The Reason Nebraskans Plan Road Trips Around a Runza Stop

Every town on Nebraska’s I-80 road trip has a Runza, so lunch is already on your map.

Take a back road instead, and you’ll still find one in places like Chadron and Falls City.

Here’s how a handheld sandwich became a Nebraska road trip tradition, and where you can find one off the interstate and over the state line.

I-80 Stops

Runza has a restaurant in each of the eight towns the state tourism office names on its I-80 road trip.

Those towns are Omaha, Gretna, Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte, Ogallala and Sidney.

The pitch is “don’t just pass through” and “make the most of your journey.”

A Runza stop in each town is one way to do that.

Gretna goes with Nebraska Crossing, Lincoln with Sunken Gardens, Kearney with the Archway and Ogallala with Lake McConaughy, so you can plan a meal around each sight.

A 2025 explainer from the Flatwater Free Press puts Runza at 85 restaurants across Nebraska, so a stop is rarely far from your route.

Runza lists restaurants in Lexington, Cozad and Gothenburg, which aren’t among those eight towns.

Grand Island has two Runzas, and you can pick between South Locust and North Webb Road.

Runza’s Interstate Tags

Runza’s locator tags three restaurants as Interstate locations: York, Kearney and North Platte.

Each of those towns has a second Runza, listed by street name instead.

Look for 329 West David Drive in York, 815 2nd Avenue East in Kearney and 202 East Leota in North Platte.

Starting in Omaha

Omaha, the first stop on the state’s I-80 road trip, has more than a dozen Runza restaurants, so you can start your drive with one.

Omaha’s list includes restaurants at 72nd and Pacific, 90th and Fort, and 168th and Dodge.

The Omaha-area list reaches Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista, Millard and Gretna.

Runza fans tell the chain’s marketing director a Runza is the first stop on the drive after they pick up family at the Omaha airport.

Eating on the Move

Runza’s sandwich is a handheld meal, and Flatwater describes drivers eating Runzas straight from the bag on long I-80 drives.

The bierock suited farmers needing a hot lunch in the fields. In the 1940s, a Lincoln brother and sister started selling homemade bierocks to factory workers on their lunch break.

Visit Nebraska, the state’s tourism site, puts the Runza in a section titled “The Perfect Picnic” and says you can find it at Runza restaurants across the state.

Drive-thru lanes replaced car hops in 1981.

Today, Runza’s website says the Runza Rewards app lets you order ahead for quick pick-up.

Runza and the Nebraska Passport

The state’s Nebraska Passport exists to help travelers discover Nebraska’s hidden gems, and its stops range from museums and parks to restaurants and retail stores.

If you’re collecting stamps across the state, you’ll see Runza’s name among the logos at the bottom of its About page.

A 2022 Visit Nebraska press release called Runza a long-time sponsor of the Passport program.

In it, Runza National’s director of marketing, Becky Perrett, said the company enjoys hearing about travelers’ explorations, which it hopes include “some stops for crinkle fries.”

The release announced the Holiday Passport, and program coordinator Madison Johnson said she was excited for travelers to start hitting the road in the offseason.

Off the Interstate

Runza reaches Chadron in the northwest and Falls City in the southeast, so your route doesn’t need I-80 to include a stop.

Driving a different road?

On Highway 20 in Chadron, Highway 83 in McCook or US 385 in Alliance, you’ll find a Runza.

Gering, Scottsbluff, Beatrice, Norfolk, Broken Bow and Holdrege have restaurants too.

So do Albion, Aurora, Crete, Geneva, Minden, Wahoo and Wayne.

Psst! How much do you know about road trips across the plains? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.

Quiz

Plains Road Trip IQ

Answer eight questions on the landmarks, history and wildlife of the plains. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?

Question 1 of 8

Nebraska’s I-80 road trip guide says a stop near Grand Island lets you witness the breathtaking migration of which bird?

Lincoln and Husker Weekends

Lincoln is where Runza got its start, and the city still has a dozen or more of its restaurants.

You'll find restaurants at 27th and Superior, 48th and O, and West O Street, plus a restaurant at Selleck Hall on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

Runza became an official partner of University of Nebraska athletics in 2000.

Flatwater describes the handheld meal as a way for football fans to stay warm at Memorial Stadium during chilly Husker games.

Many Husker fans build a Runza stop into the drive to Lincoln.

In early October, Runza's website offered a free Original Runza or quarter-pound hamburger after Husker home wins when you bought a side and a medium drink.