440 NW 11th
Official Website (http://www.cafedobrazilokc.com/)
Menu (http://www.cafedobrazilokc.com/menu)
Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Do-Brazil/111474928893231?fref=ts)
Yelp (http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-do-brasil-oklahoma-city)
Urban Spoon (http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/46/500206/restaurant/Midtown/Cafe-do-Brasil-Oklahoma-City)
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/cdbwiki1.jpg
Information & Latest News
Gallery

http://www.okctalk.com/food-restaurants/6219-cafe-do-brasil.html

Get the picanha brasileira. The steak and the sides served with it are excellent

Tuna Sandwich - a little spicy but delicious.

Also they have a great brunch - for something lighter, I recommend the fruit bowl thingie (don't remember what its called, and like you - I'm too lazy to look it up!)

Anybody have an idea when the Bossa Nova bar is finally going to reopen?

Was supposed to happen months ago.

Not sure about this but there's now outdoor seating along walker (couldn't remember if we had this before or not). I looked up at the bassa nova space and it didn't look like anyone was up there...

Not sure about this but there's now outdoor seating along walker (couldn't remember if we had this before or not). I looked up at the bassa nova space and it didn't look like anyone was up there...

There's been outdoor seating there as long as I can remember.

ah okay, oops

This was taken by a friend of mine not too long ago. Looks like they open September 9th.

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Yes, they've been having soft openings and are Tweeting that 9/9 is their day to reopen Bossa Nova.

Can't wait to see the new space... I know it will be very different.

I got an invite to a soft opening night last week and didn't see it until the next day. Beeeeeeeyyooooo

I just wanted to throw out props for a great and unplanned trip to Cafe do Brasil that my wife and I enjoyed last Friday.

We had actually intended to try Empire Slice House, but we arrived too late and were faced with a nearly two-hour wait. So we drove east, just looking for...somewhere...as we had just gotten tired of the normal routine of chains and stuff. We wanted something different. We thought about McNellie's, but for whatever reason it didn't strike our fancy...and as we (well, I) was getting tired of driving and looking, we ended up in front of the Cafe.

We went in knowing next to nothing about the place, but came out just knocked out having had a wonderful meal and feeling SO appreciated as a customer! It's so rare these days.

I had this awesome dish called Romeo & Julieta, which was a cheese-stuffed pork steak in phillo dough served with spinach risotto. It was stinking spectacular. I don't recall the menu name for my wife's dinner, but it was a beautiful steak and rice with plaintains.

The atmosphere was talky but pleasant, a bit of live music in the background - and at one point he even asked us if he was playing too loud - (he was literally only about ten feet from our table), and we assured him we loved the music.

Bottom line, I thought it only appropriate to give props to a local place that gave us a wonderful and unexpected treat. And given that we were right across the street from Insomnia Cookies, it couldn't have worked out better :)

Looks like Midtown Renaissance acquired this property back in December for $3 million and already started work on it. Great to see an obviously good owner pick this one up.

Midtown Renaissance
@MidtownR
We are excited to announce that we have acquired the property at 440 NW 11th St and have begun the restoration process! Stay tuned for more information and updates on this project.

The property also includes the parking lot to the east. MidtownR now owns that entire block.

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For some reason I always assumed this was just a stucco building or house (whatever it was back in the day) lol. Cool to see what’s underneath.

that gives MidtownR control of this entire block i believe .. maybe with the exception of a small section in the SE corner ..

For some reason I always assumed this was just a stucco building or house (whatever it was back in the day) lol. Cool to see what’s underneath.
It was a mortuary. If you ever ate at Cafe do Brasil, when you walked into the dining room there was sort of an awkward transition between the entry and the floor of the dining room, which required walking down several steps. If you turned right before walking down the steps there was an alcove that was used as a seating area, but if viewed from the dining room (and you knew the history of the building) it would become obvious that the alcove was actually a viewing area for open casket services.

It was a mortuary. If you ever ate at Cafe do Brasil, when you walked into the dining room there was sort of an awkward transition between the entry and the floor of the dining room, which required walking down several steps. If you turned right before walking down the steps there was an alcove that was used as a seating area, but if viewed from the dining room (and you knew the history of the building) it would become obvious that the alcove was actually a viewing area for open casket services.

