Say goodbye to the velvet Elvises. So long, Bon Jovi wannabes and snowboarders. Goodbye to the kitschy log cabin just off L Street and the many voices who sang the blues.
Farewell to these icons from Terry O’Halloran’s bars.
O’Halloran, the longtime Omaha barkeeper and blues man, is retiring and selling his businesses. He tried to retire in the early 2000s but came back after two months.
“This time,” he said, “it’s for real.”
O’Halloran has operated bars for 27 years. Some of his regular patrons aren’t that old. He currently owns and operates Murphy’s Lounge and the rustic, ski-oriented Lift, both near 96th and L Streets, and Bar Fly, the 114th Street and West Dodge Road party spot.
His previous establishments include Paddy Murphy’s, the Wooly Bully, the Sound Asylum and the Original 18th Amendment Saloon. He used to run Fremont Street Reggae and Blues, a live music venue in Las Vegas.
O’Halloran, an animated, fun-loving guy, recently sold his house and moved in with his 87-year-old father, who was in poor health.
“I want to take a mini-retirement to spend more time with my dad,” he said a couple weeks ago.
That plan was cut short when his father, Ray, died Aug. 14.
O’Halloran was devastated. His dad got him into the bar business. In 1982, Dad bought the 18th Amendment, and they ran the bar together.
“I was playing softball for the 18th Amendment when it went up for sale. I told my dad, who was in real estate, and he bought it,” O’Halloran said. “He had never owned a bar before, but my sister worked for Julio’s back in the early days and she knew the ins and outs. So she ran it. I worked there part time until she decided to get out of the business. I bought her shares and became my father’s business partner.”
Now O’Halloran has decided to move to the West Coast to pursue a lifelong dream: producing blues festivals at resort hotels.
“If I don’t cut ties with the bar business, I’ll never get around to my dream,” he said.
Think of the festivals as a landlocked blues cruise, a five-night stay at a hotel where all the guests have come for the music.
“Music would be around the clock,” he said. “Bands at the pool and late-night jam sessions.”
Though some are shocked O’Halloran is retiring, longtime friend Jimmy Romano said he thinks it makes sense.
“He’s always been into music. He likes to catch musicians as they’re up and coming.”
And, said Romano, owner of the Pipeline Lounge, “Once Dad passed, we all knew he’d hit the open road.”
“Into music” is an understatement. People throughout the city know O’Halloran’s passion for the blues. He helped found the Blues Society of Omaha, and he’s still the group’s president. He was honored with the Blues Foundation’s 2007 Keeping the Blues Alive Award in Memphis, Tenn.
“He does a lot for the industry,” said Bryan Scott, owner of the Downtown Blues Bar. “He brings in a lot of acts. He’s going to be sorely missed.”
Marq Manner, music chairman of the Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards, agreed.
‘If Terry wasn’t involved with the local blues scene, we’d see very few acts,” he said. “He’s brought some jam bands and folk groups. He’s given us so much variety. … It’s not a surprise that he’s trying something new. He’s been burning the candle at both ends, and very few people have dedicated themselves to music like Terry.”
The 50-year-old O’Halloran never married and has no children.
He spends long hours and several nights a week managing his staff, counting inventory, sweeping the floors, pouring drinks, wiping counters and booking bands. He calls the bar business a lifestyle.
‘It’s very time-consuming,” he said. “I would imagine running a bar is much like raising kids. Parts of it are not much fun, but the rewards are so great in return.”
Several of his former employees have gone on to own bars: the Redeye Tavern, Stumble Inn, the Pipeline, Elbow Room and North Shore Tavern.
He said he has talked to a few prospective buyers for his remaining three bars. He hopes to sell them before the year is over so he can hit the road.
“You’ve got to do something you love,” he said. “I’m excited to make this happen. It’ll be odd to move to California and walk into a bar and not know anybody.”
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