Longtime South Sound bartender finally opens her own place in downtown Olympia
In March, Nicole Andres was ready at last to open the bar she’d been dreaming about running for some 15 years.
But the start of a global pandemic meant she had to wait a little bit longer.
“We were ready to open our doors about three days before the city was shut down,” said Andres, co-owner of Nicole’s Bar on Legion Way.
So two months later, the bar finally got a delayed opening when it opened for takeout May 14. Now, Andres is getting the chance to welcome seated diners.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for the outpouring of support that I’ve received,” Andres told The Olympian on Monday. “I’ve been a local bartender forever, and I have developed really solid relationships with a lot of people. They all showed up this weekend. We were full Thursday, Friday Saturday and yesterday.”
The bar, co-owned by Andy and Mike Thielen, inhabits the spaces formerly occupied by Oly Underground and Peace, Love & Raw — but it doesn’t look familiar.
The bar’s centerpiece is, fittingly enough, a bar — a semicircular one made with plywood. The space is furnished with barnwood tables, a fireplace, a separate wine bar and a pool table.
“I always wanted a spot that didn’t feel like a dive bar but wasn’t so high class that people didn’t feel comfortable coming in after work or after the gym or whatever,” said Andres of Olympia. “I wanted to have a place where people could hear some good live music, with plenty of TVs so people could watch sports … and have a destination where people could come and feel safe and comfortable.”
She’s been tending bar for almost 20 years, she said, working at the Tequila Bar, which occupied the west Olympia space where the Iron Rabbit is now; Charlie’s Bar & Grill in downtown Olympia, and Pints Barn in Tumwater.
“I wanted to take a little piece of every place I worked and put it in one spot, because in every spot I worked in, there was something I fell in love with,” she said.
She describes the menu, provided by the Kent-based Harbor Food Service, as “elevated bar food.” It includes items you’d expect to find in a bar — burgers, fries, wings, pizza — and items you wouldn’t — kale salad, seared tuna, and riced cauliflower.
Another thing you might not expect is fried gizzards, the biggest surprise in a selection of appetizers that also includes fried cheese curds, fried calamari and fried pickles.
“Believe it or not, many of my customers over the years have asked for gizzards,” Andres said. “I’ve never been able to provide them with that in any of the places I’ve worked.”
The menu refers to them as “Eric’s Gizzards” in honor of a friend and regular customer who was leading the push for the specialty meat, part of a chicken’s digestive tract.
Are they good?
“I am not the biggest fan,” Andres said, “but it’s not about me, I guess.”
She is a fan of the fundito dip, made with melted Oaxaca cheese, chorizo and pickled onions. “It’s the best dip I’ve ever dipped a tortilla chip in,” she said.
The menu also lists weekend breakfast dishes, set to debut in Phase 4 of the governor’s plan to reopen the economy during the pandemic.
Also in the bar’s future: the return of takeout food, which Andres suspended to focus on her bar’s long-delayed opening, and wine tastings at the dedicated wine bar.
“Wine is kind of new to me,” she said. “I’ve always worked in bars where we just had a house wine, so I’m learning a lot about wine.”
Nicole’s Bar
- What: Longtime South Sound bartender Nicole Andres is now running her own bar — a place where she hopes people will feel at home.
- When: 3 p.m.-midnight daily
- Where: 109 Legion Way SW, Olympia
- More information: 360-915-7568, http://nicolesbar.com