King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

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the1wags
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King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by the1wags »

From the Omaha World Herald...
"A company that lists Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne as a member has purchased the three-story downtown building that once housed Borsheims jewelry store and has housed the King Fong Cafe since 1920."

"Mike Moylan, who represented Third Eye Industries in the transaction, declined to disclose the partners. He said they intend to keep the tenants — King Fong and Sweets of Eden — and want to preserve the history of the building."

"Their intention is to keep the building exactly the way it is," Moylan said."

Link to the full Omaha W-H article.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... d=10179702
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Coyote
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by Coyote »

King Fongs is about to undergo major renovations. Anyone know what is going on here?
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skinzfan23
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by skinzfan23 »

Hopefully they don't ruin any of the historic charm the building and its furnishings provide. Maybe a menu upgrade would be nice though.
ShawJ
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by ShawJ »

I thought I remembered hearing a while back they were going to do a restoration on it, by Alley Poyner maybe? Maybe I imagined that.
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Coyote
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by Coyote »

ShawJ wrote:I thought I remembered hearing a while back they were going to do a restoration on it, by Alley Poyner maybe? Maybe I imagined that.
I thought I heard the same, but back after Payne bought the building and didn't know if that ever happened as I haven't been in there for years. But now that 16th is getting a facelift, Limelight is almost open with a restaurant announcement coming soon, I was wondering if this was a new or older project.
SaveOmaha
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by SaveOmaha »

Just called the restaurant. The employee I spoke to confirmed that there was going to be a renovation, but didn't know any of the details. They're definitely not going out of business though.
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skinzfan23
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by skinzfan23 »

SaveOmaha wrote:They're definitely not going out of business though.
Glad to hear that. This is one of the longest continually run restaurants in Omaha.
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Coyote
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by Coyote »

Oh, I never wanted to imply that King Fongs was closing, just that over $300K was going into the building.
SaveOmaha
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden building sold.

Post by SaveOmaha »

Coyote wrote:Oh, I never wanted to imply that King Fongs was closing, just that over $300K was going into the building.
Gotcha. That's great though, such a neat building. Where did the news come from?
Last edited by SaveOmaha on Thu Jul 21, 2022 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ItsAllAboutMe
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by ItsAllAboutMe »

Lund-Ross is on site today, renovation beginning. I don't know the scope of the project but I'm excited about the possibilities
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skinzfan23
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by skinzfan23 »

King Fong Cafe, Omaha’s oldest restaurant, closed until June
King Fong Cafe, Omaha’s oldest restaurant, is temporarily closed.
The greeting on the restaurant’s answering machine says the downtown spot will reopen for business in June.
Here is a picture of the restaurant from 1926.
Image
Imissomaha
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by Imissomaha »

I remember eating in King Fongs on Sundays 45 years ago. Still glad to see it's not closing. Many great memories. First place I ever used chop sticks.
daveoma
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by daveoma »

This is an Omaha gem. I hope it reopens bigger and more beautiful!
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loess hill lusting
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by loess hill lusting »

Does anyone know what the status is on King Fong?

Their Yelp page had had a warning stating they were closed till July 11th, which as of the 12th is no longer up there. However, I keep calling to see if they've reopened and I keep getting forwarded to a prerecorded message that they are closed for renovations.
omaha79
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by omaha79 »

Did King Fong's ever reopen?
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justnick
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by justnick »

omaha79 wrote:Did King Fong's ever reopen?
not yet
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nativeomahan
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by nativeomahan »

The sign in the door several months back said it would be open by June. Hmmmmm...
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skinzfan23
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by skinzfan23 »

Hopefully they do reopen at some point.
omaha79
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by omaha79 »

hmmmmm....3 months overdue. Makes me wonder if they will ever reopen? There seem to be no public updates on this. Maybe they are just done?
daveoma
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by daveoma »

omaha79 wrote:hmmmmm....3 months overdue. Makes me wonder if they will ever reopen? There seem to be no public updates on this. Maybe they are just done?
Please say it's not so. They are an institution :(
Professor Woland
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by Professor Woland »

It could also be that Alexander Payne wants it to be a top quality establishment when it reopens. Maybe they are waiting on a chef or arranging new suppliers and a new menu or something. I don't know anything about the restaurant business, but I assume there could be dozens of explanations for the delay that have nothing to do with the place closing permanently.
choke
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by choke »

Professor Woland wrote:It could also be that Alexander Payne wants it to be a top quality establishment when it reopens. Maybe they are waiting on a chef or arranging new suppliers and a new menu or something. I don't know anything about the restaurant business, but I assume there could be dozens of explanations for the delay that have nothing to do with the place closing permanently.

When it's been closed for this long, it doesn't look good. Recently, Harrington's (Village Point) and the Dundee Theater did the same thing and both met the same fate.
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Brad
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by Brad »

Story in today’s paper:

Alexander Payne is moving home to Omaha, where part of his latest film, ‘Downsizing,’ is set

http://www.omaha.com/living/alexander-p ... 7f85a.html

Says he is going to work on King Fong.
choke
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by choke »

Per Micah Mertes / World-Herald staff writer:

Alexander Payne is moving home to Omaha, where part of his latest film, ‘Downsizing,’ is set

http://www.omaha.com/living/alexander-p ... 7f85a.html
And it’s true I do own the building where King Fong used to be housed. And I’ll keep it vague, but my interest in buying the building was to make sure that Omaha has a King Fong restaurant in some form for the next 1,000 years.
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Coyote
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by Coyote »

Payne has owned that building for 10 years now. Built in 1880. Condition listed as "worn out"
image.jpeg
image.jpeg (111.77 KiB) Viewed 3100 times
Louie
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by Louie »

Coyote wrote:Payne has owned that building for 10 years now. Built in 1880. Condition listed as "worn out"
image.jpeg
Is that a legit condition listing?
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GetUrban
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by GetUrban »

Louie wrote:
Coyote wrote:Payne has owned that building for 10 years now. Built in 1880. Condition listed as "worn out"
image.jpeg
Is that a legit condition listing?
If so, to keep it alive, he won't have much choice but to re-create what has been there for so long...
Image
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings"
...and then they were gone.
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skinzfan23
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by skinzfan23 »

Can't wait to see King Fong reopen.
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iamjacobm
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by iamjacobm »

http://omahamagazine.com/articles/prese ... king-fong/

Interesting read on the history of the restaurant.
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skinzfan23
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Re: King Fong and Sweets of Eden Building.

Post by skinzfan23 »

I still hope that the restaurant will reopen as a chinese restaurant.
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