After years of anticipation, the Olney Ale House will officially reopen its doors on Tuesday, October 28th. The beloved restaurant, located at 2000 Olney Sandy Spring Road (at the corner of Route 108 and Doctor Bird Road), has been closed since a 2019 kitchen fire forced it to shut down.
We first reported the planned reopening date last month, and we’ve confirmed it remains accurate as finishing touches are completed this week and invite-only soft opening events take place ahead of the official opening.
Back in March 2023, the historic 100-year-old building was sold to Two Sibs LLC, led by Selim Kantar, for $1.45 million. Nearly two and a half years later, the restaurant has been fully rebuilt and is ready to welcome the community once again.
Kantar shared with us that guests can expect a familiar experience with a few new touches. “The menu will be very similar. Some new items, gonna bring back some of the old stuff. General fare will be the same stuff. Staples like the chili, the beef stew, the burgers,” he said.
For Kantar, reopening is about much more than the food. “I’m most excited to get it back open and give it back to the community,” he explained. “A dozen people every day would come by and ask when we’d reopen. It wasn’t just a restaurant — it was much more of the community.”
The building itself has undergone a complete transformation following the fire, which caused extensive damage in late 2019. “Two and a half years, fully rebuilt restaurant. Nothing is old, except for the shape of the structure. And even the framing has been redone and ‘beefed up,’” Kantar said.
When it reopens, the Olney Ale House will serve lunch and dinner, remaining closed on Mondays, with plans to add brunch in the near future. The history of the restaurant, from a previous version of its old website can be seen below the preview video:
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In 1923, Richard Bentley Thomas and Ethel Farquhar Thomas purchased the five acre triangular shaped piece of property from the estate of Sam Owens. The property had a four room log cabin in the middle of what is today’s parking lot. The corner was known as Davis Corner. Almost immediately construction began on a hipped-roof, pavilion-type building that would contain a kitchen, dining room and two bedrooms. This building was completed in 1924, and opened for business as “The Corner Cupboard.” They served homemade ice cream, breads, cookies, pies and cakes, as well as, sausage, scrapple and ham sandwiches from hams that were cured in their smokehouse. Garden vegetables were also grown and sold. The Corner Cupboard was a unique establishment and drew many loyal followers.
In 1930, a large addition was added to the original structure. This included bedrooms in the rear and a second floor with more sleeping quarters. At this time, heat was installed making it a year-round operation. The log cabin was torn down at this time.1930 also saw the addition of the stone fireplace in the dining room. It was built by Adolphus Gordon. The rocks came from a factory building at Triadelphia. The left over rocks were used to build the bell tower at Sherwood High School.Two famous visitors of this time were Herbert Hoover, perhaps visiting the area because of his Quaker background and Dean Acheson, who owned a summer home in the area.In 1937, the business was sold and became the Francis Lattie Inn. Miss Lattie operated the business as a tea room and carried on many of the former owners’ traditions. The business has changed hands many times and operated under a variety of different names. “The Anchorage” had a retired naval officer Harold Hilliard at the helm, a Maggie Levesque purchased it but little is remembered of her time, then Mrs. Cramer bought it and named it the “Country Corner Inn.” In the late 50’s, Irma Turnbull purchased it, she kept it until 1962 and then sold it to the McKenzie’s. Mrs. McKenzie had been one of her waitresses. Both of these owners operated under the “Country Corner Inn.” Mr. McKenzie was an engineer at WTOP and when they remodeled the station he brought out the large windows that were being discarded from a sound booth. They are currently installed in the bar room.Sometime in 1970, the Matney’s purchased it. They added what is now known as the Beer Garden. They operated as a steak house and sold liquor. Two years later, they sold it to George, Fred and Anita Virkus and the “Olney Ale House” was born. In 2000, it was purchased by the current owners. Among some of the reported famous visitors are Burl Ives, Eve Arden, Tyrone Powers, Talulla Bankhead, Harry and Bess Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Milo O’Shea, Chris and Susan Sarandon and Jason Miller.
