Published August 3, 2026 | Updated August 3, 2026

This week Along the Streetcar Line spotlights the last remaining Doozy’s. I dropped by to show the deli a little love as it works to stay open through the construction.

Doozy’s Sub and Pizza Shop is located downtown just off the intersection of 16th Street and Harney. Truth be told, I’ve walked past it a thousand times without so much as a second thought.

Before my visit, I was curious to know more about it. After a bit of digging online and through newspaper archives, it turns out that it was part of a small chain that started in Lincoln in 1995. Along with its Lincolns locations were those in Fairbury, Columbus, and Omaha. While the original location closed in 2016, the one in Omaha first opened in 2006 and remains open 20 years later.

Located next door to Downtown Food Mart and across the street from Mercury and Cumbia, Doozy’s sits inside a 10-story multi-use building. The place is easy to miss with minimal signage that includes a board that sits along the sidewalk, an awning above the entrance and the old-school neon ‘OPEN’ sign in the window. The interior has maroon walls inside the deep storefront with high ceilings, exposed concrete columns, and large east facing windows that allow a fair amount of natural light in for those dining in. The walls are adorned mostly with Creighton Bluejays memorabilia and jerseys featuring Rex Burkhead and Baylor Scheierman. A menu board sits next to the counter. Behind the counter sits a partially open kitchen with a bread mixer prominently displayed next to racks of freshly baked bread.

The small restaurant is known for its oven-baked subs using home-made bread as well as pizza, pasta bakes, and salad. I dropped in just before the rush on a Monday afternoon. I noticed some unusual sub options on the menu including Taco, Italian Chicken Alfredo, and Bacon Cheeseburger. Nonetheless, I opted for a classic BLT. My to-go order was ready after about five minutes. Wrapped in foil, it remained piping hot when I got it home ten minutes later. As expected, it had bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. What stood out was that the bacon was chopped rather than sliced making it nice and crispy with a generous portion piled on. I won’t say it’s the best BLT I’ve ever had but it was tasty, and I devoured it in about three minutes flat. It’s a great option if you prefer to steer clear of the chains or want something a little different.

You know the drill by now. If you decide to check it out, just keep in mind that Harney and Farnam remain a mess and nothing is harder hit than 16th Street at the moment. Don’t let that discourage you. Despite the barricades and torn up streets, I find parking to be pretty easy given the number of people who are avoiding the area. I parked a block away in front of Energy Plaza without even having to circle the block.

Doozy’s is located at 316 S. 16th Street (the nearest streetcar stop will be 15th and Harney). The building that it calls home was constructed in 1918 as the Conant Hotel. Sitting catty-corner from the Orpheum Theater, the popular hotel contained both the White Horse Inn and Diana Cocktail Room. After being renamed in 1939, it continued to operate as the Regis Hotel until 1965. After that it served as the home to the Women’s Job Corps until 1970 at which point it sat vacant for the next 14 years. By 1984, the building was converted into apartments with retail storefronts, and a rooftop garden. Twenty years later those units were converted into condos.

Doozy’s is open from 9 am until 2 pm Mon-Fri. Be sure to check out its website for more or possible changes to hours:

https://www.doozysne.com/

There’s no doubt that the streetcar will bring significant changes to midtown and downtown Omaha when it arrives in 2028. Even though it can’t get here soon enough for me and the business owners, let’s do our part to make sure places like Doozy’s stay open until it does.

Omaha Exploration, 2026. All rights reserved. Excerpts and links are welcome with full credit given to Omaha Exploration and a link back to the original content.