For many Lincoln residents, Grandmother's was more than just a restaurant and bar.
That's especially true for one couple.
While the building's demolition earlier this month prompted many to share their memories of time spent at the east Lincoln landmark, Russ Gasper made sure to get his hands on a piece of history that marks an important occasion for him and his wife — their first date.
In 1990, after much encouragement from his neighbor, the then-32-year-old Gasper signed up for Blue Moon Dating Services, which compiled profiles of individuals and set up dates for singles in Lincoln.
He met Anne in April that year, and the two talked for hours in a booth at Grandmother's.
Seven months later, they were married.
Anne, a then-26-year-old graduate student from Chicago, didn't plan to stay in Lincoln. But after the two were married, they made a home here — and at Grandmother's.
For more than 25 years, they told their first date story to any Grandmother's employee who would listen.
Their three daughters eventually grew tired of hearing it every time they ate there, Russ Gasper said.
"We'd always try to sit in the same booth we first sat in. We weren't always successful, but we tried," he said.
The booth in question had a section of glass blocks to the exterior of the building, and Gasper says his wife has long talked about wanting to get some.
Listen now and subscribe: | | | |
So when he heard about the building being demolished, Gasper reached out to McCarthy Building Companies Inc., the contractors doing the work.
The demolition was to facilitate expansion at Nebraska Orthopaedic Center next door.
Daren Petersen, project manager for McCarthy Building Companies, and Beth Oligmueller, marketing coordinator for Nebraska Orthopaedic, began working together to find the blocks.
Luckily, when Gasper called about them, the contractors hadn't begun demolishing the east part of the building.
However, it wasn't easy getting the blocks out, Oligmueller says.
"When Tanner's Bar and Grill bought it in 2016, they destroyed the booths and covered the tile blocks with drywall," Oligmueller said. "So it was difficult for the contractors to not demolish the blocks while removing the drywall."
Just two days after Gasper initially called, Alec Wycoff, project assistant for McCarthy, cleaned the blocks and called Gasper to pick them up.
The Gaspers, Oligmueller says, weren't the only people interested in Grandmother's memorabilia.
Nebraska Orthopaedic received tons of calls from Lincoln residents who had proposed there or had another special event there.
"It was a place that many were fond of, so it makes sense that everyone wanted a little bit of Grandmother's to keep," Oligmueller says.
Luckily for Gasper, he was able to get his piece just in time to give to his wife for Christmas.
"She was very surprised and very emotional," he said. "She didn't think I'd actually be able to get the tiles, so it was a nice surprise."
Alec Wycoff (from left), superintendent at McCarthy Building Companies Inc., Russ Gasper and Daren Petersen, project manager at McCarthy, pose for a photo with the glass blocks recovered from Grandmother's restaurant.
Anne Tapley Gasper (left) and Russ Gasper, who met on a blind date at Grandmother's restaurant, pose for a photo with glass tile blocks from the restaurant's exterior wall Tuesday.
Russ Gasper (left) and Anne Tapley Gasper, who met on a blind date at Grandmother's restaurant, pose for a photo with glass tile blocks from the restaurant's exterior wall, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in Lincoln.