gordon sold his share of the business to Bhandari in 2004, Bhandari operated not just as its chef but also as its owner and assistant brewmaster. He got his start in the restaurant business at the Indian Oven in New York City. Originally from Nepal, he immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. After working in New York City he made his way to Omaha, where he worked as the chef at the Indian Oven before becoming the chef at Jaipur from the time it opened. In the early 2000s, he developed its North Indian recipes, which were adapted to appeal to a midwestern palate with low to mild spices. The restaurant has been voted the best Indian restaurant in Omaha for 18 years. By this time, Gary Herse had sold his share of the business and Albert Lunn was hired as the restaurant’s brewmaster. Lunn was a retired postal worker from South Dakota who took up homebrewing and winemaking as hobbies. He remained as its brewmaster for 19 years.

While there was talk of distributing its beers, and in 2016 the restaurant was recognized in a Food & Wine Magazine article on the “50 amazing nano-breweries in 50 states,” distribution doesn’t appear to have happened. Instead, Jaipur has only ever offered its beer in the restaurant. The restaurant and brewery remain as popular as ever, as evidenced by the opening of a second location in Dundee at 5018 Underwood Avenue.

Today Jaipur holds the honor of not only being Omaha’s first craft brewery but also its oldest and one of its best Indian restaurants. Despite the uncharacteristic pairing of Indian cuisine and craft beer, the combination clearly works — its on-site brewery continues to produce four small-batch varieties, including a Wheat, Raspberry Wheat, India Pale Ale, and the ever-popular Jalapeño Ale.

This is part of a series in which we explore the history of Omaha’s breweries past and present.

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Sources

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://www.omahamagazine.com/today/jaipur-owner-does-it-all-cooking-managing-brewing/
• https://rockbrook.jaipurindianfood.com/
• Albert F. “Willie” Lunn, 87 | Washington County Enterprise
• OmaHops@groups.io | Metz Brewing History
• The Jaipur | Omaha, NE | Reviews | BeerAdvocate