Holly Jones Combines Passions into Dream Business
Story by Daisy Hutzell-Rodman // Photography by Sarah Lemke
Holly Jones is quick to offer hospitality to people when she greets them, asking if they want a cup of coffee or a glass of water. It’s in her blood—the owner of The Winery & Deli has worked in hospitality her whole life, starting with seeing her mom run her restaurant and her dad working in the bar business.
The business, located at 741 N. 98th St., has been a favorite of Omahans and visitors for many years. The Winery started in Omaha in 1986, but closed abruptly in 2018 due to the death of a family member. It was a beloved place to grab a glass of wine and a quick snack—essentially serving as one of Omaha’s first quick casual locations.
When she isn’t helping to haul boxes of wine and making sure people are enjoying custom charcuterie boards, Jones is working her other job as director of retail services at The Lund Company. The commercial real estate broker helps tenants from mom-and-pop gas stations to national brands of grocery stores find homes.
Jones’ job in real estate showed her how beloved the former wine bar was to the community—both locals and people who came from out-of-town. She worked with the strip mall containing the business through The Lund Co., and saw person after person come up to the door of the former wine bar, knock on the door, look inside, and turn away disappointed that the business was no longer open.
That’s when she took her skills in the hospitality world and reopened the business, but with more of a focus on the restaurant side.
“It’s completely different than what it used to be,” Jones said. “It used to be a wine and spirit store with a little deli in the back. We’re now a larger restaurant with a little less wine.”
Jones credits her mother with being the mastermind behind the food in the deli, which ranges from a classic Omaha Reuben to a comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup. The deli also crafts a variety of charcuterie boards, offering options from simple two-meat, two-cheese combinations to custom selections ideal for catering.
“We did a Christ the King event earlier this year for 250 or so people,” Jones said. “We did a butcher-block board of charcuterie, and it took us about four hours to put together.”
Four hours in Jones’ world isn’t a big deal for the self-described “workaholic,” as long as it makes people happy.
“I’m a big customer service person. I like everyone to have a good experience when they come in, everyone’s welcome here,” Jones said. “We love people, and we love all people, so we create that environment. Here we serve a lot of lunch, and here we cater a lot of food.”
All this means that she needs a utility vehicle that can look professional while delivering paperwork to the local owners of a national retail store and be rugged enough to schlep a case of wine to the restaurant when needed. Her choice for this multitude of duties is a 2024 Range Rover Sport.
She’s owned several Range Rovers through the years, noting that her current vehicle is probably her fourth one.
“I need something that is an SUV that gets around well, but can also be a utility vehicle,” she said. As her children are grown, she doesn’t need the extra seats in the vehicle nearly as much as she simply needs the cargo room.
There’s one dealer in town that suits her needs for finding those cars.
“ONYX is my preferred vendor,” she said. “I have a good relationship with the manager there, Phil Hatten…they’ve helped me source a lot of cars and saved me a lot of time.”
— HOLLY JONES
She likes ONYX for the great customer service and ease of ordering exactly what she wants.
“I’ve ordered a lot of cars, so they assist me with the order process,” Jones said. “I tell them what I want, they find it for me. It’s been really, really nice.”
For more information about the business, visit wineryomaha.com.
