Bartenders with Tenure
The staff at Sullivan’s know their way around a bar
Dan Houlihan takes pride in his staff at Sullivan’s Bar.
“We’re all professionals,” he said of his small staff of bartenders at the midtown bar that’s been open since 1954.
Houlihan has owned Sullivan’s for almost 10 years now and he touts the fact that all of his staff members are trained, professional bartenders, which makes it so any customer’s order can be readily made. That ability to make whatever a customer wants sets Sullivan’s apart from the average neighborhood bar.
“Everyone here knows what the hell they’re doing,” Houlihan said.
He said that’s what he looked for in people he has hired at the bar and how his staff has gelled as a team over each member’s tenure at Sullivan’s. Now Houlihan bets he has one of the best staff longevities of any midtown bar.
Part of that is owed to the comfortable, inviting atmosphere of the place, he said. It makes for a bartending environment that is very low stress.
“It’s a good vibe here, so they stay,” he said.
The vibe carries over to the clientele, which ranges from neighborhood residents to college-aged patrons. Part of the challenge is encouraging a good mix of people to frequent the bar.
“That’s the precedent we set,” Houlihan said.
The bar keeps a weekly set of specials and entertainment, starting with dollar domestic pints on Monday, a Tuesday night retro beer night with deals on Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz and other similar beers and a Thursday night karaoke that often draws a big crowd.
Houlihan said Sullivan’s has been an investment in midtown. When he first took over the bar, the neighborhood was kind of blighted, he said.
“I took a chance on this place 10 years ago,” he said.
Houlihan said he jumped at the chance to own Sullivan’s, having known of it for years when he was growing up in midtown.
Recent battles to take care of a problem bar across the street from Sullivan’s also were stressful, but now things are looking up in midtown, Houlihan said.
Down the block, Midtown Crossing at Turner Park is bringing in a rebirth that Houlihan said he has felt was coming when he first bought Sullivan’s.
“I’m seeing it evolve before my eyes,” he said.
Now he’s banking on Sullivan’s iconic status as one of Omaha’s older midtown lounges, coupled with its professional, tenured staff to cement its status as a must-stop bar in the area.
“We’re just a good,well-rounded bar,” he said.