Anthony's Steakhouse in Omaha to Close After 55 Years in Business

Jan. 19, 2022, 10 a.m. ·

A red sign reads "Anthony's" on a building. A large cow figure is on top of the sign.
The large steer is visible from 72nd street in Omaha, and has been a hallmark of the restaurant since its first years open in the late 1960s. (Photo by Elizabeth Rembert, Nebraska Public Media News)

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A giant steer with “Anthony’s” painted on the side sits on top of Anthony’s Steakhouse in Omaha. For 55 years, he’s drawn diners inside to enjoy steak, seafood and pasta.

Now, owner Tony Fucinaro, Jr. says it’s time to retire and be with his family. The restaurant will close Feb. 26.

Sarah Baker Hansen was the food critic for the Omaha World-Herald, and now runs her own website covering Omaha’s food scene. To her, the city will lose more than just a dining spot when Anthony’s closes its doors.

"In Anthony's, I think you get a sense of what the steakhouse culture in Omaha used to be," she said. "You know, thinking about the history of Omaha and Little Italy and the Caniglia family and how it all started, it's really a story of immigrants who came here and made steak, of course, but also made fantastic spaghetti sauce."

Fucinaro took over the business from his father, who established the restaurant in 1967. Over the course of more than half a century, the dining room expanded and added the Ozone Lounge, where live music acts coaxed diners onto the dance floor. Baker Hansen said the lounge added a new aspect to the steakhouse.

"It kept people going there for this very sort of specific, kind of charming, old school reason to go dancing."

Anthony’s is the latest Omaha steakhouse to close its doors. The Original Caniglia’s Italian Steakhouse, Angie’s Restaurant and Mister C’s Steakhouse are a few that have also shuttered in the past 20 years.

"The list is getting longer and longer of the steak houses that have gone away. And I always feel like we lose a little bit of a piece of what food in Omaha has been about for such a long time," Baker Hansen said. "If people want to see those remaining old school school steak house to stay open, they need to support them."

Anthony’s will remain open until the last Saturday in February, so there’s still time to grab a selfie with that giant steer and enjoy a pound-and-a-half Porterhouse.