Is O'Banion's Bar & Grill Still Open? Bar Rescue Update (Bellevue, NE)

On the "Hostile Takeover" episode of Bar Rescue (aired March 9, 2014), Jon Taffer visited O'Banion's Bar & Grill in Bellevue, Nebraska, co-owned since 2005 by Jerry, his brother Dave, and their friend Steve, with all three having put up their homes as collateral to buy the bar. The bar had removed its kitchen equipment years earlier to cut costs, and Jerry, who held a 40% stake, had begun drinking heavily on the premises and making customers uncomfortable. Taffer showed Dave and Steve, who together held 60% of the business, footage of Jerry's behavior and encouraged them to use their majority stake to take over daily management, prompting the confrontation the show's title referenced.

After Jerry returned sober and asked to be part of the turnaround, Taffer brought in mixologist Trevor Frye and chef Nick Liberato, fixed the plumbing behind an overflowing grease trap, and reinstalled kitchen equipment so the bar could serve food again. Because the bar sits near Offutt Air Force Base, Taffer invited local airmen to the stress test, which the understaffed and undertrained team initially struggled to handle. Jerry stayed sober through the process and was ultimately given back full responsibility alongside his partners. For the relaunch, the bar was renamed Sorties Tavern with an Air Force-themed interior.

At the standard six-week follow-up, producers reported that food sales had doubled and that Jerry had maintained sobriety. According to a 2023 status review, the three original owners sold the bar in 2016 through a public listing that cited medical reasons, and new owners have continued operating it under the Sorties Tavern name and general concept since. Customer reviews posted after the ownership change describe continued service under the new owners, though a precise street-level match for the property could not be produced using standard geocoding tools, as the bar sits within Offutt Air Force Base's Capehart housing area.