Restaurants may come and go in Ashland, but we can always count on Omar’s Fresh Seafood and Steaks (1380 Siskiyou Boulevard) to be there for us. The restaurant will be celebrating its 76th year in business next month, and owner Jen Sink is excited.“It’s going to be a fun month,” she said. “On Tuesday, November 1, we’ll have a $1.76 meatloaf din-ner served between 11am and 2pm. Then on Wednesday, November 3, it’s flip night. Diners can flip a coin and if they win the toss, they only pay 76 cents for either Halibut Parmesan or Prime Rib. It’s our way of saying ‘thank you’ to all the wonderful customers who have supported us all these years.”
In April of 2017 Jen bought out her last business partner, making her the first sole proprietor of Omar’s.
“I grew up in a small town on the Mendocino Coast,” Jen said. “Being raised by a single mom, who worked in the restaurant industry, my sister and I would often spend time in kitchens and dining rooms, learning how to fold napkins, fill salt and pepper shakers and stock sugar candies. It became a second nature being in a restaurant. When I was 14, I started my first industry job working for the Denny’s corporation. I quickly moved up in the ranks, making me the youngest general manager of Denny’s at the age of 21. In 2000, Denny’s had opened a branch in Ashland. Struggling from the be-ginning, the district manager asked me to transfer hereto increase custom-er satisfaction, implement efficiencies and make the business solvent.”
From Denny’s she moved to the Ashland Creek Bar & Grill, and then started as a server at Omar’s. After working there for ten years, she was offered a partnership.
“Omar’s is an old school, fine dining, steak and seafood restaurant,” Jen said. “We make every-thing from scratch, including our dressings, gravies and soups. We have a sports lounge for the foot-ball, baseball, soccer, track, tennis, hockey fans, as well as a more intimate dining room setting. We pride ourselves on great food at a reasonable price (which is getting harder to accomplish). Carrying on in the Omar’s tradition, we are not fast food. We are a scratch kitchen, meaning everything is made to order. We hope that when people dine with us, they enjoy great drinks, friendly service and an amazing meal made fresh just the way they ordered it.”
Omar’s is a big supporter of any and all Ashland school teams. “We go as far as feeding the Ashland High School football team steak dinners before their homecoming game free of charge,” Jen said. “We donate to the SOU endowment annually as well as hold a free BBQ every year for the welcome-back students at SOU. We donate to Monster Dash, Ashland Middle School, Kiwanis for Kids, and so many more.”
Omar’s is actually Ashland’s first public lounge and one of just a few bars in the nation that is com-pletely surrounded by a college campus.
“We offer a safe environment not only for our customers but also for our co-workers,” Jen said. “We pay 50% medical insurance, 401k, and sick leave. We want to thank everyone for supporting us all these years. And please remember when dining out to be patient and kind. The hospitality industry is struggling more than any other industry since the pandemic.”
For more information, the phone number is 541-482-1281. You can see them at Omarsrestaurant.com, and on Facebook and Instagram.
