As It Was: Omar's — Ashland's first public bar

Omar’s, Ashland’s oldest restaurant and first public cocktail lounge, opened in 1946. But what many don’t know is that it got its name by accident.Omer and Hazel Hill, who had run Hill’s Café at Klamath Junction — now under water at Emigrant Lake — moved to Ashland in 1945. They built Omar’s on the former Berkeley Hot Springs site, planning to call the restaurant Omer’s (OH-merz). However, the sign painter [...]