OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – With the countdown to 2024 well underway, one Omaha restaurant is looking forward to a new beginning, despite months of ups and downs and the imminent closure of business.
For some, 2024 could be a year to try something new. It's certainly part of Nick Maestas' plan.
“We might even try hosting a brunch and see if we can expand our customer base a little.”
Maestas owns Muchachos, a taco shop on 13th Street in Little Bohemia, south of downtown Omaha.
He opened Muchachos in Omaha about eight months ago after his food truck in Lincoln and his brick-and-mortar store there found great success.
Brunch at Muchachos is not typical. They usually don't open until 11am
But the idea to give brunch a shot the day before New Year's came after Maestas decided to permanently close the doors of its Omaha location.
“December 30 was supposed to be the last day here,” he told 6 News. “We were going to close on Saturday and, you know, enough funds came together to keep the lights on, pay the rent and maintain payroll.”
Maestas says the Omaha location has been struggling for months.
“Given how much demand we had to move here, I guess I was a little surprised by the low numbers we had,” he says. “I really wanted it to work.”
Funds to keep the restaurant running came from a flood of customers who saw Maestas asking for help on social media; a last attempt to save his restaurant.
“It was one of the hardest days I’ve had as a business owner,” Maestas added.
He started an online fundraiser after seeing it save another local business in Lincoln. Maestas was hesitant to speak to 6 News because he felt it was selfish to start the fundraiser.
“I didn’t know what else to do, I tried everything,” he said. “I've tried to cut our costs, I've tried to reduce hours, I've tried everything except working full time in the background and cutting people like I don't want to do that.”
He knew the fundraiser probably wouldn't raise enough to save the company, but he cared about his employees.
“The GoFundMe was more about making sure my team had a grace period so they could look for other work and do what they needed to do, and that's what these funds were intended for.”
But with the fundraiser came customers. Many of them.
“The same night it started, we had our best night in months, and every single day for the entire week we were up 300% over the week before.”
The fundraiser, he says, just didn't suit him.
After seeing the recovery and uptick in business, he decided to give back every penny of the nearly $6,000 in donations that came in.
“It was great to see, it was heartwarming, but at the same time it just never felt [right]“You know, I’d rather have people, butts in the seats,” he adds.
Although the future of his business is still uncertain, Maestas enters 2024 with a renewed sense of gratitude for his customer base.
He also has a new sense of energy and hustle – which led to Sunday brunch.
“More than anything, we love serving people and finding new and fun ways to keep people coming back, to keep people coming back during the traditionally slow months of January, February and March for all restaurants. [we’ll be] I’m trying to find creative ways to keep the doors open during this time.”
Maestas leaves the community with a reminder as we head into 2024: Support the locals.
“As a consumer, I just hope that people remember not to think of your local restaurants, local bakeries and cafes as dirty words because without tipping in the seats it will go away, and very quickly.”
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