Ralston's Arena Calendar Runs Through Dec. 11. The Start Time Decides Where You Eat First.

On Q Street this season, a 7:05 p.m. puck drop means deciding on dinner around 5:30, and where you can eat depends on which kitchens are still open. Between Friday, Nov. 13, and Friday, Dec. 11, Liberty First Credit Union Arena has hockey, two concerts, a college basketball rivalry game and a pro wrestling show on its calendar. Start times range from 1 p.m. on a Sunday to 8 p.m. on a Saturday. That spread is the most useful thing to know when you plan a night there, because the restaurants within a few minutes of 7300 Q Street keep very different hours.

Some of those kitchens close before most puck drops. Others are open until 2 a.m. Matching the event to the kitchen is what makes the evening work.

The calendar, sorted by when the doors matter

Event details and tickets are on the arena's events page. The dates group into three patterns. Most Lancers nights are Friday 7:05 p.m. games or Saturday 6:05 p.m. games. The two concerts start at 8 p.m. on Saturdays. Two dates fall outside the weekend routine: a Sunday afternoon tipoff and a Wednesday evening show on the night before Thanksgiving.

Why the corner at 72nd and P doesn't change the plan yet

The 1.81-acre northwest corner of 72nd and P Street sits directly in front of the arena. Grow Omaha reported on July 3, 2026 that grading had started there for a Chipotle Mexican Grill and a 7 Brew Coffee. That July report forecast late 2026 or early 2027 for the Chipotle opening and gave no date for 7 Brew.

So the corner where a quick burrito and a drive-through coffee are planned is the one spot this season's calendar can't count on. A Lancers fan who wants to eat on the way in can plan around the kitchens already serving on 72nd Street, Main Street and Park Drive, and the hours they post.

Matching the start time to the kitchen

Friday 7:05 p.m. and Saturday 6:05 p.m. hockey

Most dates this season are Lancers games, and the early Saturday games make the timing tight. With a 6:05 p.m. start on Nov. 21 and Dec. 5, dinner beforehand means sitting down at roughly 4:30. Every place below has a kitchen running at that hour.

• Pancake Café by Agave Azteca, 5170 S. 72nd St., Unit 106, posts Monday through Saturday hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It opened May 29, 2026, according to Grow Omaha, and it operates inside the existing Agave Azteca restaurant. It's the newest kitchen on this list and the closest one heading south on 72nd Street.
• Spaghetti Works, 8416 Park Drive, posts Friday and Saturday hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., so a group can eat early and still reach the arena before the 6 p.m. doors.
• 72 Table and Tap, 5413 S. 72nd St., keeps its kitchen open until 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. That makes it one of the few places where you can eat after the final horn on a Friday instead of before it.

Saturday 8 p.m. concerts

El Fantasma on Nov. 14 and Hairball on Nov. 28 start late, so dinner before the show is easy and most of the decisions come afterward. Spaghetti Works and Pancake Café both post 10 p.m. closing times on Saturdays, and either works for a 6:30 dinner. A concert that ends after 10 leaves two options from the posted hours. 72 Table and Tap serves food until 11 p.m. on Saturdays. Scorz Sports Center, 7602 Main St., posts Saturday hours from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Scorz is the latest-open spot in this group, and it sits on Main Street, a short drive from the arena lot.

Sunday 1 p.m. Creighton vs. Nebraska

The Nov. 22 women's basketball game is the one date that works with a daytime-only kitchen. Lemon Tree Cafe, 7614 Main St., reopened after a fire, KETV reported in July 2025, with Wednesday through Sunday hours of 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. A late breakfast there fits before a 1 p.m. tipoff. Call ahead to confirm the hours.

Pancake Café opens at 6 a.m. on Sundays and posts a 9 p.m. close, so it works for either end of the afternoon. Coffee Alley – Callejon del Cafe, 7310 Harrison St., is listed by Visit Omaha with Friday through Sunday hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check its current hours before planning a stop around the game.

After the game, the Sunday hours are shorter. Spaghetti Works posts a 9 p.m. close Sunday through Thursday, and 72 Table and Tap's kitchen closes at 9 p.m. on Sundays. Scorz runs Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Wednesday 6:30 p.m. AEW, Thanksgiving Eve

AEW Dynamite & Collision on Nov. 25 is the only weeknight event on this stretch of the calendar. Its weekday timing matters most at Scorz, which posts Monday through Thursday hours starting at 3 p.m., and at Coffee Alley, which Visit Omaha lists as open until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For a sit-down meal after the show, 72 Table and Tap's posted Wednesday kitchen close of 11 p.m. is the latest of the group. Thanksgiving Eve is a night when local businesses often change their hours, so check with any of these spots before you go.

Getting in and parking

The arena's directions and parking page lists free parking, with more than 1,200 spaces around the building. For some events, the arena adds free overflow parking and a complimentary shuttle from WarHorse Casino at 6303 Q St. in Omaha, and it posts shuttle updates on its social media channels. For a sold-out concert, check those channels the afternoon of the show.

All of the restaurants above are a short drive from the lot. Of the three groups, the 6:05 p.m. Saturday games leave the least slack, because the Lancers list a 6 p.m. door time for their evening games and the early start squeezes dinner.

The Sunday after the Dec. 4–5 hockey weekend

The Lancers play Friday, Dec. 4, and Saturday, Dec. 5. The next day, the City of Ralston's calendar lists Holiday Magic for Sunday, Dec. 6. The city's entry marks it as an all-day event and says the schedule is TBA.

Last year's program, as listed by Family Fun in Omaha, ran from 1 to 7 p.m. It included children's activities and a book sale at Baright Public Library, Santa's arrival and a welcome ceremony at City Hall, horse-and-carriage rides, refreshments, and a Ralston Fire Department chili feed. That listing shows the event moved from Nov. 30 to Dec. 14, 2025. KETV reported that the postponement came from cold, snowy weather. At the library, KETV reported, kids had their faces painted and picked up discounted books, and a village display was set up. Library director Amanda Penna told the station the book sale helps "fund the extras that maybe we don't have in our budget."

This year's date falls six days later on the calendar than last year's original Nov. 30 date. Last year's event still had to move, so the city calendar is the place to check for the 2026 schedule and any weather changes in the days before Dec. 6. City Hall is at 5500 S. 77th St. Lemon Tree Cafe and Coffee Alley are both a few minutes away by car, and both post Sunday hours that would work for a morning stop before the afternoon program begins.

If your weekends in Ralston keep coming back to Q Street and Main Street, and you're starting to wonder what owning a home close to all of it would look like, Contact a Good Life Group agent at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Good Life Group. We know this part of Ralston well, including how a 6:05 p.m. game night works.