Unearth The Voyage
Some of West Virginia’s most memorable dining experiences happen in places that look easy to overlook. The Oakford Pool Hall in Richwood has been a local gathering place since 1935, combining classic small-town hospitality with a menu that has earned a reputation far beyond Nicholas County.
While the pool table remains at the heart of the experience, many visitors come for the food. Hand-pressed burgers, house-made buns, comfort-food favorites, and homemade desserts have helped turn this longtime pool hall into one of the area’s most beloved restaurants.
Add a welcoming atmosphere and deep community roots, and it’s easy to see why travelers and locals alike keep finding their way back through the door.
A Street Address With a Story Behind Every Letter
The Oakford Pool Hall sits at 38 Oakford Ave, Richwood, WV 26261, and even the street name carries weight in this town. J.W.
Oakford, a businessman from Scranton, Pennsylvania, is widely credited as the real founder of Richwood, and his name lives on across the community in ways most visitors never notice.
Oakford Avenue, the former Oakford Theatre, the Oakford Lodge, and now this pool hall all carry that legacy forward. There is something quietly powerful about a business that plants itself on a historically meaningful street and then works hard enough to deserve the address.
The building itself feels like it belongs exactly where it stands. The phone number is 304-846-6227, and the doors open at 11 AM most days of the week.
That combination of deep local roots and genuine accessibility is part of what makes this place feel less like a business and more like a landmark that simply decided to serve food.
How a Pool Hall Built in 1935 Became a Community Anchor
Pool halls have a long history in Richwood. One local establishment called The Sportsmen Pool Room operated for nearly half a century, running well into the 1980s, and the tradition of gathering around a table for a friendly game has never fully left this town.
The Oakford Pool Hall traces its roots back to 1935, carrying on a tradition that has outlasted trends, recessions, and the general noise of modern life. When the current LLC was formally established in June 2020, it was not starting something new so much as breathing fresh air into something very old.
That sense of continuity is visible the moment you look around the room. Wooden walls display various items that feel more like a personal collection than a decorator’s choice.
The corrugated metal siding along the bottom half of the bar adds an industrial texture that somehow feels completely at home here, and the whole room hums with a relaxed, lived-in energy that no renovation could manufacture.
The Pool Table That Started It All
Not every bar bothers keeping a pool table in good shape. At the Oakford, the pool table is the point.
It is old-school in the best possible way, with the kind of solid, satisfying feel that modern venues rarely bother to recreate.
Motorcycle travelers stopping on their way to the Cranberry Glades have mentioned that the table alone was worth the detour. There is something about the rhythm of a good game of pool in a room this size that slows everything down in a way that feels almost therapeutic.
The table sits in a space that was clearly designed around it rather than squeezed in as an afterthought. The lighting, the layout, and the general mood of the room all seem to acknowledge that this is the centerpiece.
Everything else, the food, the drinks, the conversation, orbits around that green felt surface like planets around a very laid-back sun.
Burgers So Good They Have Their Own Fan Club
The half-pound, hand-pressed beef burger at the Oakford has earned a reputation that stretches well beyond Richwood. Locals call it the best burger in Nicholas County, and given the competition, that is not a claim made lightly.
The buns are made on-site, which immediately sets these burgers apart from anything assembled from a food-service delivery box. The patties are thick, juicy, and grilled with the kind of care that comes from actually caring about what you serve.
The Hellbender Burger is the standout on the menu, named after the giant aquatic salamander native to West Virginia’s mountain streams. Then there is the George Washington, a chicken and bacon sandwich that the owner has publicly called her personal favorite.
Mushroom and Swiss, classic variations, and daily specials round out a lineup that punches well above its weight for a kitchen this small. The curly fries that often accompany these burgers have their own devoted following.
A Kitchen That Refuses to Cut Corners
The menu at the Oakford reads like someone sat down and asked what people actually want to eat rather than what is easiest to prepare. Nothing here is frozen.
Everything arrives fresh, and that philosophy shows up clearly on the plate.
Taco Tuesday has developed its own loyal following, with visitors planning return trips specifically around the Mexican food special. The pot roast sandwich with mashed potatoes has quietly become the kind of comfort food that people talk about long after they have left Richwood behind.
