On Thursday’s episode of Tennessee Crossroads a familiar place could be seen, Ollie’s Place: A Little Taste of Soul.
Ollie Page, the owner of Ollies explained he had previously worked in a restaurant when he was younger with his dad. His dad was the cook and he a dish washer, but they were not allowed in the dining room at that restaurant.
Now people come from far and near to talk to Ollie and eat his delicious food. Ollie along with his wife, Janie, serve soul food. Beans are on the menu, in one fashion or another, every day. Along with fried chicken Fridays, Ollie’s has a different special each day.
Breakfast at Ollie’s is served, in true southern fashion, all day long.
And a big draw, that is not seen many places around these parts, is frog legs.
According to Ollie people come from all over to enjoy the foods Ollie and Janie serve up. On weekends it is not uncommon to see people as far as Mt. Juliet in the Ollie’s parking lot.
Ollie also explained the story behind Tipsy, the ever-present elephant standing watch over the building. A handyman in town told Ollie he needed an elephant, to which Ollie disagreed. One day the handyman dropped off the elephant and left him there for a few weeks. When the man retrieved the elephant to locals missed him so Ollie and Janie bought the elephant and the rest as they say is history. Tipsy, however, isn’t the only elephant that can be spotted at Ollies, on look around the dining room shows a myriad of albeit smaller elephants, each one gifted to Ollie’s patrons.
The episode on Tennessee Crossroads featuring Ollie’s, as well as all other episodes can be found on tennesseecrossroads.org/.
