After closing its doors for the winter semester, Ollie’s Pub and Patio reopened on May 5 with new menu items and daily specials. It’s the first time in five years the pub is open for the summer term.
Ollie’s is using this summer as a trial period to see whether there are enough customers to sustain the business, according to manager Miguel Filiatrault.
“It doesn’t make sense for us to close in the summer,” Filiatrault said. “It makes sense for us to maybe adjust our operations a little bit.”
The pub opens from Tuesdays to Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Currently operating with a reduced staff of three employees, Filiatrault said he hopes to hire an estimate of 40-45 part-time student employees for a full reopening this fall.
Other changes include new menu items like samosas, potato skins and revamped salads. Burger patties are handmade, rather than frozen and pre-packaged—a change carried over from September 2021—and include halal options.
Olivia Perry, a fourth-year psychology student at Carleton, worked at Ollie’s during the fall 2021 semester before the pub closed for the winter. She said interacting with customers and other student staff is one of her favourite parts of the job.
“Half the people who come in bring up that they’re happy that we’re open … and they’ll bring friends,” Perry said. “Hopefully that will really help support us over the summer.”
Belicia Winner and Nisha Baguhin, both third-year health science students, ate at Ollie’s the day it reopened and said they will definitely be coming to Ollie’s more often.
“I feel like it’s a really nice place, like there’s people your age … sometimes people come here to study and eat, so I think that’s super cool,” Baguhin said.
As the weather warms up for the summer, Ollie’s Pub and Patio will also reopen its patio, putting the second half of its name to use.
Filiatrault said he hopes the patio will draw more people to the pub, as it is the only patio open on campus.
“The patio is licensed, we may as well use it,” he said.
He said he hopes to host a small-scale patio night to close the summer term but nothing can be confirmed yet as the university has to approve all events.
Provided this summer goes well, Filiatrault said he hopes Ollie’s can stay open through future summers.
Filiatrault said Ollie’s may have to close the week of June 27 before late summer classes begin to add small finishing touches to the space.
Featured image from file.
