Hollywood Diner

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:00 am

The wife and I ate at the Hollywood Diner for the first time earlier this evening. Food and service is good... the atmosphere is great. I can't imagine any more authentic diner setting. Looks like they're picking up some good business from the hotel next door and airport traffic. I guess it's common knowledge now... they're building another Hollywood Diner at 156th and Maple.

projectman · Post by **projectman** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:03 am

You've sparked my curiosity Jeff. The wife and I will have to eat dinner there soon.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:25 am

Looks like they've got some pretty cool movie memorabilia.

There's actually quite a few vintage diners still operating in the Hollywood area, so the name is kind of apripo.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 1:22 am

edsas wrote:There's actually quite a few vintage diners still operating in the Hollywood area, so the name is kind of apripo.

I think they're called the Hollywood Diner because they brought the diner (and the one at the new location) actually from Hollywood.

Post by **Brad** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 1:33 am

When the Diner on 156 and maple opens, just remember, I had a part in drawing the land it sits on.

(my new job)

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 2:02 am

I'm not sure where the one at Maple came from... but the diner on Abbott was found in Colorado while the owner and his wife were on vacation (apparently a spontaneous purchase decision).

The Hollywood name comes from all the memorabilia... the menu features items like the Reuben Williams and Triple Robert Stack Club, etc. Although it was closed off... one part of the diner features a screen running old movies as well.

They've even got Hollywood Diner shirts, frizbees, other souvenirs etc to take home with you.

Found this Denver Post article...

Carter Lake, Iowa - A Colorado landmark has found a second home in this Omaha suburb. Named Shake, Rattle and Roll when it was open in Sterling, the vintage 1950s-style diner assumed its new identity as the Hollywood Diner in April.

Owner Larry Richling said the restaurant's first 30 days have been wildly successful. So successful, in fact, that a second diner is on its way.

Last fall, Richling was vacationing in Colorado with his wife, Mary, when they needed a tank of gas. Richling thought the price was too high at the first station he passed.

The second station, in Sterling, was more reasonable.

While he was stopped for a fill-up, a shimmering building across the street caught his eye. The diner was vacant and had a "For Sale" sign in the window.

Richling, 51, has always had a passion for '50s memorabilia and had always dreamed of opening a diner, he said.

He crossed the street, walked off the diner's dimensions and returned home to Omaha.

Days later, the Shake, Rattle and Roll - and the ground it sat on - were his, a tidy $250,000 transaction. All that was left was getting the diner home. In December, Richling hired a crew to disassemble the prefab diner, load it onto a truck and drive it east.

Several days and about $50,000 later, it was unloaded onto a lot next to another of Richling's enterprises, the Country Inn Suites in Carter Lake, Iowa, near Omaha's Eppley Airfield. That's about six blocks from the dock of his River City Star riverboat.

"It's a nice fit," said Richling, "and it's a great location. The community has really embraced us."

He furnished the stainless- steel cafe with neon lights and, from his private collection, photographs of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. A full-service soda fountain and a drive-in theater - actually a plasma-screen TV that plays vintage movies at all hours - complete the decor.

The Hollywood Diner can hold more than 100 people inside and, when the weather cooperates, 46 on the patio. They can choose from a menu that includes the "Elvis, Baby" - peanut butter and bananas on white bread, fried - and the "To Sirloin with Love" steak and eggs.

"It is a different experience than what is currently available in the metropolitan area," Richling said. "The atmosphere is all about the sounds and the sights; the clanging of the plates, the sound of the open kitchen and the old-fashioned soda fountain make it interesting."

Six years ago Richling formed the Keystone Group, a company that owns apartment buildings, ministorage garages, the hotel, rentable bicycles, a riverboat and the catering company that serves it. And now that he has dabbled in the diner business, Richling is ready for more. He hopes to open as many as seven diners in the next few years.

"I just bought another diner on eBay for $150,000," he said last week from his Omaha office. "We're moving it from Jacksonville, Ill., into western Omaha."

Talk of franchising the Hollywood Diner has been bandied about, but Richling is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"We are doing our own thing right now, and we will see where the future leads," he said

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:52 pm

Wow, if I had "the wife" I would take it there. Where can I find "the Wife"?

