Huntington’s finest new restaurant shows that the revitalization of the downtown can be found in the hands of local investors
HQ 7 | SPRING 1991
Oliver’s was as much a pleasant surprise to its founder as it was to the city of Huntington.
Dan Shoemaker had no plans of getting into the restaurant business. His job running Creative Production Services, a sports marketing company, kept him on the road much of the time. Perhaps that’s what led to the birth of Oliver’s.
“You have to eat,” he said. ” I always looked for this type of restaurant.”
The type, said Reed Embrey, Oliver’s vice president, is a kind of grown-up coffee house.
“These restaurants were spawned in the ’60s and ’70s when the culture was a little wilder and experimental. Baby boomers were seeking a lively, loud place to hang out, eat and drink,” Embrey, explained. “Now those people are grown up and have children and they want something like that, only toned down.”
Shoemaker liked the atmosphere and believed there was a need for it in Huntington. His travels often took him to Lynchburg, Va. and to a restaurant called Shaker’s, where he met Embrey, who ran the eatery. At first, Shoemaker sought to interest Shaker’s owners in expanding to Huntington. When they showed little interest, he invited Embrey and his wife to visit the city at his expense. While in Huntington, Shoemaker, along with Mayor Robert Nelson and Huntington attorney David Campbell, impressed the couple with both the viability of the local market and the livability of the community.
Embrey said he was surprised by the opportunities the city had to offer.
“I especially liked the river. I didn’t realize there were so many recreational activities on the river,” he said, referring to the boating and skiing so popular on the Ohio during the summer. “I also liked Ritter Park because it’s so well kept and people use it a lot, unlike many city parks.”
Economically, he said he thought Huntington’s time had arrived. “Huntington seemed to me like a city that had hit bottom.economically and was going to be on an upsurge. Things were turning around and that’s a good time to start a business.” He said the location, at 10th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues, allows Oliver’s to attract a good lunch crowd of people who need to get in, out and back to work quickly. Embrey said he liked the market and points out the 300,000-person metro area allowed for great potential.
The building required much work. Shoemaker said they gutted it and started from scratch. A design firm in WinstonSalem, N.C. and an interior design group in Cincinnati, along with local architect Bill Frampton, helped create the look. But his partners had plenty of input so the place would fit the market’s needs and reflect their vision. The restaurant opened September 5.
A turn-of-the-century British look lends itself to the mature ambiance. A rich, West Virginia maple wood bar rises above the dining tables. Shoemaker calls it a Dickensian atmosphere, from the name to the motto (“For a Dickens of a Good Time”) to some items on the menu, like Tim’s Tiny Sundae, a 99- cent dessert which Shoemaker said appeals to the Scrooge in everybody.
Shoemaker pointed out that many of the framed photographs on the walls are of West Virginia, specifically old Huntington. “We really tried to remind everyone this is Huntington’s restaurant,” he said. “We wanted different types of people to feel comfortable. It’s good for an anniversary dinner, business meeting dinner, families after church or a first date.”
With the help of Huntington’s Main Street Program (The Oliver’s project is West Virginia’s largest Main Street project to date) and the participation of the Twentieth Street Bank, Oliver’s was put together with local investment. Shoemaker drew investors to the project not with the promise of great financial return, but instead with the satisfaction of knowing they were helping the region. Shoemaker showed the investors that the key to the revitalization of the downtown could be found in the hands of local entrepreneurs and investors.
The owners point out that the heart of the business lies in the quality food. Folks in the kitchen say to get the best food, start with the best ingredients.
Kitchen visitors will see everything prepared from scratch: vegetables, dressings, sauces. “We even cut our own meat,” says Merle Sherman, senior assistant kitchen manager.
On a recent afternoon, the kitchen staff faced the task of stringing two bushels of green beans – the following day’s featured vegetable. How long does it take to string two bushels of green beans? “Along time,” according to Mike Nelson, executive kitchen manager. “The only way to ensure the quality is to do it yourself,” he said.
Shoemaker said he believes Oliver’s appeals to all types of people. “You draw the more adventurous types and people with money and free time.
In the minds of many patrons, it’s a unique eatery which draws them back time and again. Fortyish and fiftyish businessmen stop by for a drink. “I’m here every night after work and 50 percent of the time for dinner,” one said. “Huntington has needed a place like this for a long time, and one thing I like about it is the money you spend here stays in Huntington. It’s hard to find a local restaurant that keeps money in town.” His drinking buddy for the evening cited the prime rib and pretty waitress as draws for him.
Edgar and Betty Barrett of Huntington eat out frequently and make Oliver’s their choice at least once a week. Mr. Barrett said he appreciates the local angle the business brings to downtown. Mrs. Barrett, a city councilwoman who serves on the Board of Directors for Huntington Main Street, said Oliver’s theme and decor fit nicely into Main Street’s longterm goals for the look of downtown.
The menu offers a good blend of foods, Shoemaker said, listing 13 items under Salads, Soups and Lite Meals. Three rib dishes fall under Specialities. Chicken, steaks, seafood, pasta, burgers, sandwiches, desserts and appetizers each present as many as 10 choices.
But the menu is likely to change. While all the dishes sell, Nelson said the kitchen staff plans to keep the choices as fresh as the food. “Lots of times restaurants get a menu and stick to it for the rest of their natural lives,” he said. But that can become boring for the regulars.
The experience of Nelson, Sherman and assistant kitchen manager Chuck Walker total more than 60 years, many of which were spent in the South working for establishments such as Cracker Barrel, Howard Johnson’s and Holiday Inn, as well as local places such as Rebels and Redcoats, Permon’s and The Radisson.
Shoemaker said many still haven’t tried Oliver’s. “Many people think it’s an upscale, fine restaurant.” He’s afraid descriptions like that will scare some away. “It has a nice atmosphere and good food,” he said, “but at affordable prices.”
Oliver’s opens at 11 :30 a.m. every day and is open Monday through Thursday until midnight, Friday and Saturday until 1 :00 a.m., and Sunday until 10:00 p.m .. Happy hour is weekdays at 4:30 p.m.
