
Note: Fizzy’s Fountain & Liquors is strictly 21 and over – no exceptions.
When you step inside Fizzy’s, you find yourself standing in a nostalgic 1950s style diner. The lighting is dim and romantic, so much that you might want your phone light to see the menu, but not so much that you can’t see your food. The “cool factor” is off the charts.
There are no servers to take your order, unless you’re at the bar. At a booth, you order from the wall-mounted phone. It’s a direct line to the bartenders, who bring your food to you when it’s ready.

You order on the phone!
The owners are husband and wife Katie and Noah Mock, who originate from Portland, Ore. They opened Nite Owl in Omaha in 2014 as their first 21-and-over retro bar and restaurant concept. I had the chance to talk with Katie about how Fizzy’s got started.
“We heard about an opportunity in Little Bohemia from our Blackstone neighbor, Archetype Coffee,” Mock recalled. “We were approached about going into the old Bohemian Cafe, and we were really struck by the history behind the restaurant and the nostalgia. We always wanted to do a second place when the time felt right. So we decided to go with something really fun and retro.”

Fizzy’s front dining booths
It’s a concept built around ice cream cocktails that originate from Wisconsin and classic comfort food. Fizzy’s opened its doors in March 2020. A week later, the pandemic shut the world down.
“It was a devastating blow,” Mock said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen here. We closed for a while, did a few curbside events, and then we opened back up. It took a lot of grit and creativity to get through that.”
Thankfully, Fizzy’s survived and is thriving today.
Our first visit was on Sunday, and we chose the grasshopper, fog cutter and a pair of old fashioneds for cocktails. We ordered the brussels sprouts as an appetizer. Jennifer chose the beef bourguignon as her entree, while I had the lil’ bucket of chicken with the mac ‘n cheese as a side. We ended our visit with the birthday cake for dessert.
Grasshopper
The grasshopper, on the ice cream cocktails menu, took me back to my childhood (without the booze, of course). As a kid, my favorite ice cream was chocolate chip mint, topped with chocolate Magic Shell and whipped cream. That’s this cocktail in a shake glass, made with gin, mint, chocolate, branca menta (an herb-forward peppermint liqueur) and Coneflower vanilla ice cream. The menu says it’s grandma’s favorite supper club drink. Grandma knows her drinks.
Fog cutter
The fog cutter is a vintage tiki cocktail, complex in flavor. It’s made with dry gin, aged rum, golden falernum (a liqueur with ginger, almond and vanilla notes), dry curacao (a liqueur known for a deep orange notes), oloroso sherry, pecan orgeat, lime and Angostura bitters. It’s a sweet cocktail, but not overly so, and every ingredient plays well together. It’s reminiscent of a Long Island ice tea, but in a category of its own. It’s most certainly worth a try.
Two old fashioneds
Fizzy’s happy hour menu lists a $6 old fashioned. It’s a smooth, expert blend of bourbon, simple syrup and bitters. Don’t let the happy hour discount fool you; this is as luxurious an old fashioned as I’ve had.
Brussels sprouts
The brussels sprouts have a delicate char to them, mixed with red pickled onions and finished with red wine vinegar. This side is at once savory, sweet and sour. We devoured every bite. It was so good, Jennifer ordered it as her side on our second visit.
Lil bucket o’ chicken
The lil’ bucket o’chicken isn’t actually so little. You get four pieces of fried chicken with an exquisitely fried crust, a house made blackened ranch and a side of your choosing. Inside the crust is moist and tender chicken. The ranch is fresh and makes a great dip for the chicken. This bucket is up there with any of the best homemade fried chicken I’ve had. If you’re so inclined, it’s worth the calories.
Mac ‘n cheese
The mac n’ cheese is a scrumptious side dish. It’s made with a homemade roux and three cheeses, one of which is smoked gouda. When you dig in, a melty weave of cheese stretches endlessly. From the melted topping to the zesty, savory, creamy center, with perfectly cooked macaroni, every forkful delivers a perfect bite.
