I've been going to Olive Pit for years. I used to know the owner, the security guard and all of the bartenders. To the point I could walk in and they would ask me if I wanted the usual. I stopped going for a while but came back today and to say I was disappointed is a massive understatement.
I went to play pool with my one of my two friends I arrived with and we discovered our table was missing a ball. But this is just where things started: We asked our other friend to grab a ball from the side closet because we've been going there for years and know that's where they keep the balls and we had always been welcome to go back there and grab them. Now our friend asked permission first, he didn't just waltz into the room. When the bartender said no, he explained how we're regulars and we've always been allowed to grab the ball we need. At this point, I could understand her simply saying no and we would have respected that. But the bartender started freaking out and thinking we were trying to rob them or something! Our friend respectfully, without raising his voice or even arguing, walked back over to us and said we should leave. So we finished our drinks and walked to the bar to pay.
Upon getting to the bar, we saw the bartender was on the phone with who I could only assume was either police or the bar management. I heard her saying things like yes, they're over 21, yes I checked their IDs. We politely asked if we could pay and leave. The other few bar patrons there sort of turned on us at this point as if we had committed a crime. Giving us looks and one man even walked past us to the bathroom and said "how'd you like it if I kicked your chair out from under you?" as he walked behind us. Then another patron was making phone calls and we just really wanted to leave. I felt as if they were calling in friends to "rough us up" or something when we got outside. Eventually, the bartender came over and closed each one of us out. I paid, even tipped, then went straight for my car. Fortunately, no one was waiting outside.
I will never be going back to this place. I remember when the security guard used to be there, none of this nonsense happened. He was a legitimate security guard and organized security for major events like Oktoberfests and the like. So he wasn't just some freelance nobody. He also had a concealed carry license, so if things were to escalate, I knew he would be able to incapacitate a threat. But this time, with no one there to ensure our safety, I actually felt scared for my life. The bar patrons there were rowdy and wanted to involve themselves in an issue that never should have existed in the first place. I could understand the bartender and the patrons being upset if we were misbehaving. But we conducted ourselves with the utmost politeness, never raised our voice, said please and thank you, 100% polite, even when these people were demonizing us for no reason.
If anyone is reading this review, please do yourself a favor and avoid Olive Pit. Even if it was once good, the place is now just scary. It seems like the sort of place you hear on the news where someone got stabbed outside. And that's how I felt tonight while rushing to get in my car and leave. (a random Wednesday of all days too.) read more
