Omaha, Nebraska · Founded 1922
A Kawa-family Omaha steakhouse that grew from Frank Kawa's 1922 stockyards bar into a third-generation restaurant.
Johnny's Cafe began in 1922 when Polish immigrant Frank Kawa bought a bar called Johnny's near Omaha's stockyards and expanded its food service. By the 1930s it had become a steakhouse, and local historical reporting places its move to 4702 South 27th Street in 1934. The restaurant remains run by the Kawa family, now in its third generation.
Frank Kawa buys a bar called Johnny's near 27th and L Streets in South Omaha and adds sandwiches, beginning the Kawa family's restaurant business.
Source: KETV, "Omaha's iconic steakhouse celebrates 100 years," March 9, 2022; Flatwater Free Press, "Johnny's, iconic Stockyards steakhouse, turns 100," March 7, 2022
Local historical reporting places Johnny's move to its current 4702 South 27th Street location in this year.
Source: Omaha Exploration, "History of Johnny's Cafe in Omaha," December 5, 2023
Frank Kawa dies, and his sons Jack and Tom take over the restaurant in the early 1960s.
Source: Clio, "Johnny's Cafe"; Johnny's Cafe, "About"
A two-year renovation in the 1970s reshapes the restaurant, including the brass steer-horn entrance doors and changes to the dining-room mural.
Source: Omaha Exploration, "History of Johnny's Cafe in Omaha," December 5, 2023; Johnny's Cafe, "About"
Jack Kawa's daughters, Sally Kawa and Kari Harding, assume day-to-day operations as the third generation of the family business.
Source: Johnny's Cafe, "About"; KETV, "Omaha's iconic steakhouse celebrates 100 years," March 9, 2022
The Omaha Stockyards close, but Johnny's Cafe continues to operate as an independent restaurant.
Source: Flatwater Free Press, "Steak Town USA: Omaha's 103-year-old steakhouse," November 26, 2025
Independent reporting identifies Johnny's Cafe as open and run by Sally Kawa, Kari Harding and Jack Kawa.
Source: Flatwater Free Press, "Steak Town USA: Omaha's 103-year-old steakhouse," November 26, 2025
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
KETV and Flatwater Free Press both report that Frank Kawa bought a bar called Johnny's in 1922 near 27th and L Streets, then developed it into a restaurant. This review did not inspect the original bill of sale, license, lease, or city-directory entry.
KETV and Flatwater Free Press report three generations of Kawa-family ownership and operation, with Sally Kawa and Kari Harding managing day-to-day operations alongside Jack Kawa. The candidate's asserted title and municipal-license records were not reviewed, so the claim is not rated documented.
The business began near 27th and L Streets in 1922. Local historical reporting places its move to the current 4702 South 27th Street address in 1934, so the present location cannot be described as the 1922 site.
Local history and the restaurant's own account place installation of the brass steer-horn doors during a major two-year renovation in the 1970s. The exact 1972 date was not verified through permits, invoices, photographs, or design records.
The stockyards closed in 1999, but Johnny's Cafe remained open. Independent reporting in 2025 documents continuing operations, family management and current service at the South 27th Street location.
The restaurant's active official site lists current hours, reservations contact, address and telephone number. Independent reporting in 2025 also identifies active service at the same address.
Johnny's Cafe has always operated at 4702 South 27th Street.
Johnny's began near 27th and L Streets in 1922. Local historical reporting says the business moved to 4702 South 27th Street in 1934.
Source: Omaha Exploration, "History of Johnny's Cafe in Omaha," December 5, 2023; KETV, "Omaha's iconic steakhouse celebrates 100 years," March 9, 2022
The current Johnny's Cafe building was built in 1922.
The reviewed sources establish 1922 as the business-start year near 27th and L Streets, not as the construction date of the current 4702 South 27th Street building.
Source: KETV, "Omaha's iconic steakhouse celebrates 100 years," March 9, 2022; Omaha Exploration, "History of Johnny's Cafe in Omaha," December 5, 2023
Johnny's Cafe closed when the Omaha Stockyards shut down in 1999.
The restaurant remained open after the stockyards closed and is still operating as a Kawa-family business.
Source: Flatwater Free Press, "Steak Town USA: Omaha's 103-year-old steakhouse," November 26, 2025
Commercial titles and municipal licenses prove uninterrupted Kawa-family ownership from 1922 onward.
Independent reporting strongly supports three generations of Kawa-family ownership and operation, but the claimed property-title and municipal-license documentation was not reviewed in this audit.
Source: KETV, "Omaha's iconic steakhouse celebrates 100 years," March 9, 2022; Flatwater Free Press, "Steak Town USA: Omaha's 103-year-old steakhouse," November 26, 2025
Johnny's Cafe has survived because it developed beyond its original stockyards-worker clientele into a multigenerational Omaha restaurant. The Kawa family maintained the business through the founder's death, the 1999 closure of the stockyards, and shifting dining fashions, while preserving the restaurant's distinctive twentieth-century character.
Johnny's Cafe traces its beginning to 1922, when Frank Kawa bought a bar called Johnny's near 27th and L Streets by the Omaha Stockyards. KETV and Flatwater Free Press report that he expanded its sandwich service and developed it into the restaurant that became Johnny's Cafe.
Yes. KETV and Flatwater Free Press report that Johnny's Cafe remains a third-generation Kawa-family business. Sally Kawa and Kari Harding are identified as running day-to-day operations with their father, Jack Kawa.
No. Johnny's began near 27th and L Streets in 1922. Local historical reporting says the restaurant moved to 4702 South 27th Street in 1934.
Yes. The Omaha Stockyards closed in 1999, but Johnny's Cafe remained in business. Independent 2025 reporting documents the restaurant's continued operation as a Kawa-family steakhouse.
The brass steer-horn entrance doors were installed during a major renovation in the 1970s. The sources reviewed support the decade but do not establish the candidate's exact 1972 installation year.
Yes. Johnny's Cafe is operating at 4702 South 27th Street in Omaha. Its official site lists lunch and dinner hours Tuesday through Saturday, with Sunday and Monday closures; check the current schedule before visiting.
4702 S 27th St, Omaha, NE 68107
(402) 731-4774
The current site lists lunch and dinner service Tuesday through Saturday and closures Sunday and Monday; reserve or check current hours before visiting.