OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — A longtime Omaha Tex-Mex restaurant has closed its doors after more than 40 years in business.
Julio's announced the closure on its website and Facebook page.
Julio's is the second longtime local restaurant to close this month. 11-Worth Cafe shut its doors last week.
More on this story: Julio's owners talk closure and reflect back on 40+ years in Omaha
Read a message that Julio's posted to customers and staff below:
Thank You, Omaha
What a strange trip. And what a strange year.
It is hard to say these words:
Julio’s has shut its doors for good.
This decision was difficult, but the right one. Seasons come and go, and Julio’s has been through over 40 years of them. Through blizzards and heat waves; tornadoes and ice storms; floods and now pandemics, Julio’s has been in the business of making nachos, margaritas and friendships in Omaha and beyond for a long time. The amount of relationships we have made is countless and too many to list here….
…but you know who you are.
To our customers:
What can we say? Thank you for being the only table during the ice storm and thank you for having to sit somewhere other than your normal table when there was a screaming bachelorette party where you normally have dinner. Thank you for playing in the golf tournament. Thank you for eating that mistake we sent out instead of the same item you ate for 20 years and not complaining. Thank you for tipping more to our staff on slow nights. Thank you for donating to Julio’s’ charities. Thank you for calling to let us know you wouldn’t be in on your regular night. Thank you for drinking the “other” beer because we were out of yours. Thank you for letting us know something you heard that might affect our business.…And thank you for inviting us into your homes to feed you, your friends, and family. Thank you for letting us feed you during your weddings and Bar Mitzvahs and school functions and poker parties and Baptisms and funerals and wherever else you invited us to be a part of your lives. You were the backbone to our business, and we cannot thank you enough.
To all of our former and present staff:
What an amazing family. Not to mention the parties, the trips, the road rallies, the Holiday Parties, the marriages, the kids, the coming back years later to pick up shifts in between jobs, the opening of NEW bars and restaurants, the moving on to build lives and families all over the world and ALL THE SUCCESS that came with it— we are so proud to have worked with all of you and say you were a part of our Julio’s family. We will never forget the stories and fun times. Every restaurant says they could make a TV series about their place, but Julio’s really could make an entertaining one, don’t you think?
To our purveyors:
Thank you for your goods and services. But that is not why we did business with you. We did business with the people we called friends. And you supported us through ups and downs like friends do. Some of you will continue to be our friends for the rest of our lives.
To all of you:
Your local restaurants need you now more than ever. Losing local flavor converts Omaha into something so much less unique. And that means supporting minority-owned restaurants as well. Omaha has always been a leader in variety of dining and in numbers of restaurants. Keep Omaha Original!
We bid you all the best and THANKS FOR EVERYTHING;
We’ll see you around.
Dave & Tiffany Mainelli, Tony Mainelli, and Matt Mainelli
