Allen, Richard “Dick”
1949 – 2018
Richard Meara Allen, age 68, of Columbus, Oh, passed away Sunday, August 12 at Kobacker House in Columbus. Born September 11, 1949 in Charleston, West Virginia, he was the son of the late Charles Delmar and Mary Lucille (Hinterschied) Allen. Dick attended Immaculate Conception before going on to Graduate as a Golden Eagle from Bishop Watterson High School.

He was the owner of several bars and restaurants throughout his life as an entrepreneur in Columbus. Many of which were located on the campus of The Ohio State University, where he attended college. The Oar House, The Travel Agency, Surf City, Dead Eye Dick’s Saloon, Kitties Long Branch Saloon, and The Bombay Yacht Club, to name a few, were the foundation blocks for what has now evolved into the OSU campus bar scene. After his long run on campus, Dick pursued ventures downtown with Allen O’Mearas, Aristotle’s, The Old Pewter Mug, and Chameleon’s. Perhaps most notable of his establishments, located in the Victorian Village, he founded Zeno’s. Zeno’s has served as the community’s local watering hole for, as of August 10, 34 years. His patrons were his closest of friends, and his employees may as well have been his children. He seemed to have enough love in his heart for everyone. Dick paved the way for bar and restaurant owners in Columbus by constantly battling for their independent business rights, and by sacrificing much of his own to do what was right for many. A large part of this came through his tenure as the Treasurer of the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association, as he has held that position since the OLBA was founded.

As if he didn’t have enough going on, he was also involved in the ownership of Oakhurst Country Club in Grove City, where he was Chairman of the Board. This gave a pretty good excuse to be at the golf course for long periods of time, and several days in a row.

Dick Allen was a Husband, a Father, a Grandfather, and a Brother first, a best friend second, and a brilliant businessman last, however he played all of the parts so well, that it may be hard to rank them. Always putting the interests of others before his own, Dick loved to vacation with his family, simply to provide for them and bask in the joy of their happiness. Of course there were some small benefits that came with training three sons into bartenders/servers over his lifetime, but he deserved every bit of the hospitality that he got, and more.

Aside from getting away with the family, he found joy in being an avid Blue Jackets, Browns, and Buckeyes fan. Dick Allen was a mountain of a man with a heart of gold, and he will be terribly missed. If there is one quote of his that captures the way he lived his life, it would be, “Do it like you know it, or don’t do it at all.” This is the advice of a Legend, Dick Allen, may he rest in peace.
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