Papa Calveti's (29th and Farnam)

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:47 am

There used to be a restaurant that was across from Godfather's on about 29th and Farnam. I believe it was a spaghetti/Italian type place that also had a really nice outdoor area. Anybody remember this and the name?

Greg

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 10:57 pm

Park Place or something like that. They had a great outdoor beer garden, and for a while they featured telephones on every table inside. Each table had a number and if you wanted to speak to someone at a particular table you picked up your phone and dialed their table number. That feature didn't last long. The food was a lot like what Goldberg's offers now. It was a nice place, and I am sorry it isn't still open. This goes back to the late 70s and early 80s.

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:25 pm

Greg S wrote:There used to be a restaurant that was across from Godfather's on about 29th and Farnam. I believe it was a spaghetti/Italian type place that also had a really nice outdoor area. Anybody remember this and the name?

I remember this quite well, but can't think of the name. It had a menu typical of the "Spaghetti Factory" genre, but it was more quiet and intimate than those types of places. Right on the corner of Park Avenue. I'm sure I'll remember the name right after I post this.

mrdwhsr · Post by **mrdwhsr** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:49 pm

Omababe wrote: I'm sure I'll remember the name right after I post this.

Still waiting....

lpgforms · Post by **lpgforms** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 4:56 pm

Wasnt it Sgt Pfeffers or something like that? I seem to remember around my CU days - late 80's

Red · Post by **Red** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:15 am

I know my spelling is off...........but thinking back about 25 years ago (which isn't easy)..........I believe it was called "Papa Calvetties." ???

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:20 am

Still waiting....

The way-aay-ting is the hard-est part!

Red wrote:I know my spelling is off...........but thinking back about 25 years ago (which isn't easy)..........I believe it was called "Papa Calvetties." ???

Wow, that sounds familiar. Calveti's, maybe? I'm trying to think back and it was early 1980s.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:28 pm

I think it actually changed names and formats at least once. This was back in the late 1970s into the 1980s. I also remember a few LGBT events on the back patio.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:32 am

Papa Calveti's was what I was trying to remember, thanks! Everytime I drove by there I tried to remember. I used to go there in the mid to late 80's.

Greg

ireybob · Post by **ireybob** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 3:16 pm

I was a close friend of Jim Overton. He was involved with many different venues and restaurants in Omaha. I first met him at "The Jackson 1022" (10th St at Jackson) when I was 15. The "1022" was way ahead of its time. It looked like it belonged in NYC, and it failed in the early 80's. Papa Calvetti's was a booming success. There was a really cool patio space in the alleyway between the back of the building and the apartment building next door on Park Ave. Their chef Betty died of cancer in about 1982. Jim's mother Pat stepped in and they leased the building next door due east. "Jim and Pat's" was a family style restaurant, and it didn't last long. The whole thing went under. Jim's ex partner was Bill "Billy" Johnette, co-founder of "The Neon Goose" on 10th St. Bill had moved on, and partnered up with chef Malcolm "Mac" Thompson when the "Goose" opened. I was a teenager at the time, and have fond memories of both Papa C's and The Goose.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Fri Dec 20, 2024 4:32 pm

ireybob wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2024 3:16 pm I was a close friend of Jim Overton. He was involved with many different venues and restaurants in Omaha. I first met him at "The Jackson 1022" (10th St at Jackson) when I was 15. The "1022" was way ahead of its time. It looked like it belonged in NYC, and it failed in the early 80's. Papa Calvetti's was a booming success. There was a really cool patio space in the alleyway between the back of the building and the apartment building next door on Park Ave. Their chef Betty died of cancer in about 1982. Jim's mother Pat stepped in and they leased the building next door due east. "Jim and Pat's" was a family style restaurant, and it didn't last long. The whole thing went under. Jim's ex partner was Bill "Billy" Johnette, co-founder of "The Neon Goose" on 10th St. Bill had moved on, and partnered up with chef Malcolm "Mac" Thompson when the "Goose" opened. I was a teenager at the time, and have fond memories of both Papa C's and The Goose.

Yeah that outdoor area was great. I loved that place.

Didn't Bill Johnette also start Billy Frogg's? I want to say Scribbles as well.

ireybob · Post by **ireybob** » Sat Dec 21, 2024 4:46 pm

Malcom "Mac" Thompson. From 1979 -1997 he was the co-owner of the Neon Goose with Bill Johnette. He partnered in the YoYo Grill, and opened Taxi’s in 2002 with Bill and sold it in 2017. He owned Catagory One Kitchen Gourmet. Mac and Travis Freeman opened Mantra in 2012. When Mac retired, he moved to Palm Springs. (from his obit)

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