WAVERLY聽鈥 The sign had become infamous over the years. As drivers passed it on their way into Waverly from Lincoln or the nearby Interstate 80 exit, they could look up and expect to see a snarky quip written on its reader board.聽
Some of the sign鈥檚 slogans have been immortalized on the Internet: Closed Due to the Trump Virus; Senator Thibodeau Is Full of S***.聽
The sign warranted repeated calls asking that the messages be taken down.聽
On June 2, the sign outside Shakers Gentleman鈥檚 Club was adorned with one final phrase, a baseball adage.
鈥Going, Going, Gone.鈥
When asked how he felt after the building was demolished, the property鈥檚 new owner, Phil Durst, responded with one word: 鈥淗appy.鈥澛
Durst, who owns the adjacent Lincoln Auto Auction and Durst Motor Company, bought the property in February without plans of immediately knocking down the old barn. That was until severe weather ripped through Waverly and eastern Nebraska on an April evening, tearing two new holes in the former strip club鈥檚 roof and causing leaks inside.聽
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Durst decided there was no use for the building to stay standing. He hoped to have the building razed within a month of the storm, but issues with asbestos and wire removal slowed his course.聽
鈥淭his deal鈥檚 been a long process,鈥 Durst said. 鈥淥ne thing after another.鈥
And he kept hearing questions from the public, who wanted to know when they wouldn鈥檛 have to look at the building anymore. It was showing its age, and many Waverly residents had developed a disdain for the building and its association with their city.聽
They don鈥檛 have to worry about it anymore.
Last week, about 20 people stood on green space between Lincoln Auto Auction and the Shakers property and watched as an excavator started on the building鈥檚 west end and had the structure leveled in just more than an hour, leaving behind a pile of lumber, glass and insulation. What had been for many a blight on the community and a nuisance to local government was finally gone.聽
Durst bought the land from Shakers founder Dan Robinson, who Durst commended as a 鈥渕an of his word鈥 and a great business person. According to former Waverly News reporter Peggy Brown, Robinson鈥檚 relationship with city officials had not been as cordial.聽
She said she remembers heated exchanges between Robinson and former Waverly city administrators at council meetings. The city also had long denied Robinson a liquor license at the club before granting one in 2019 on the condition that Shakers close permanently in 2023. He was directed to paint a neutral color over the hot pink that had coated the building for years. When the building was demolished last week, its exterior was a dark-gray.聽
The liquor license agreement also required an end to Robinson鈥檚 sign slogans.
鈥淭he messages he put on the board were terrible, but you had to laugh,鈥 Brown said.
But Brown also recalls the building鈥檚 origins in 1966, when it opened as a family-friendly restaurant known as Nickerson Farms. The business was part of a national chain that had 60 restaurants, most of which were located near interstate exits. The Waverly location was known for its selection of Nebraska-themed gifts and a glass-enclosed beehive on display at one end of the building.聽
鈥淚f you wanted a Nebraska postcard, that鈥檚 where you went; if you wanted a Nebraska T-shirt, that鈥檚 where you went; if you wanted honey, that鈥檚 where you went,鈥 Brown said.
For a modern comparison, Brown likened the restaurant to Cracker Barrel. Marty Houser pumped gas out front of the restaurant when he was in high school in 1969. He doesn鈥檛 remember the food at Nickerson Farms being as good as Cracker Barrel鈥檚, even though his aunt worked in the kitchen.聽
鈥淚t was just people jumping off the interstate, getting their soda waters, getting gas in their car, and off they went down the road again,鈥 Houser said.聽
Jim Wilkinson, the longtime owner of the Sports Page and HoneyCreek restaurants in Waverly, remembers Nickerson Farms being well-patronized until the franchise started to founder in the late 1970s.聽
After shuttering, the building was bought by a local owner who reopened the restaurant as Waverly Farms. Wilkinson said he had a good working relationship with the owner, and he benefited from another dining option being in Waverly. He said it contributed to a subconscious decision among patrons, who would choose between the two local restaurants instead of considering the dozens of options in Lincoln.聽
鈥淭hen I鈥檇 have a better chance of having them eat at my place,鈥 Wilkinson said.
Waverly Farms lasted for a few years, Wilkinson said, and the building was briefly rented by a restaurant equipment outfitter. It took other forms as bars and restaurants, but Wilkinson said the building sat vacant for a number of years until Robinson started renting the property.聽
Brown remembers that day in the mid-1990s vividly, when word got out that the building would be used for a strip club. She got a call from one of her younger employees while attending a funeral, and he told her she鈥檇 better get back to the newspaper office.聽
鈥淗e said, 鈥榃e鈥檝e heard that it鈥檚 been sold to a man for a strip club, a gentleman鈥檚 club,鈥欌 Brown said. 鈥淎nd I said, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to be freaking kidding me.鈥欌
Subsequent weeks saw three local ministers submit letters to the editor denouncing the strip club, but there wasn鈥檛 much the city could do about it. The Shakers property was outside Waverly鈥檚 city limits at the time.聽
鈥淭hat was not a good time to work at the newspaper,鈥 Brown said.聽
Wilkinson said a majority of the town joined in the fight against the strip club.聽
鈥淚 told all of them, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檓 not saying it鈥檚 the best thing to come to town, but on the other hand, if you want to fight it, just go buy the building,鈥欌 Wilkinson said.
That didn鈥檛 happen, and Shakers operated for 25 years until the COVID-19 pandemic ate into its business. Durst said he had been in talks with Robinson as early as 2020 about buying the property, and they reached a deal in February for $750,000.聽
Despite the headaches the building caused him, Durst said he 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 be happier鈥 with the purchase. He now owns 37 acres of land near Waverly鈥檚 Interstate 80 exit. He doesn鈥檛 have immediate plans for development of the property, but he said when he bought the property that he hoped to build something that will benefit the city.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 no 鈥榥ext鈥 for me,鈥 Durst said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e happy with what we鈥檙e doing 鈥 the pressure鈥檚 off. It鈥檚 gone now, and we can all look forward.鈥