Anyway, cool photos, Jeff. Were the prices pretty reasonable?

Harpoon · Post by **Harpoon** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 5:56 pm

Jhuston... I thought you didn't go out to eat much

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 8:19 pm

Keyword... much.

(other keyword for Aaron... WIFE... yes, thank you)

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:39 am

That diner looks pretty sweet on the inside. Though I wish it was nestled snuggly under a ten story building at the corner of a block of dense apartment buildings.

Hollywood is a dirtyword.

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 5:14 pm

They were moving dirt today for the Diner north of 156th and Maple.

papiostud · Post by **papiostud** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 4:34 pm

I ate there back around 4.20 when they opened...the place is great. I had the 1 pound bacon cheeseburger...soooooo good. I think they even have a 1 1/2 pound? I'm due to go back soon. When does the one on Maple open?

Post by **nebugeater** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:43 pm

Any idea if there are plans for another Hollywood Diner ? On Friday I was up by Fremont, on the N side of town actually. There is a Lot where they sell and display prebuilt homes, not the ones that are a trailer but the ones that sit on a foundation and are stick built. It sits on the N side if town where the Hwy 275 bypass rejoins where the Hwy 275 though town routs come back together. Anyway, on the lot with the homes there was what I am fairly sure was a SS diner like the two that are in use in Omaha. It was in two pieces and up on stands. Looked like it had been moved in and staged there for a planned stay for a while. Not 100% sure and wish I had a camera with but it sure looked like another one to me. Maybe there are plans for something like this in Fremont. The area sure is growing.

Post by **nebugeater** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:54 am

Was up through Fremont last Sunday. Noticed that the "diner" was not sitting where it was a couple of weeks back. Before I was out of town I noticed that it was now being put back together from the two pieces and set up to the East of Wal-Mart across the highway from the Applebee's This is the area where all the grading is taking place for the Menards going up in Fremont. Anyone know if this is another Diner associated with the two in Omaha?

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:26 am

nebugeater wrote: Anyone know if this is another Diner associated with the two in Omaha?

I don't think it's associated with the Omaha Diner's..Someone correct me if I'm wrong..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:12 pm

This talk of Wheatfields and Shirleys got me thinking ...

Has anybody ever been to that Hollywood Diner on the road to the airport? If so, is it good?

I >>NEVER<< see any cars whenever I pass by there.

Last time I flew in on a morning flight, I was hungry, and I assumed they would be open for breakfast, but they were closed, locked up tight! (A diner closed for breakfast? Go figure!)

Anyway, I've never eaten there but I've always been curious about it. I know they opened a new one on 90 and Maple, but I haven't been to that one either.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:14 pm

The one by my house on 90th and maple seems to have a lot of cars there.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 5:03 pm

Omababe wrote:Has anybody ever been to that Hollywood Diner on the road to the airport? If so, is it good?

Never been there myself, but what I've heard is good, which I would assume led them to open more locations, beings that was the first one.

SabrinaFaire · Post by **SabrinaFaire** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 6:54 pm

Brad wrote:The one by my house on 90th and maple seems to have a lot of cars there.

We live near there and have been to that location several times. It's decent. Pretty good for breakfast. I don't really like their fries though.

Post by **Brad** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 11:59 pm

Hollywood diner on Maple has closed. I talked to a very reliable source that knows about the property and he replied "No Comment".

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 6:36 pm

There was an article in the paper today that that one at 90th & Maple had closed as they couldnt pay the rent and the other two 156 & Maple and out by the airport were 'surviving' They did a lot of remodeling on that building at 90 & Maple.

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:11 am

Uffda wrote:There was an article in the paper today that that one at 90th & Maple had closed as they couldnt pay the rent

and the other two 156 & Maple and out by the airport were 'surviving'

I really don't understand how the one by the airport survives. I've been kinda watching it and there never seems to be any cars there, any time!

I would think they would do an amazing breakfast business, capturing the crowd heading out to the airport for a morning flight.

They did a lot of remodeling on that building at 90 & Maple.

Oh, you mean remodeling such as this?

