09/04/2026
We want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of our fans and supporters who have continued coming to shows and taking classes despite all the streetcar construction, and another huge THANK YOU to Streetcar Impact Alliance, Nebraska Enterprise Fund, and Clark Ross at Mercury who helped secure private funding to help local businesses make it through all of this. (And so no tax dollars were used!)
We’ve been luckier than many of our neighbors and other businesses along the route that have seen sales drop by more than 50%, but when you’re a small business (or a small comedy theater) even a much smaller drop can still have a huge impact.
We’re already putting some of these funds to work- We’re remodeling our lobby and hopefully storefront, ordering new merch, and currently hiring more help so we can keep improving The Backline and building toward the future.
This weekend, our neighborhood is coming together for a block party! Rally on the Route takes over 16th Street from 2-8pm on Saturday, with standup comedy, the Omaha Symphony, a DJ, booths from neighborhood businesses and ourselves, food and drinks, and special permits allowing people to take their drinks into the street, all while supporting great local businesses like Mercury, Green Room, Block 16, MoMo’s Cattle Call, Cumbia, and more.
Then the Omaha Comedy Fest will keep that idea going at the end of September, turning these businesses throughout the neighborhood into pop-up comedy venues and bringing audiences through their doors.
If you love this area (which we’ve lately been calling Omaha’s unofficial Performing Arts District) we’d love to see you come out and support these events and the locally owned businesses that make this great neighborhood what it is.
Because when the streetcar is finally running, we want all these businesses to still be here to enjoy it.
And at The Backline, our goal isn’t just to make it through construction barely holding on. We hope to come out of it stronger than ever, with a truly impressive home for comedy that all of Omaha is excited to visit.
Thank you for helping us get there, and we hope to see you this weekend! Let's have all the fun we can!
