Omaha Exploration

Opened in 1954, Sullivan’s Bar is the oldest in the Blackstone District. While the bar pays tribute to John L. Sullivan, the famous bare-knuckle boxer that was recognized as the first heavyweight champion in 1882, it’s actually named for its founder. 

The grandson of Irish immigrants, Leo Sullivan, was born in Omaha in 1916 and spent a couple of decades working for the Union Pacific Railroad. By 1950 he worked his way up to crane foreman but with the demanding nature of the job likely taking its toll, he pivoted to the bar business. 

He opened his namesake bar in a space that was the longtime home to the West Farnam Hardware Store at 3926 Farnam Street. After the hardware store closed, the space was converted to a bar in 1940 by Phil Bessler. Grant Davis then operated his bar in the space until 1954. 

Sullivan’s operated as a neighborhood bar in the once swanky residential district that by the late 1940s had become known as funeral home row. By that time, many of the large residences were converted to funeral homes or apartments. The bar would become a popular spot for those looking to partake in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. In 1964 three men were caught painting a 25-foot shamrock in front of the bar. When the police arrived to apprehend the men, they were booed by the crowd of spectators that had gathered on the street. In an attempt to hide the cans of green paint, a few friends took them inside Sullivan’s. After one of the cans tipped over, green footprints were tracked inside the bar only to be discovered by the janitor the morning of St. Patrick’s Day. 

I found it interesting that the following year Leo hadn’t planned to do anything special. he claimed that the day wasn’t celebrated in the same manner as it had been in the past. He cited the lack of breweries making green beer and the difficulty in finding green ice cubes as a couple of his reasons. Either he got over it or the customers kept coming to Sullivan’s anyway. In 1969 the bar apparently ran out of beer by 9 AM on St. Patrick’s Day. 

Leo’s bar had become something of a St. Patrick’s Day institution over the years but with his wife Eleanor having passed away two days after the celebration in 1978, Leo, it seems didn’t have the heart to put on the event in 1979. He later sold the bar and passed away in 1983. Even so, its subsequent owners retained the Sullivan’s name and it continued to operate at the same location for another 30 years. 

Longtime bartender Dan Houlihan took over Sullivan’s in 2001 when Farnam Street in the area of Blackstone was a one-way street designed to get people from the suburbs to downtown as quickly as possible. He saw the potential in not just the bar but the entire district. With its proximity to major employers and historic building stock, the historic district was ripe for a renaissance. 

As Blackstone started to take off in 2013, Dan saw an opportunity to get in at the ground level. Rather than continuing to lease the space that Sullivan’s had called home for the prior 59 years, he opted to purchase a building across the street that had a long history of creating problems in the area. Located at 3929 Farnam Street, the building had been the home to both Shooters and Cheater’s offered more space, a better layout and configuration. 

Dan sought out to restore the building which had been constructed in 1946. He gutted the interior and hauled away 50 tons of debris. In the process of remodeling it from the floor-to-ceiling, he discovered architectural features that had been covered for decades including arched windows, large picture windows, exposed brick, ceiling trusses and the original entryway. When he finished the interior, he went to work outside which included moving and restoring its iconic neon sign. 

He appointed the bar with a 1930s-era imported bar and the shuffleboard table from the beloved 49’r Lounge which he had restored. He also added wooden statues of John L. Sullivan as well as a Creighton baseball player and a Bugeater football player. He also added a patio in a once neglected space behind the bar that now serves as a nice refuge along the busy street. 

Dan recently sold the bar to former employees who continue Sullivan’s legacy of being the original Irish bar in the Blackstone District. 70 years later the latest incarnation of Sullivan’s retains its old-school yet hip feel with its decorative windows, archways, wood fixtures and exposed brick.

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