A new ‘social club’ opening next week will transport Wichita back to the Rat Pack era

Starting next week, Wichitans will be able to step back to the 1950s and soak in the vibe of an era when the Rat Pack, cocktails and conversation ruled.

Oliver’s Lounge, a new two-story Las Vegas-style “social club” specializing in craft cocktails, opens on Tuesday at 4717 E. Douglas. The bar is in Lincoln Heights Village at Douglas and Oliver, just a few doors south of Watermark Books and right next door to Extraordinaire Salon & Boutique.

It features mid century-style furnishings, a glass-backed bar, a basement seating area with a speakeasy feel, and a menu of cocktails and martinis along with red and white wine.

“What we wanted to focus on and create was a comfortable, relaxing lounge — a social club — with excellent cocktails,” said Danny Ivy, a well-known local mixologist who will be behind the bar at Oliver’s Lounge, a family project. Ivy’s sister, Kristi Ivy, is the bar’s general manager, and the siblings’ mother, Patti Allison, and their stepfather, Brent Allison, are also owners. The Allisons own Extraordinaire Salon & Boutique, and the upstairs portion of the bar is physically connected to that business.

The Allisons, who have had the salon for 17 years, were long interested in the space where Oliver’s will operate. It was previously home to McMullen Jewelry, which closed in the summer of 2022. Originally, the couple thought they’d expand the salon next door, but then they had another idea.

Lincoln Heights Village, which is also home to businesses like Livingston’s Cafe and Village Barber Shop, is pretty dead after 4 p.m., leaving a big open parking lot. The couple decided that the historic strip center would be perfect for a bar that would bring some nightlife to the area. Interestingly, they said, a bar has never before operated in the center during its entire 75-year history.

“We’ve got a full parking lot, which is a luxury that most businesses don’t have,” Brent Allison said. “What better fit than a bar?”

Oliver’s Lounge won’t serve its own food — at least not at first. The owners say they may add charcuterie boards and small bites come spring, and on Saturdays and Sundays, they’ll be working with the chef at Watermark Books to create a limited brunch menu that will pair with the bar’s cocktail menu.

Otherwise, the focus will be on the cocktails. The menu, which is included below, includes several martinis and a list of “icon” drinks that were popular in the Rat Pack era — Sidecars, Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, Negronis and the like.

Danny Ivy said one of his favorite parts of creating the cocktail menu was researching the histories of the various drinks. For example, he said, he created a Sazerac that uses both rye whiskey and cognac, though through the years, the drink has been made with one or the other, depending on the time period.

One unique feature of the bar: People will be able to order nearly every drink on the menu with lower amounts of alcohol, and a mocktail menu also will be available.

Oliver’s Lounge has 54 seats between the two levels. Upstairs, the bar is furnished with plush chairs and couches in rich blue and green hues. The downstairs seating is upholstered in mid-century rust.

The owners will provide old school tabletop games like checkers, chess and backgammon for people to play while they listen to big-band and Frank Sinatra tunes being piped into the bar. People getting their hair styled at the salon next door will be able to order to-go cocktails from the lounge, and those waiting for people getting salon services can hang out in the lounge when it’s open and enjoy a drink.

Oliver’s Lounge also is partnering with Watermark to put on book club events. The bar will provide cocktails to book clubs meeting at Watermark, and members will be invited over to the bar for after parties. The bar’s owners are also thinking about starting their own book club in the future.

Starting on Tuesday, the bar will be open from 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; from 2 p.m. to midnight on Fridays; from 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

Oliver’s Lounge menu