Ollie’s Public House

While serving customers as a public house, Ollie’s has created a home for the community.

For over a decade, Ollie’s Public House at 3400 Edgewater Drive has been serving a long food and drink menu while fostering a welcoming space for regulars and newcomers alike.

“Everyone’s really laid-back,” Lyndsay Arcuri, the manager of Ollie’s, said. “They’re not here just to be like, ‘Hey, what do you want?’ We get to know everybody.”

Ollie’s offers customers an extensive selection of craft beers, specialty cocktails and more for modest pricing. Their hard lemonades and “dirty” shots — liquor chased with pickle or olive juice — are two other staples.

The food menu features a selection of pizzas and salads as well as sandwiches, which Arcuri said “everybody comes for.” Their most popular item, however, might be their house pickles, which are served to each table but can also be bought by themselves, Arcuri said.

“People that haven’t been here for years, they want to come by, and they just want the pickles,” she said.

But where Ollie’s truly differentiates itself from other restaurants or bars is its community, Arcuri said.

“We get to know everybody … We know their kids’ names. We know their dogs. We watch their kids grow up.”

Ollie’s integrates itself within College Park through appearances at local block parties, fundraisers and other local events. Each month, proceeds from a featured menu item support a different local organization. In August, for example, Ollie’s veggie sandwich helped to raise funds for Edible Education Experience.

Looking forward, Arcuri said Ollie’s will continue to serve its community and maintain its reputation as the “friendly neighborhood bar.”

“Everybody knows everybody. It’s kind of like a ‘Cheers.’”