Published November 9, 2024 | Updated May 6, 2026

Longtime partners Dick Duda and Gene Corcoran started one of the city’s longest-running restaurants when they opened Goldberg’s Bar and Grill.

With a lot in common, the two men were natural business partners. They both went on to play professional baseball in the minor leagues. Both returned home after failing to earn promotions to the advanced farm teams. In 1950, Dick married Gene’s sister Patricia and embarked upon a career in the restaurant and bar industry. Gene went into the same industry in 1955. In 1965, the brothers-in-law formed a partnership when they opened Bill Bailey’s Banjo Bar in Benson.

In 1973, the duo opened Goldberg’s Bar at 2936 S. 132nd Street in the brand-new Baker Square shopping center in West Omaha. The concept was to open a bar and grill that served great burgers at an affordable price in a family-friendly atmosphere.

The name Goldberg’s was inspired by a pizzeria in New York City. As Dick walked down the street in NYC, he noticed a million Irish pubs but the one place that stood out was called Goldberg’s Pizzeria. So despite him and his partner both being of Irish ancestry, they decided to go with it stating, ““There are enough saloons named after the Irish so we figured we’d give the Jews a chance.” Early ads for the restaurant read “Kosher we ain’t, but… our Goldberger hamburger is great for lunch…” 

Goldberg’s Bar immediately stood out from the crowd not just because of its name and tasty burgers but also its 1930s Art Deco design, for which architect Hartman Morford Bowen received an award from the Nebraska chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Back to those charbroiled hamburgers: they won the second annual Omaha Sun Hamburger Contest in 1981. A decade after it first opened, they remodeled the restaurant, expanded the beer selection and menu.

It wasn’t until 1992 that Dick decided to open a second Goldberg’s location with Gene Dunn at 5008 Dodge Street. Built in 1913, the building was originally a house until a storefront was built around it starting in the late 1920s. In the 1930s, it had been home to the Old English Inn. Starting in 1980, it was a location for Pefferoni’s Pizza. After the pizza joint closed its doors, the space was available for lease, and its location was perfect as he lived nearby.

Despite both having been opened by Dick, the two restaurants operate independently from one another after Dick passed away in 2001. The Dundee location was then operated by Dick’s wife Patricia, daughter Kimberly, son Richard, and Gene Dunn, who left in 2012 to take over Gorat’s Steak House. The Duda family sold the business in 2016. Patricia passed away in 2022. The West Omaha location was operated by Gene Corcoran’s wife Judy after he passed away in 2013.

Fifty-plus years, two locations, and the same charbroiled burger that won a contest in 1981. Dick and Gene never made it out of the minors, but they built something that stuck around a lot longer than most people do.

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More pictures

1973 advertisement on the left and a 1980 advertisement on the right.

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Sources

• Omaha World-Herald archives