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:53 am

no, they just paid DTO $20 and told him to drive over from Jim & Jennie's.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:00 am

I've only ever crashed into a wall once. Oddly enough it was a pink car too.

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:48 pm

DTO Luv wrote:I've only ever crashed into a wall once. Oddly enough it was a pink car too.

Of course it was....

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:09 pm

I'm not joking it was my Grandma's Mercury Cougar. I don't really know what I was thinking but I ran it straight into a wall. Nothing major though.

bbinks · Post by **bbinks** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:54 am

This is too bad. That location did not have the best parking capacity. Access was iffy. Their food is great though.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:31 pm

The pink car is gone now...

guitarguy · Post by **guitarguy** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:38 pm

I wonder what they could put there that could survive?
-adam

bbinks · Post by **bbinks** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:22 pm

While on 156th today, it appears that the location at 156th & Spaulding is now closed.

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:06 pm

been closed for a month or two at least

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:40 pm

We know know where the Hollywood Diner is headed. Drove through Fremont over the weekend and saw a sign along Hwy 77 In front of the Hotel that is on the North end of town. It said, coming soon MELS DINER so I had been doing a bit of searching to see waht was going there, Today this was in the Fremont paper

http://fremonttribune.com/news/local/ar ... 03286.html

Fremonters gathered throughout the day Wednesday to watch as a large crane and several semis delivered and assembled Fremont's newest restaurant.

The building, built in several sections, was formerly the Hollywood Diner near 156th Street and Maple Road in Omaha.

Craig Corn, owner of Nifty 50s and Mac's Cafe, saw an opportunity for the building after the diner closed.

Corn purchased the building and with the help of one large crane and a group of experts from Florida, the building was taken apart Tuesday and loaded on trucks.

The five specialists from Ormond Beach, Fla., including a roofer, electrician and plumber, have assembled more than 200 of the restaurant buildings and have unique experience with the inner workings of the buildings.

Wednesday morning the trucks rolled in to Fremont, each carrying sections of the buildings, with the three largest sections weighing 55,000 to 68,000 pounds.

Read more: http://fremonttribune.com/news/local/ar ... z1Um5T78q1

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:34 am

Hollywood Diner totally baffles me!

I don't see how they could possibly fail with that model at 156th. or at 90th. and Maple, but keep the one by the airport open, the one which never seems to have any cars at it.

I must be missing something here!

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:48 am

Hollywood Diner totally baffles me!

I don't see how they could possibly fail with that model at 156th. or at 90th. and Maple, but keep the one by the airport open, the one which never seems to have any cars at it.

I must be missing something here!

Warren Buffett!

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:52 am

skinzfan23 wrote:Warren Buffett!

Does BH own HD?

HuskerDave · Post by **HuskerDave** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 10:37 am

Omababe wrote:Hollywood Diner totally baffles me!

I don't see how they could possibly fail with that model at 156th. or at 90th. and Maple, but keep the one by the airport open, the one which never seems to have any cars at it.

I must be missing something here!

I have eaten at Hollywood Diner only a couple of times, because the locations haven't been convenient for me; but if you haven't been there, you are missing out. The food is really good, portions are large, the menu is diverse, and the cost is reasonable. The desserts are incredible. I've always had decent service, too.

For whatever reason, they just don't get a lot of business, though. I'm not sure if the 50's diner theme is just not vogue enough, or what it could be. Maybe it's just too campy for your average diner.

cp jay 07 · Post by **cp jay 07** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:56 pm

Omababe wrote:
skinzfan23 wrote:Warren Buffett!
Does BH own HD?

He takes all of his visitors who come into town there a lot I guess. I heard that Jay Z ate there with him not to long ago.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:57 pm

He takes all of his visitors who come into town there a lot I guess. I heard that Jay Z ate there with him not to long ago

He also has taken Bill Gates and Steve Forbes there as well.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:02 pm

skinzfan23 wrote:
He takes all of his visitors who come into town there a lot I guess. I heard that Jay Z ate there with him not to long ago
He also has taken Bill Gates and Steve Forbes there as well.

Didn't he take LeBron there too?

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 1:29 pm

The food is good. It is baffling the one down by the airport is still open. I've never seen a crowd there.

They tore out the building at the one on 156th this week.

Greg