A beloved North Myrtle Beach neighborhood bar may have new owners, but the tradition, culture and unmistakable Pittsburgh vibes aren’t going anywhere.
Oscar’s Food & Spirits has been a staple since 1988, founded by Oscar “Freddie” Williams and his wife, Carla. A Pittsburgh Boilermaker, Freddie created the bar as a welcoming home for Steeler fans, locals and vacationers.
After Freddie’s death, Carla spent the last 18 years running Oscar’s on her own before deciding to sell and retire, with the goal of finding new owners committed to preserving its history.
Local restaurateur and longtime patron Marc McDowell is now at the helm.
“I grew up in this area. Oscar’s opened in 1988, and I’ve been a customer since the early ’90s,” McDowell told What Now Charleston. “They built a type of business that was in the neighborhood, family-friendly. You got to know not only the business, but the people behind it. I’ve always been friends with them, and once I got into the restaurant business, we were peers.”
McDowell plans to retain the staff everyone knows and loves, including some employees who have been at Oscar’s since the beginning, as they continue into the bar’s next chapter.
“We know the staff. The staff knows us. They’ve embraced us. North Myrtle Beach is a small community. Even though it is spaced out, in the bar and restaurant business, we all kind of know each other,” he said.
The new team will also keep the menu unchanged.
“We have the Primanti Brothers style. The Pittsburgh-style sandwich, back in the Boilermaker days, would include fries and coleslaw on the sandwich. We offer that option. The type of food here has been the same since they’ve opened it 38 years ago,” McDowell said.
Aside from its infamous Pittsburgh-style sandwich, the menu features shareable bar appetizers, handhelds, pizzas, wings, salads and burgers.
McDowell plans to make minor interior updates to keep the restaurant fresh.
“Our plans are just basically some facility upgrades, which would include audio and video, new barstools, new bar furniture, new dining room furniture, the place needs some new flooring. It’s just things a lot of restaurants look at regularly to keep up with the volume of people coming in and out,” he said.
McDowell said he and his team are excited to be part of Oscar’s as it looks forward to hopefully another 38 years.
“We’re excited about being able to own and operate a place with such good reputation. It has a customer base that is passionate. A lot of places can close or change over and nobody noticed, but Oscar’s has got a lot of attention because of its meaningfulness to the community. I’m excited to carry that on,” he said.
The team will begin renovations after Super Bowl Sunday and aims to reopen Oscar’s Food & Spirits in March, just in time for March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day.
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