We'll know for sure tomorrow....

It sounds like they could use a change of name as they proceed in attempting to convince us that this is a legit business.

IIRC Toby Keith's has a similar floorplan, stage, dance floor, mezzanine.

It sounds like they could use a change of name as they proceed in attempting to convince us that this is a legit business.

And because Exhale sounds a whole lot more like a cigar lounge than it does a family steakhouse...

If you google the name, almost none are strip joints, etc. I find hookah bars, steakhouses, spas, yoga schools, etc, etc, etc. I guess this board's immediate assumption or suspicion of it being something risqué is probably telling. And everyone on here isn't from HH. LOL

Met with designer this morning. They're not ready to do a story. But designer (Dave Ledbetter) says Exhale is name of company, won't be name of restaurant, that the name will likely be "Broadway Station." He showed me preliminary exterior design - looks like a nod to the old Oklahoma Station, old west motif. Says it will be a restaurant with country/western performances....

Weird

So some folk can soon scoot a boot from TK's in BT all the way up through AA once this is up and running. That'll make some CM fans happy. Some hipsters ... not so much.

Though I am not a country western fan, this is not a bad idea. Austin has thrived by embracing the cool cowboy image while we tend to get embarrassed by our heritage. This could be okay as long as it embraces the cool side, not the backwoods side of country.

Met with designer this morning. They're not ready to do a story. But designer (Dave Ledbetter) says Exhale is name of company, won't be name of restaurant, that the name will likely be "Broadway Station." He showed me preliminary exterior design - looks like a nod to the old Oklahoma Station, old west motif. Says it will be a restaurant with country/western performances....

Hopefully the old west motif is subtle on the exterior. I don't really care what they do on the inside, as country-western isn't my thing.

I used to be dead-set against C&W but a girlfriend opened me up to the genre and I was surprised to find that the large majority of the newer music is pretty progressive.

It's really the last bastion of the singer/songwriter and many of them are very talented.

If this was a nice place that featured artists that could really sing -- as opposed to some sort of honky tonk -- even the hipper crowd might find some interest.


There are certainly not nearly enough live music venues in town and if this does well that may help the Tower Theater as well as some other nearby spots.

Red Dirt/Texas Country music is very different from old school country. Artists like Cross Canadian Ragweed (although they broke up), Jason Boland, and others are pretty popular among younger people.

Says it will be a restaurant with country/western performances....

Maybe it will nab the same big time country artists (not one) that I Love This Bar and Grill promised

The latest from Steve on his blog.

http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/2012/01/26/nw-15-and-broadway-delayed/

i actually think this city needs a good hip hop club a lot more than another family style place. Diversity is good for people and establishments... And this is an entertainment district and area.

totally agree

Kilgore, Ebah, I'm not aware of anything entertainment related within three blocks of this site. This is a site surrounded by housing and offices.

Got them dog done gone, neighbors asking ding dang questions, mud on my bare tires, mommas up all night worrisome blues.

Kilgore, Ebah, I'm not aware of anything entertainment related within three blocks of this site. This is a site surrounded by housing and offices.

First I think you're wrong because the Womb is not an entertainment venue. Secondly, you're only right if you look at the situation in a traditional and mechanistic sense. First, I think 9th street already an "entertainment district" even if not in a traditional sense. Iguana is much more than a restaurant it is a social happening (esp on Tuesdays). S&Bs and Panchinko are not just places to grab food, but to hang out also. 9th street ocassionally has closed the street for a variety of parties (e.g. Mustache Bash). The Red Prime bar can certainly be considered an entertainment venue. Coffee Slingers is a place to hang out. The area will continue to move in that direction. Within 10 years this area will have a significant entertainment presence in the traditional sense, but I completely disagree that it does not have one now. I guess it's how you define entertainment...

I figured you were referring to 9th Street. But that's six blocks away - and in downtown geography, that's really quite a separation. Look at it from Google Earth, and I think you'll see what I mean. NW 15 and Broadway is NOT a part of Alley (it officially ends at NW 10). If this were being proposed along NW 9 or in the immediate vicinity, yes, that would be part of an entertainment district.

Fair enough.

