UNO Grads Collaborate on New Venture

Omaha – Some ideas just make perfect sense. Like this one: Omaha’s favorite ice cream shop teaming up with Omaha’s favorite food truck in Benson. A quartet of University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) graduates are going to make that happen.

David Burr (College of Business Administration, 2011) and Patrick Favara (College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media, 2011) own the Localmotive food truck. Joe Pittack (College of Business Administration, 2009) and Jeanne Ohira (College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media, 2004) are the co-owners of Ted and Wally’s. For the past four years Localmotive has been serving the late night crowd from Ted and Wally’s parking lot in the Old Market.

The two establishments are going to be under the same roof come November at 6023 Maple Street in Benson.

“We feel like this couldn’t be a better partnership,” said Burr. “We’ve entertained several different opportunities, and for whatever reason, none of them felt like the right situation for us.”

“Timing is everything,” added Favara. “There’s no better fit than this situation.”

Pittack purchased the new building and is leading the restoration project. Just like the Ted and Wally’s in the Old Market, it is an old auto body shop. The plan is to keep the original interior intact as much as possible.

Burr and Favara said that both businesses can help each other with some of the seasonal affects that they experience. Not as many people are in the mood for ice cream during Nebraska’s frigid winters, and sometimes the cold can deter people from waiting outside Localmotive’s truck.

“If we can get people in the door for food during the winter, then they are more likely to also grab a scoop of ice cream,” said Burr.

Favara also said that the Benson location gives Localmotive an opportunity to reach a new demographic of customers.

“Availability is our biggest complaint,” said Favara.

Localmotive is usually open from 10 P.M. to 2:30 A.M. in the Old Market. Now they will operate during the same hours as Ted Wally’s. Burr and Favara are hopeful that the expanded hours will get more families through the door.

“This project will give us the consistency and the stability that we really want for our brand,” said Burr. “A restaurant is something that we have wanted to have for a long time.”

Going from a truck to a brick and mortar location is a big move, but that does not mean that the guys at Localmotive are satisfied just yet.

When asked if it was too early to look forward to the next step, Burr quickly replied: “It’s never too early.”

“As a business owner, if you are not doing that, you are going in the opposite direction.”

Once a Maverick, always a Maverick.