A local brewery will be giving a historic Omaha restaurant a new lease on life.
It was announced this week that Infusion Brewing company will be opening a new tap room in the historic old Bohemian Cafe. The Infusion Little Bohemia Beer Hall will occupy the northern section of the of the former Bohemian Cafe building at 1406 S. 13th street and be located next door to the recently announced Fizzy’s Fountain and Liquors. Fizzy's is the brainchild of popular Blackstone bar Nite Owl, and will occupy the southern portion of the iconic restaurant.
Infusion owner Bill Baburek tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB that he grew up in the area, and is honored to keep part of the Bohemian Cafe alive. "I grew up dining at the Bohemian Cafe, it was one of our favorite places to go eat. So, I've eaten there many, many, many times, and to be able to go in there and preserve some of that heritage...I believe it's probably the, if not one of the, most iconic restaurants in Omaha."
Baburek says the 2000 square foot taproom will spotlight all of Infusion’s popular year round and seasonal offerings, but will also have a focus on keeping parts of the Bohemian's Czech traditions alive. "We hope to do some Bohemian food catered in from time to time. We're gonna have polka music in there. We're gonna brew a Czech pilsner that'll be exclusively on tap at that location." Taproom customers won't be able to get any famed dumpling, as there won't be a kitchen on the premises, but local meats and cheeses will be available for snacking, along with warm pretzels.
Along with Czech food and music, Baburek says they'll also keep parts of the building itself intact. Although it won't look exactly the same, he says "The owners of the building have preserved a lot of the interior architectural elements. We will also maintain the decorative tile work outside and we're hoping to relight one of the Bohemian Cafe signs inside."
Infusion Brewing Company opened in October of 2013 in the historic Olson’s Meat Market in the revitalized Benson neighborhood. “We love the character of our building in Benson and feel we have an opportunity to also bring something special to Little Bohemia. For me and my family, it’s like coming home again; we couldn’t pass up this opportunity.” Baburek said.
After its founding in 2013, Infusion opened a production brewery in Southwest Omaha in 2016 in order to increase production and keep up with demand for its flagship beers. the Little Bohemia location will be the third location and Baburek hopes to have the South Omaha taproom open by late summer or early fall.