Omaha Exploration

Richard (Dick) Duda and his longtime business partner Eugene (Gene) Corcoran had a lot in common. 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 1961 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 here 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 by 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 St. Built in 1913, the building was originally house until a storefront was built around it starting in the late 1920s. In the 1930s it had been the 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. Dundee 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.

Both locations remain open to this day though no relatives of either the Duda or Corcoran families are involved in its operation. In recent years it was recognized for its burger in The Reader’s Best of the Big O in 2023 its Bloody Mary by Omaha Magazine’s Best of Omaha.

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More pictures

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

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