Owner of bar in downtown Salem shares inspiration behind business
Scott Larrick was influenced by his time in Norway and Europe to offer a diverse selection of beers and wines at The OG Ltd in Salem.
Larrick is originally from Westerville, Ohio and settled in downtown Salem.
“I started at a wine store in Colorado Springs that was well-established and known for good quality products. I worked as a manager for five years, and then moved to Norway. I was a general manager of a craft brewery over in Norway and it certainly educated me,” he said. “I have some friends and colleagues in Norway, helped them start a distribution and importing company over there and worked for them for a number of years.”
Once he came back to the U.S., Larrick wanted to open a retail craft beer shop that was similar to the business he worked at in Colorado Springs.
“I always had an interest in starting something but wasn’t sure what that would be,” Larrick said. “I wanted to have a retail store along the lines of the one I started out in Colorado, but it’s a smaller town. I didn’t think that would attract enough business having niche wine and beer selection, so I thought adding the bar side would be a good thing to bring people in. Then you have to have food.”
There’s a carefully curated selection of over 250 unique beers and ciders, with more than 150 wines available to try at The OG Ltd, which are also available to take back home.
“The imported beers come through distributors, so I have to buy from distributors that anybody else could also buy from. But if you don’t have the knowledge of it, or you don’t express interest to the distributor, those aren’t always products that’ll be in stock a lot. I work directly with a number of local breweries like Birdfish Brewing Co., Modern Methods, Noble Creature and UnHitched in Lousiville,” Larrick said.
Larrick brought in trained chef Chris McMillan to run the kitchen at The OG Ltd, which opened at 146 S. Broadway Ave. in 2024.
“Even from my work in Colorado, we sold a lot of Belgian beers and German beers and imported stuff there as well,” Larrick said. “But working over there, I got to meet a lot of the people and visit different breweries. Even my wine selection has quite a lot of international varieties from international producers. While we still probably have mostly American wines and beers, there’s a greater focus on those inside, since I did work abroad and was more educated in what you can get from over there.”
Community members have flocked to The OG Ltd for special events and weekly get-togethers, like book clubs and dinners with strangers.
“The businesses in downtown Salem work well together,” Larrick said. “We meet quarterly to try and promote events, get people in town. People can come grab a beverage from my place or another bar around in the area then walk around, visit boutiques and flower shops, plus Kast Iron Soda. Farmers market starts in May so it’s a nice place. Downtown is really coming back and more stuff is popping up every day.”
Customers’ favorite menu items include the classic OG steak sandwich, filet mignon medallions
“We have a fairly big space, so we can still be open as a restaurant to the public while also having parties go on,” Larrick said.