. . knew it was a mortuary but didn't think about the purpose of the alcove. . . now I can't get the memory of the meal I consumed "up there" :eek:

That's why we always ate outside :cool:

Anyone have any history on the building? Build date, name of mortuary, when it closed for those purposes? Just curious.

It was a mortuary. If you ever ate at Cafe do Brasil, when you walked into the dining room there was sort of an awkward transition between the entry and the floor of the dining room, which required walking down several steps. If you turned right before walking down the steps there was an alcove that was used as a seating area, but if viewed from the dining room (and you knew the history of the building) it would become obvious that the alcove was actually a viewing area for open casket services.

That’s right! I forgot about that too

According to the county assessor’s site it was built in 1938, but using the few city directories I could find online show Garrison Funeral Home operating in that same location as far back as 1929. So 1938 could possibly be an expansion/remodel, but more likely it was a ground-up new build on the site of an existing funeral home business.

Anyone have any history on the building? Build date, name of mortuary, when it closed for those purposes? Just curious.
Had a little time and found this: https://journalrecord.com/2009/07/these-walls-garrison-funeral-homecaf233-do-brasil/

Had a little time and found this: https://journalrecord.com/2009/07/these-walls-garrison-funeral-homecaf233-do-brasil/

^

Thank you! How interesting.

From that JR article:


The building, now home to Café do Brasil, housed the Garrison Funeral Home from the 1930s until 1978. Built in 1908, it was added onto by the Garrison family in 1938.
The finished product was a two-story, Spanish mission-style structure with white exterior walls and a red tiled roof.

The two-story Garrison Funeral Home had a crematorium, storage for bodies, a large chapel and upstairs apartments. The building sat vacant from the late 1970s until 2000, when a group attempted a renovation for a spa. Those plans were abandoned and the building sat surrounded by other ailing and vacant buildings in the area.


The couple set to work on renovations in 2004, but escalating costs slowed the project and it was not completed until late 2005 when the restaurant reopened in its new space. It now houses the restaurant and bar and his law office.

wow... it had apartments?! i'm not an overly superstitious person, but i'd have to be in pretty dire need to live over a funeral home. i'm sure it was built for the family that operated the business... but, still.

my great grandmother's funeral was in this building in 1957, so it was definitely operating as a funeral home then. my mom refused to eat at cafe do brazil for that reason.

wow... it had apartments?! i'm not an overly superstitious person, but i'd have to be in pretty dire need to live over a funeral home. i'm sure it was built for the family that operated the business... but, still.

my great grandmother's funeral was in this building in 1957, so it was definitely operating as a funeral home then. my mom refused to eat at cafe do brazil for that reason.

My best friend owned a embalming service at 13th and N. Robinson (1321 N Robinson)) and we stayed in the apartments upstairs. Never bothered me but I used to also sleep on the couch in the office downstairs.

I'm with Martin. I'd have to be hard up to stay in an apartment above a funeral home. And with all the brunches I had there I'm glad I didn't remember it being a funeral home.

My best friend owned a embalming service at 13th and N. Robinson (1321 N Robinson)) and we stayed in the apartments upstairs. Never bothered me but I used to also sleep on the couch in the office downstairs.

ha! you're a better person than me! i think two things would get me: #1, the smells... i'd think cremation and embalming would have some sort of smell. not that they'd be overly 'bad', it's just knowing what they are would (potentially) be an odd reminder. #2, any sounds in the middle of the night. i've seen way too many horror movies to check on any sound during the night in a place like a mortuary. it never ends well. : )

midtown renaissance just posted these two pics on facebook:

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Was Guardian Midtown the one on Robinson, just south of the Stryker/Baptist Building? White, frame 2 story house. They did my great aunt there around 1990.

Was Guardian Midtown the one on Robinson, just south of the Stryker/Baptist Building? White, frame 2 story house. They did my great aunt there around 1990.

Yes. It's now the site of the Monarch building.

midtown renaissance just posted these two pics on facebook:

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Thank you; that's amazing.

