Nomad Lounge owners, Nick and Brook Hudson, announced its closing in an email on Friday. Screenshot from the Nomad Lounge email newsletter.
In an email on Friday to Nomad Lounge newsletter subscribers, Nick and Brook Hudson, a husband and wife business duo, announced the sale of Nomad Lounge, the bar, lounge, art gallery and event venue Nick was a part of opening in late 2006 in Omaha’s Old Market district.
“Nomad has had five wonderful years of events and adventures,” Nick said in the email. “Thanks to all of you who have come out to party with us.”
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In total, Nick told me yesterday, he and Brook estimate Nomad has held almost 430 events.
As a regular Nomad patron and event attendee myself, I saw those events range from the very intimate – they once held a private dinner – to the very large – thousands showed up for the Omaha Fashion Week Runway Finale in August that featured a runway in the middle of the street outside the club’s front doors. But running strong through all Nomad events was a consistent theme – creativity.
In a March 2009 article in Metro Magazine, writer Leo Adam Biga quoted Nick on the mission for Nomad, which he had orginally opened with partners Charles Hull and Clint! Runge, co-founders of Lincoln, Neb.-based Archrival, and Omaha-based architect Tom Allisma.
“That whole connecting people, networking piece is really exciting to us because it’s not just being an empty space for events,” Nick said, “we’re actually playing an active role in helping the creative community continue to grow.”
And that it did.
Sarah Lacy, second from right, makes a stop at Nomad Lounge in July 2008 as part of her User Generated Book Tour. Photo from Sarah Lacy on Flickr.
From my account, Nomad played host, often at no cost, to more than two dozen events held by either our organization or individuals within the Silicon Prairie community. This list of events includes: the Sarah Lacy User Generated Book Tour stop in July 2008 (the first “Silicon Prairie News event”), two Silicon Prairie News Creative Capital Pitch Sessions, three Big Omaha Closing Parties, four BarCamp Omahas (each with an opening party), eight Startup Drinks and one Tweetup.
A crowd gathers at the opening party of BarCamp Omaha 2009 at Nomad Lounge. Photo courtesy Nomad Lounge.
In February 2010, when Dusty Davidson wrote about the importance of a vibrant social scene to building an entrepreneurial ecosystem, more than half of his event examples had some part of it, if not all, held at Nomad. That post, tagged “Nomad Lounge,” accounts for one of 17 posts tagged with the lounge’s name, and one of the 76 search results for “Nomad Lounge” on Silicon Prairie News.
As Nick and Brook close Nomad’s doors after five years of business, they can be proud to know that Nomad Lounge has played an important role in the growth of Omaha’s entrepreneurial community.
What’s next?
Nick and Brook’s involvement in Omaha’s entrepreneurial community is far from over. In a breif conversation with Nick on Friday, he told me that he and Brook would be focusing on their other endeavors. Together, the two will continue to spearhead Omaha Fashion Week and Nick will remain a part of the Xuba team, the startup that, with the involvement of Nick, held its launch party at Nomad in January.
Here’s the letter contained in Nomad Lounge’s email newsletter sent out on Friday:
A Big Thank You from Nomad Owners!
Nomad has had five wonderful years of events and adventures! Thanks to all of you who have come out to party with us. Many of you know that I (Nick – the handsome guy in the photo above) moved to Omaha seven years ago after traveling to and living in nearly 52 different countries. That’s how Nomad got it’s name – it was my nick name. I’m happy to say that this Nomad has finally found his home in Omaha – and it is because of you and the many great people who’ve visited and memories made at 1013 Jones St.
This weekend is our annual Halloween Party – WearWolf – and it will be mine and my wife’s last weekend as owners of Nomad Lounge. We will miss the excitement of hosting events at Nomad, and especially the time we spend with our amazing Nomad staff and patrons. However, we are excited to move on to the next chapter in our life – which will remain in Omaha! So we will see you around town – hopefully at future Nomad events!
We hope to see you tonight for the final Nomad Halloween under our watch – will be an epic dance party with a photo shoot and $2,000 in prizes for the best costumes. You can still purchase tickets and reserve cabanas online at www.nomadlounge.com/halloween. See you there!
Cheers!
Nick and Brook
Disclosure: Silicon Prairie News has recieved in-kind support and partnership from Nomad Lounge for multiple events, such as Big Omaha, and through that relationship, it has received complimentary tickets to attend Nomad Lounge events, such as Omaha Fashion Week.
Update 11:20 p.m. – When published, the title stated Nomad Lounge was “closing.” Though the sale has been confirmed, it’s unconfirmed as to whether or not the new owners will keep the same theme or name.
