Special Report: Stella’s Celebrates 85 Years in Bellevue

One of the longest, continuous family-owned businesses in Nebraska is celebrating 85 years of serving the Bellevue community.

Stella’s Bar & Grill, originally called Francois & Sullivan, opened in the summer of 1936 in the home of Al & Stella Sullivan on the corner of Betz Road and Lloyd Street. The couple had moved to Bellevue to operate a service station. While Al ran the station, Stella ran the tavern. Since the room was too small to hold many customers, Stella let them take their bottles outside. A few years later, Stella moved the tavern to a more prominent location a couple of blocks away. That same year Al passed away, leaving Stella to raise four children and operate two businesses. In 1949 the tavern moved to its current location – 106 Galvin Road South. Stella purchased the land (a former dairy farm) and renamed the tavern “Stella’s”. For the next 25 years, Stella ran her business with this philosophy: “Help others out of the kindness of your heart, without expecting anything in return”. In 1974 Stella’s son and daughter-in-law, Mary & Al Sullivan Jr., took over full-time management of Stella’s after she suffered a stroke. Stella passed away on April 3, 1985. Mary & Al Jr. retired in 2007 and, keeping things in the family, the bar is currently owned and operated by Stephanie, Pam, and Gene Francois. That year they closed Stella’s for several months while undergoing a major remodeling.

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I recently sat down with Stephanie, Pam, and Gene to discuss Stella’s past, present, and future.

What is your favorite menu item? 

Stephanie: The Staple Burger with Peanut Butter and Jalapeños

Gene: The Swiss Mushroom Burger with Everything and Jalapeño Bacon

Pam: The Brisket Burger (only served on Wednesdays and Thursdays)

Besides the hamburger and cheeseburger, what is your most ordered item?

The Pork Tenderloin and The Impossible Burger

What are some of the biggest challenges of the past few years?

Stephanie: The Pandemic, rising costs of supplies, and supply shortages.  Pam: Not having a drive-thru window when indoor dining was closed down. Being forced to constantly change our business practices in order to survive all the challenges presented by the Pandemic, and to protect our staff.

What was your most challenging day ever?

Before closing our doors for five weeks (Apr 20 – May 20) to “slow the spread” and protect our staff, we decided to close the dining room and offer curbside pickup for to-go’s only. Unfortunately, since we didn’t have a drive-thru window and to-go’s were not a major part of our business, we found the transition wasn’t easy. Our final day open happened to fall on a “Takeout Tuesday”. We posted that we were closing on social media, and a radio station encouraged listeners to come to support us.   The phones went wild, the lines to pick up food were long, the waits were way longer than we quoted,  and we were short-staffed. We were overwhelmed and did the best we could, but it was absolutely chaotic and nightmarish! Without a doubt, we were relieved when that day was over and then spent our time off brainstorming to make sure we were better prepared when we reopened.

Do you have a favorite memory of Stella’s? 

Stephanie: A few years ago, all of the girls from Stella’s rented a Hummer Limo and took out Don for his 92nd birthday. Don was one of our longtime customers. He would stop in at least once a day, sometimes twice. It’s a memory of how we get close to people that come in, and they become family.

Pam: For me, some of my favorite memories centered around coming here to visit Aunt Stella. She was the matriarch of our family and made us all feel special, but also held everyone accountable. We would bring her tomatoes during the early years of our marriage, and she wouldn’t charge us for our meals.

In the more recent past – my favorite memory was during 2020 when we switched to to-go/outdoor dining only. We purchased six picnic tables but quickly realized they weren’t enough to meet the demand. Our customers were so excited about the opportunity to share a meal with their friends and families outside (socially distanced, of course), that they got really creative.   They brought blankets to spread out on our lawn, brought their own tables and chairs to set up in the parking lot, used the tailgates and hoods of their cars, or simply opened the backs of their SUVs.   It was crazy, but how much they craved that social dining experience here at Stella’s was so cool.

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Throughout our 2-hour conversation, several themes kept repeating: Meaningful, personal customer relationships, a strong team that is more like family, and a very supportive community.

We also had some great side conversations about famous customers (Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas – complete with Secret Service agents), the 1976 fire (Stella put it out herself by climbing up to the roof and sticking a hose down the vent), and the above-ground pipe that connected Stella’s original home and the service station (Stella had it put in so she and Al could talk through the pipe during the day). We ended our time with a message from Stephanie, Gene, and Pam, “Heartfelt thanks to all of our customers for their continued support throughout the years – especially through the pandemic. Thanks for sharing your lives with us, sharing your stories with us, celebrating your special events with us, and for spreading all the kind words. Many new customers tell us that they come here because Stella’s came highly recommended to them.” Longtime customer Suzy Dunkleman added, “We’ve been going to Stella’s since 2006. Our youngest has grown up on their burgers. It’s our happy place and reminds me of Cheers, “where everybody knows your name, and you’re always glad you came!” We go for birthdays, anniversaries, and just because we’re hungry. Besides the fun and welcoming atmosphere and delicious food, I think their exceptional staff is a big reason for their success. They’re all so friendly and they work together. It’s not uncommon for another server to notice you need a refill and take care of it right away. Congratulations on 85 years!”