Pulled pork nachos, jalapeno poppers made from scratch, wings that arrive juicy and full of flavor, and salads that hold their own alongside the heartier options round out a menu that takes its job seriously. The kitchen has also handled catering for large groups at off-site locations, serving up to fifty people with fresh food and genuine professionalism.
That kind of range from a small-town pool hall kitchen is genuinely impressive.
Desserts That Deserve Their Own Separate Trip
Dessert at a pool hall is not something most people plan around, but the Oakford has a way of changing that expectation quickly. The homemade desserts here are the kind that make you regret every bite of burger you took before leaving room for them.
Red velvet cupcakes are a signature item, made in-house and served with just enough sweetness to feel indulgent without becoming overwhelming. Visitors who have tried them often mention that the balance is exactly right, which is harder to achieve than it sounds.
The dessert selection rotates and evolves, which gives regulars a reason to keep checking back and gives first-timers a pleasant element of surprise. One visitor admitted to skipping dessert simply because there was no room left after the main course, and immediately regretted it.
That regret, the kind that sends people back through the door on the next visit, might be the most honest review the kitchen has ever received.
Craft Beer Selection That Punches Above Its Size
For a venue this size, the beverage lineup at the Oakford is genuinely thoughtful. Several local craft beers rotate on tap alongside domestic options in bottles and cans, giving both the adventurous drinker and the creature-of-habit regular something to enjoy.
The corrugated metal siding along the bottom half of the bar gives the counter area a distinct visual character that feels both rustic and intentional. Sitting there with a cold pint of something local while a burger arrives hot from the kitchen is a combination that has converted more than a few casual visitors into devoted fans.
In 2020, the Oakford was voted WV Living’s Best Watering Hole in the Mountain Lakes Region, a recognition that reflects both the quality of what is on tap and the overall experience of the place. That kind of award does not go to a spot that is simply adequate; it goes to a place that has figured out exactly what it wants to be and delivers it consistently.
Best Time to Visit
The Oakford keeps a schedule that reflects the rhythms of small-town life. Monday through Thursday, the doors open at 11 AM and close at 10 PM.
Friday stretches to 1 AM, and Saturday runs until 2 AM, giving weekend visitors a proper window to settle in.
Sunday is a day off for the staff and their families, which the owners are upfront about and unapologetic for. That kind of policy says something about how this business is run, with people at the center of the operation rather than revenue targets.
Saturday evenings tend to bring the most energy, especially during football season, when the crowd can swell significantly. A youth football team once arrived with twenty children and thirteen adults after a championship win, and the staff handled the entire group without missing a beat.
If a quiet weekday lunch is more your speed, Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon offers the full menu with a much more relaxed pace and plenty of room to breathe.
Richwood Itself Is Worth the Drive
Richwood sits near the edge of the Monongahela National Forest in Nicholas County, and the drive in from any direction is the kind of mountain road that reminds you why West Virginia has the word “wild” built into its state motto.
The town has been quietly reinventing itself in recent years, drawing foodies, artists, and outdoor adventure seekers who have discovered that the mountains around Richwood offer serious hiking, fishing, and natural scenery without the crowds that follow more famous destinations.
The Cranberry Glades Botanical Area is a short drive away, a rare Atlantic coastal plain bog ecosystem sitting improbably in the Appalachian highlands that genuinely has to be seen to be believed. Ramp festivals, local art, and a growing food culture have added new energy to a town that already had plenty of character to work with.
The Oakford Pool Hall fits naturally into this story, a place that has been here through all of it and shows no signs of slowing down.
Why This Place Stays With You Long After You Leave
There is a specific feeling that only certain places can produce, the sense that you have found something real in a world full of things designed to look real. The Oakford Pool Hall produces that feeling reliably, and the reviews left by visitors over the years read less like restaurant ratings and more like personal thank-you notes.
People come in for a burger and leave talking about the staff. They stop for a game of pool and end up staying for dessert.
First-timers arrive skeptical and depart converted, already planning a return visit and telling everyone they know to make the detour.
That kind of loyalty is not built through marketing or a carefully curated social media presence. It is built one honest meal, one genuine conversation, and one well-played game at a time.
The Oakford has been doing exactly that since 1935, and whatever comes next for Richwood, this little pool hall on Oakford Avenue seems determined to be part of the story.
