Family-Owned Oliver's Picked by Patch Readers

Another round of voting is done and our latest contest has a winner.

We asked "" and you hit this one out of the park!

With more than half of the vote, gets the "W" and is your pick for Readers' Choice.

Family History

Joanne Les says she's "just the mom" but she's really part of an area family legacy. She's retired now but still helps out occasionally at Oliver's, which is owned by her two sons Tom and Pete.

The building in which you can find Oliver's, 6150 159th St., has been owned by the Les family for years. Joanne was a part of a Les-family-run restaurant at the building that operated for several years. Most recently, it had been leased to Giordano's pizza for more than 10 years. Then, in 2006, Oliver's started up.

"This is now the next generation," Joanne said. "My kids are running it.”

And why, after running a restaurant and being involved in other local hospitality ventures, did members of the Les family go in the direction of a sports bar?

"We wanted to keep it a family restaurant and bar," Joanne said. And, of course, it had to include sports.

Both Tom and Pete were ballplayers, Joanne said.

“We get the Cubs and the Sox (fans). You’d be surprised," Joanne said. "We have a lot of Cubs fans. We like the Sox, personally, but we get a lot of Cubs fans."

Oliver's boasts 24 TVs, all set to sports, and more than 20 beers on tap. Its signature dish is the ribs.

The bar often participates in local events and nonprofit efforts. Joanne said they take pride in being a part of the Oak Forest community.

“And we’re here to stay, hopefully for the next generation.”