Historic O'Brien's Restaurant To Focus On Seafood: New Owner

ANNAPOLIS, MD — O'Brien's Oyster Bar and Restaurant has been a fixture in the downtown Annapolis dining scene for nearly 50 years, and its new owner says the name will remain the same as it focuses on seafood. Kostas Alexakis of Olympic Investors bought the building for $2.2 million from owner Jerry Hardesty in a sale that closed last month. The historic site at 113 Main Street has housed an eatery since colonial times.

Hardesty, who has owned the venue since 1993, announced the sale of O'Brien's bar and restaurant last month, the Capital-Gazette reports. Hardesty, 76, said he will retire; no further details were released at the time. Alexakis, an investor in a software company and real estate, told the Capital-Gazette he plans to keep the historic name, which has used both steakhouse and oyster bar; he says he'll focus the menu on seafood.

Alexakis, of Severna Park, says he will improve the menu, quality and service at O'Brien's, but changes will be made slowly.

Hardesty took over what was known as Fran O'Brien's starting in the 1970s, named for the owner who played for the Washington Redskins. Hardesty emphasize Chesapeake Bay cuisine and installed a décor that pays homage to athletes from the Naval Academy.

But the O'Brien's location has been a part of more than 200 years of Annapolis history, according to the restaurant's website. Built in 1774 as the Rose & Crown, the tavern was a gathering spot for both Royalists and Revolutionaries. By 1836, the restaurant had become Sam's Café, the only dining and dancing establishment in downtown Annapolis. "A waterside Tavern served as a portside communications network long before there was an internet. Sam's Café became the meeting place for merchants, sailors and locals alike," the business says.

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After World War II, the Main Street location became LaRosa, which offered the first pizza pie in Annapolis. By 1964, the site became the first cabaret theater in the area.

With over 240 years in existence, O'Brien's has many stories to tell, and its upstairs was once reportedly a place of "ill repute." The storage rooms where liquor and other items are now stored used to be tiny bedrooms, the business says.

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