GEORGE LIAO

Executive Chef/Owner

 George Liao has been in the restaurant business for over twenty years. Entering the restaurant world as bartender, George never dreamed of his extensive future in the fast-paced business.  In 1994, George earned a masters in Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.  Throughout the years, he has been a waiter, cook, chef, manager, food and beverage director, and finally, restaurant owner.  Having sold Tokyo Kitchen after seven years, George Liao has decided to finally pursue his dream of having an upscale full service restaurant.  George has spent the past few years poring over recipe books: highlighting and noting anything he thought worthy.  Hundreds of books and magazines have been checked out of the library, borrowed, or bought.  From that he created over fifty binders bursting of articles from restaurant magazines, photocopies from books, and his own artistic ideas.  Between the long hours of catering and running Tokyo Kitchen, Sundays were days where George started to experiment: Ideas became edible as different sauces, spices, and presentation were kept, discarded, or modified.  Hours were spent looking for locations, thinking, and dreaming. Finally, it had happened: When George and Connie Liao walked into the building with green wave chandeliers, Connie commented: “This is our restaurant.” Wave Bistro wasn’t an overnight plan concocted on a whim, it’s George’s masterpiece in the making.

CONNIE LIAO

Front of House Manager/Owner

 Connie Liao has always been a familiar face to the people of Omaha. Always recognizing her customers everywhere she goes, she greets them with the same friendly hello as if they were at her restaurant. Always willing to converse with customers, share stories and experiences, it is not uncommon to hear her greet customers with names and questions about their lives. A mother of two children, she has always been one to rely on, and defines Wave Bistro’s customer service.