The iconic building on the northwest corner of Wall Street and Franklin Avenue in downtown Bend now has a tentative opening date, offering patrons something of a Bend history lesson along with its food and drink. Olive & May is the creation of Peter Kost, Caprice Neely and Fergal Donoher — all who have at least partial ownership in Ken’s Artisan Pizza in Bend.
The new restaurant, located in the former Drake location and tentatively set to open Sunday, Aug. 23, (editor’s note: the print edition misstated the opening date as Aug. 22; we regret the error) is named for two women who made their mark on Bend’s history: May Arnold and Olive McKay. As part of the local women’s league, in 1920 Arnold gathered 1,500 signatures to get the city to purchase the 10.5 acres that is now Drake Park from owners Clyde and Olive McKay.
“We wanted to just pay some homage to these ladies, and thought their names went well together,” explained Neely.
The homage continues with a wall of photos of notable Bend women (and photos of the owners’ mothers, to boot), as well as a 1920s art-deco décor.
“The type of glassware they we’re using, and plateware, and all that kind of stuff — it all harkens back a little bit to that deco era,” Kost told the Source.
Olive & May’s menu is based on foods from the northern Mediterranean, and will rotate often.
“How I look at that is a bit of Spanish, French, Italian and Greek. The menu will rotate throughout the seasons, but always using influences from those areas, with our own twists,” Kost said.
On the drinks menu, expect classics — another homage to the 1920s — including a Paper Plane, classic Martini, Negroni and the Malfy Mint Gimlet. On the current food menu, crafted by Kost and Chef Josef “Joey” Kothenbeutel (formerly of Drake), look for seafood-forward appetizers including Sautéed Mussels, Grilled Octopus and Scallops, along with Pomegranate Glazed Baby Back Ribs and Saganaki, a seared Greek cheese. (Yum!) The dinner menu includes several options for pasta, as well as Black Cod, Halibut Cheeks, Bavette Steak and a Double-Cut Pork Chop.
With its central location, the owners hope it becomes a neighborhood hangout for locals and the many people who frequent Bend from parts elsewhere, as well as being a place that catches tourists’ eyes as they stroll by. That’s exactly how Neely and husband Donoher first discovered Drake — visiting from Portland and falling in love with the city, and the eye-catching corner restaurant. Experiences like that later prompted them to make a full-time move to Bend.
“For our locals, what we would really hope for is that much like when we first started to come into to Drake, is that it becomes like a weekly stop,” Neely said. “It’s like the comfortable place to come and be a regular, eating-out destination.”
Olive & May
Tentative opening Sun., Aug. 23
Open 4:30-9pm Mon, Wed-Thu, 4:30-10pm Fri-Sat
801 NW Wall St., Bend
oliveandmay-bend.com
This article appears in the Source August 13, 2026.
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