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After liquor license limbo, all The Good Life bar locations sold by owner Chad McMahon

Posted at 10:58 AM, Jul 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-22 18:31:10-04

UPDATE: 7/22/21 3:35

The owner of the popular The Good Life bars in the Omaha metro area had his liquor license in limbo for at least one location, but now control of the bars will be changing hands.

Chad McMahon has sold all of his locations of The Good Life, which include spots in West Omaha, Elkhorn and Papillion. The sale also includes The Good Life Lounge and a Gretna location, which is under construction.

The sale to Aaron McKeever and Nick and Lori Heimann was finalized on July 19.

McKeever told 3 News Now over the phone that he expects customers to notice very little change and all employees to keep their jobs.

He said they're hoping to eventually open more locations.

McMahon was at threat of losing his liquor license for at least one of his bars, located at 180th and Pacific. This came after Omaha police said minors were served at the bar on Christmas night, with one later getting into a car accident and severely injuring himself.

Later, when OPD tried to obtain security camera footage from that night, McMahon denied it to officers. Police got a warrant, but footage from that night had been deleted.

Omaha City Attorney Matt Kuhse said in May that the city planned to charge McMahon with obstruction, but no charges have been filed as of Thursday morning.

By Thursday afternoon, an arrest warrant was issued in Sarpy County for McMahon on two counts stemming from an assault charge: 1) Tampering with a Witness or Informant 2) Tampering with Physical Evidence. The alleged assault was another possible consideration for officials when considering his eligibility for a liquor license. All three charges are felonies.

A 3 News Now investigation of the 180th and Pacific location, also displayed a pattern of minors using fake IDs to drink at the bar.

The Omaha City Council was likely to take up the liquor license issue with McMahon, within the next several months.

Attorneys with the city of Omaha mentioned at the council meeting that McMahon could potentially lose all his liquor license locations, depending on what the council and Nebraska Liquor Commission decided.

McKeever said that he'll make sure employees are following the law. He doesn't expect much opposition to him getting liquor licenses for the four bars, saying he had no trouble obtaining one for his soon-to-be-open bar, Barrel & Vine.

“We are excited to share that the new Good Life location in Gretna will be coming soon,” McKeever said in a news release.“Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to serving you.”

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