Beef bourguignon
The beef bourguignon is a dish of red wine braised beef, carrots, mushrooms and onions in an excellent broth. The beef is fork tender and the red wine is well infused into the meat. The vegetables are also cooked well, taking in the deciduous flavor of the broth. I recommend using the accompanying toast to soak up the broth when the meat and veggies are gone.
Birthday amaretto cake
The birthday cake changes regularly. If you prove it’s your birthday, like I did, it’s on the house – as long as you’ve ordered a sparkling beverage or cocktail. Ours was an amaretto sponge cake with amaretto simple syrup and a nice thick white chocolate buttercream frosting. It was topped with whipped cream and a cherry compote. Worth every bite.
For our second visit, we had the pink squirrel and bloody old boy as cocktails. Jennifer ordered the brussels sprouts; I opted for the fries as our sides. As our main dishes, I ordered the cheeseburger, while Jennifer chose the French dip. We capped our evening by sharing another cocktail, the apple jack rose.
Bloody old boy
The bloody old boy is normally found on the brunch menu, but we were able to order it at dinner. It’s a bloody mary with gin, lemongrass, lime, soy and a house-made kimchi bloody mary mix. It’s bold and spicy, savory and tangy. Jennifer is a big fan of bloody mary cocktails and this one checked every box. She let me have a couple of sips and I couldn’t agree with her more.
Pink squirrel
I tried the pink squirrel, because I thought an ice cream cocktail would pair just right with my burger and fries. Boy, did it ever! It’s made with vodka, raspberry, chocolate, almond and Coneflower vanilla ice cream.
Stacy Winters, fellow foodie and founder of the popular Facebook group Omaha Food Lovers, recommended the fries. They certainly didn’t disappoint. While I personally like a thicker fry, these had a great crunch on the outside and were tender inside. They were salted just right, not at all too greasy, and the brown outer crisp enhanced the flavor. They are a great accompaniment to a burger.
Cheeseburger
The cheeseburger is delicious, and upon taking a bite, I almost regretted not making it a double. The bun, buttery on the outside, lightly toasted on the inside, was soft with a hint of crunch. The patty was cooked just right and the lettuce (“shrettuce” as the menu says) and pickles added the welcome, light tangy texture. The fancy sauce, similar in flavor to thousand island, was a great addition. It is a tasty burger.
French dip
The French dip is slow braised beef with provolone, caramelized onions, garlic aioli on large slices of sourdough bread with au jus. The bread is divine, a buttery toasting on the outside, topped with herbs and punchy sourdough flavor. It took this sandwich up a few notches. Inside is a generous portion of delictably tender beef. Combined with the caramelized onions, provolone and aioli, this is a French dip to remember.
Apple jack rose
We capped off our Fizzy’s journey with a cocktail, the apple jack rose. It’s a slushie cocktail made with bourbon, apple brandy, spiced pomegranate, earl grey and lime. It tastes just like an apple pie, and it’s such a fabulous concoction we – and our bartender Hunter – wondered what it would be like served hot.
When I bit into the Fizzy’s cheeseburger, I couldn’t help but recall a scene from the Hulu miniseries “11.22.63” where James Franco’s time-traveling character marvels at how a 1960s diner burger tastes richer and more satisfying than modern ones. The food at Fizzy’s didn’t just echo this sentiment – it brought it to life, delivering flavors so bold and nostalgic that they felt like a delicious time warp to the past.
“We had the idea of taking diner classic comfort food, and not necessarily elevating it – as in making it fancy – but just making it good and simple,” Mock recalled. “We had a lot of fun making the menu, and we were thinking back to grandma and looking through old cookbooks.”
Fizzy’s bar
The Mocks aren’t stopping with Nite Owl and Fizzy’s. This spring, they’re launching a new concept to be operated by Carlos Cuevas, Nite Owl’s kitchen manager, and his wife, Gillian. The duo also run Masa Luna Tamales, their tamale business located at 1258 South 13th Street.
“Space for a new bar came available, and we talked to them like ‘hey, why don’t we try something?’” Katie said. “It’s going to have a small food menu with his famous tamales. The cocktail program is going to be focused on mezcal and tequila, and we’re right in the middle of working on the interior. I think it’s going to be amazing.”
Count me in.
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