Can't wait to see MidtownR restore that building to glory. They have done so many truly great restoration projects, and the large majority have to have been big short-term money losers. So few developers anywhere willing to do that -- they have done so much for OKC.

I drove by there today and for the first time noticed all the cracks in the stucco which have probably been there for quite some time.

Odd. I guess it's just the angle but it doesn't look like there was room for the building length patio that ran along Walker.

Thank you; that's amazing.

Can't wait to see MidtownR restore that building to glory. They have done so many truly great restoration projects, and the large majority have to have been big short-term money losers. So few developers anywhere willing to do that -- they have done so much for OKC.

I drove by there today and for the first time noticed all the cracks in the stucco which have probably been there for quite some time.
Unfortunately it looks to me on first blush that they will be forced to simply reapply stucco rather than revert back to the original brick. It appears that whoever applied stucco originally scored the brick in order to have a base to adhere to. When you can find a stucco job that instead used mesh screwed into the brick it's usually possible to restore the brick. Here I think that will be impossible.

One way that scored brick has been "repaired" on some HP projects is to REMOVE the brick veneer, and then rebuild it by turning the brick backwards so that the un-scored side is now on the front of the facade. Unfortunately that is pretty cost-prohibitive on a commercial project such as this one.

^

Based on your astute observation about the scored brick, it looks like little progress has been made and perhaps once they discovered the damaged brick underneath, they are now rethinking their renovation plan.

If you look closely or just walk by, you can see the existing stucco is all cracked and in pretty bad shape. As much charm as this building has, it is in serious need of some expensive TLC. For example, look at the glass block in the lower right corner... That entire property is really tattered.

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Looks like they have decided to repair the stucco rather than try and strip down to the brick.

They have cleaned up the offices upstairs (separate from the large bar area) and they are for lease.

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^^^^^^^^^
Yeah, unfortunately the original brick had been terribly scored/defaced in order to accept plaster decades ago. The only possibility other than repairing/replacing the plaster would have been to remove all of the brick and turn it around, using the back side as the new front side. I've seen it done, but only on projects where money was no object. Midtown Renaissance never does stuff on the cheap, but I'll promise the only money LOSING project they will ever do was the Marion Hotel. They only took THAT on because the City asked them to as a part of the TIF funding request for the parking garage that serves Marion and the building where Broadway 10 is located. They do really great work, but they're still a decidedly for-profit endeavor.

i totally understand the brick, but i wonder why they chose to remove the decorative columns on the second-floor arches. maybe they plan on enclosing that section?

^^^^^^^
I don't have any specific insight regarding that decision.

They continue to make progress on repairing the stucco, which was badly needed.

From https://www.facebook.com/MidtownRenaissance:

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Dreaming, but just imagine if Fogo was able to make a go here. It would be like a Brasilian embassy.

Nearing completion of the remodel. Note they have replaced all the windows.

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They redid all the funky concrete and tile work leading into the building -- it was looking pretty shabby.

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This really is a beautiful building. Props to Midtown Renaissance for preserving and upgrading it.

ha! you're a better person than me! i think two things would get me: #1, the smells... i'd think cremation and embalming would have some sort of smell. not that they'd be overly 'bad', it's just knowing what they are would (potentially) be an odd reminder. #2, any sounds in the middle of the night. i've seen way too many horror movies to check on any sound during the night in a place like a mortuary. it never ends well. : )

Somehow I missed this part of the conversation, until now. My grandparents lived in the 2nd floor of a funeral home (all of first 1st floor), complete with embalming (just no cremation). As a kid, I spent many nights with my grandparents. I don't remember anything too crazy that happened, never even saw a ghost. I did have one friend that refused to even step foot onsite, even to shovel snow for pay!

Needless to say, this wouldn't bother me a bit.

The are planning to rework the west patio.

Have not heard anything about a new tenant as of yet.

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looks like they are leveling out the patio to the elevation of the north end. i'm assuming that the second story windows are omitted from the rendering since they're out of the project scope... certainly those won't be removed.

There is a for lease sign out front