Olney Ale House Building Sold for $1.45 Million; New Owners Plan to Reopen in About a Year

The 100-year old building that is home to the Olney Ale House has been sold to Two Sibs LLC, led by Selim Kantar, for $1.45 million, according to the deed. Olney Ale House, located at 2000 Olney Sandy Spring Rd (Rt. 108 and Doctor Bird Rd.), operated in the space until a kitchen fire caused the restaurant to shut down in 2019. In September, we spoke with previous owner John Rich who told us he was interested in selling to someone that would continue to run it as the Olney Ale House restaurant. We spoke with Kantar today, who told us that he will be doing just that.

The restaurant will keep the Olney Ale House name and operate with an updated menu and new cocktails. Kantar tells us that work is just getting started and that there is a lot of it that has to be done before the restaurant is ready to open, so a 2024 opening is the most likely scenario. We will have updates for you as the restaurant continues with renovations and moves closer toward opening.  The news of the sale was first reported by @themocosource. Below we share with you the restaurant’s rich history, courtesy of the Olney Ale House website:

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.