Research compiled by: Courtney K., Julianna C., Jaylen F.
This picture is of the menu to Time Out Take Out Chicken circa 1969. The prices on this menu are a lot cheaper than present day prices at Time Out Chicken. The top part of the menu is an advertisement for the new "Big Frank" hot dog. The Big Bob Burger, named after professional sports stars Bob Boozer and Bob Gibson, had already been established. This menu is from around the time Diane Mercer's parents purchased the restaurant. Time Out Chicken has been at 30th and Evans, in North Omaha, for 43 years. It has had some competition from other fried chicken restaurants but continues to do well. During the past years, it has been passed down from Ms. Mercer's parents to she and her brother, who currently run the restaurant.
Courtney, Julianna, and Jaylen trace the history of African American-owned businesses from the 1930s to the present day, even though the first black migrants arrived in Nebraska from southern states as early as the 1850s. Businesses owned by urban African Americans began to crop up along and near North 24th Street after 1920 when residential segregation created a clearly-defined African American neighborhood, and many white employers’ discriminatory policies made it difficult for blacks to hold lasting jobs. Segregation created a market for neighborhood family businesses, and “encouraged a distinct and flourishing black culture on Omaha’s Near North Side” (Ashley Howard).
Robins Drug store was located at 2306 N. 24th St in 1936. (Photo courtesy of the Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha)