“The scent of seared steak wafts out the heavy, faux-bronze doors as they swing outward, and diners walk into a glowing, ruby-hued time capsule of Nebraska food history.”
I couldn’t have written the experience of walking into Johnny’s Cafe any better myself. And no, I’m not just saying that because these words in fact were penned by my partner in life and food, Omaha food writer extraordinaire Sarah Baker Hansen. SBH is gonna write FFP a few stories this year, and here is her first… a lovely, medium-rare history of Johnny’s Cafe, which has outlasted Prohibition, a Great Depression, a world war, the death of the Polish immigrant who turned it into a steakhouse, the demise of the Omaha Stockyards, the construction of the Interstate right outside its front door, changing generations, changing tastes, a changing South Omaha and now a global pandemic. I would write more but I would only be stealing more good sentences from Sarah. Check it out, and then my gosh, head down to Johnny’s for a stiff drink and a T-bone. Once a month or so you can find us in the lounge. (I highly recommend a Manhattan and the onion rings. Actually, that’s what Sarah recommends, and then I steal her recommendations.)
And lest I forget: How about these photos from uber-talented photographer Ryan Soderlin? Johnny’s is DARK. A supremely tough place to snap an iPhone photo, in my experience. But that’s no hill for a climber like Ryan.
A small town housing crisis: FFP executive director Matt Wynn and I have been taking monthly visits to different Nebraska towns and cities. In every community, we ask the assembled locals about their most pressing concerns. Without fail, someone immediately answers: Housing.
Reporter Natalia Alamdari delivered an important, well-written story this week on how a lack of available, affordable, livable homes is harming small town Nebraska.
Rough week for Nebraska journalism: On Wednesday, the corporate parent of the Omaha World-Herald laid off executive editor Randy Essex and longtime metro editor Connie White. It was a terrible gut punch for the state’s biggest newsroom, where I was proud to work for 16 years. And it negatively impacts Nebraska journalism and nearly every media outlet, too, including this one. Fellow OWH alum Matt Wynn and I decided to say this about it on social media:
Here at the Flatwater Free Press, we are building something that supports Nebraska journalism. That grows it. We don’t want to see any part of it torn down. That includes our friends and allies at our invaluable media partner, the Omaha World-Herald.
We respect executive editor Randy Essex and admire longtime editor Connie White. We were shocked and saddened to learn of their layoffs. Randy’s departure is a body blow to Nebraska journalism. Connie’s strikes us as particularly cruel even by the cold standards of modern corporate media.
When we say Nebraska Needs Journalists, we mean all of us. Including, especially, those dedicated reporters, photographers and editors who still got up and went to work this morning at the Omaha World-Herald.
They will continue to show up at the Legislature and City Hall to hold leaders accountable. They will continue to partner with us on our important joint series on Nebraska’s troubled prison system. They will continue to find and tell important stories in every nook and cranny of our state’s largest city.
We support them. We need them.
We think you do, too.
Sincerely,
—Matt Wynn and Matthew Hansen
PS: Just a reminder: We’re having a get-together this coming Wednesday, February 23, on the future of journalism in Nebraska. This first of several Flatwater Forums will be at 5:30 in the Ashton Building in North Downtown, Omaha. There are still a few seats left; RSVP for the in-person event here. Or join virtually from anywhere by registering here.
Here’s what we’re into this week: News from around Nebraska
Every week we like to share great Nebraska journalism, no matter who made it. Here’s what caught our eye this week:
- The OWH’s Dirk Chatelain has forever been one of my favorite writers. So when I saw he had a big story on the emergence of girls’ wrestling in Nebraska, you better believe I was settling immediately onto the couch to read it.
- The petition drive to get a more restrictive voting law — Voter ID — on the Nebraska ballot has one major funder. It’s the governor’s mother. Here’s a story I didn’t know about, courtesy of longtime Nebraska watchdog reporter Joe Jordan.
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