I think there's a lot of nuance when it comes to these sorts of things...

Steve, I saw on your blog the decision is being delayed. Were there protestors to the concept present, or was it more a realization some ducks were not lined up just yet?

I'm told the applicant failed to send required notifications to neighboring property owners...

And it is on the Board of Adjustment's agenda for Thursday the 16th, to re-hear about the parking lot across the street. The neighbors had not be properly noticed and thus the previous BOA permission was rescinded.

http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/2012/02/16/exhale-inconsistencies-with-the-truth/

Attaboy Steve!

You've done a fantastic job covering this story from the word go.

Ledbetter's stance and that of the actual owners is very strange... No wonder people are suspicious of their plans.

The seating and network of passage ways around the interior perimeter of the building seem to be pretty telling. I agree with Pete, go get 'em Steve.

Again, I'm continually embarrassed by Steve and other's negative connotation associated with a "hip hop club." It comes across as racist and I can't say this enough... OKC needs good hip hop clubs to be a big league city. Go to any big league city and tell me if they have popular hip hop clubs in their core.

How does one tell the difference between a "good" and a "bad" "hip hop" club?
(Maybe consulting Hugh Hefner is in order....)

Again, I'm continually embarrassed by Steve and other's negative connotation associated with a "hip hop club." It comes across as racist and I can't say this enough... OKC needs good hip hop clubs to be a big league city. Go to any big league city and tell me if they have popular hip hop clubs in their core.

Kilgore, I'm not making ANY connotations with hip hop clubs in these posts! Read what I wrote - that discussion is being prompted by readers, not myself. Show me one time when I initiated discussion of this being a hip-hop club or made any insinuation I think hip hop is bad. You can't. I actually curtailed such discussion on my blog and redirected it back to talk about this property.
That said, I doubt Heritage Hills would want a Rave club, Heavy Metal club or County Western club next to their homes any more than a hip-hop club. If you knew me at all, you'd quickly realize how ridiculous it is to accuse me of being a racist. I'm embarrassed that you would take such a cheap shot at me. I thought better of you.

Nothing against "hip-hop clubs" but this definitly is not the right spot for it, or really a "honky tonk" for that matter.

At OKCCentral Steve reports he spoke to the restaurant consultant seeking the approval (David Ledbetter) and he confirmed it will not be a strip or hip hop club.

Said it would be more of a family style restaurant, which certainly doesn't seem to match the submitted floor plan.

I apologize, Steve. The tone is out there, but maybe it's not emanating from you. I guess you just asked whether it was a strip or hip hop club... Not sure why it's important to confirm that, but I was too harsh... Apologies.

Too often in Oklahoma, hip hop = ghetto and that's a bad stereotype. The narrowmindedness can be frustrating. Again, sorry Steve.

I apologize, Steve. The tone is out there, but maybe it's not emanating from you. I guess you just asked whether it was a strip or hip hop club... Not sure why it's important to confirm that, but I was too harsh... Apologies.

I asked because several readers of the first post pointed out that the configuration of the space resembled how a strip club or hip-hop club would be set up. For what it's worth, last night I was pretty upset over the death of an acquaintance and probably was a bit too harsh myself in my response. ...my apologies as well.

(Aside to Steve - the Exhale property doesn't abut Heritage Hills, but rather, Heritage Hills East, a wholly independent neighborhood association. HH stops at Robinson. For them to inject themselves in the matter, as your first blog on the topic wondered, would require them to ignore and run over HHE, a move you strongly, and rightfully, questioned them for doing on the Edge/MidTown issue. Just a thought........)

Picky, picky.

In order to counter allegations of "racism" and "musical elitism" and stuff like that there . . .
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(Brought to you courtesy of the recently Ogle-ized K-K-Klansmen who just want to set the record straight.)

According to Steve in his blog:


We now know that the mysterious operators of “Exhale,” the restaurant? club? bar? planned for NW 15 and Broadway have withdrawn their application for ABC (alcohol zoning) at next week’s Planning Commission. Is the development dead? Don’t know, but wouldn’t assume anything.


http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/2012/02/17/week-wrap-up/

This is one of the strangest things ever.

It may die without anyone really know the full story.