Well of course it isn't McDonalds. it was an extreme comment a bit tongue in cheek. My point is just because a place is busy on a friday and saturday doesn't mean its much to brag about. many middle of the road type of joints are busy. just not my Scene. My point is I would rather it be a little different. Hal Smith definately knows his market and has a variety of levels of Cuisine. Some I am a fan of others I am not it is just my opinion. It is difficult to run a multi-level establishment but I would love a roof top terrace for drinks. I know it wont happen here but I can dream. But I agree with you on the patio. It is a total waste to have canal front property and not have a nice patio.


Not every restaurant can be a high-concept, high-dollar place. Sometimes I want Texas Roadhouse instead of Red Prime (and more often, I can only afford the one and not the other). Also, as Rover stated, opinions are going to differ on whether a restaurant is "middle of the road" or not.

Not every restaurant can be a high-concept, high-dollar place. Sometimes I want Texas Roadhouse instead of Red Prime (and more often, I can only afford the one and not the other). Also, as Rover stated, opinions are going to differ on whether a restaurant is "middle of the road" or not.

Notice I said that is my opinion

Notice I said that is my opinion

And that was mine. Yay, discussion boards.

Hal Smith knows how to make money selling food to Okies.

Isn't this going to be a sports bar concept?

Does Hal Smith operate a true sports bar?... I don't think he does, so I'm guessing they will go all out and make this one of a kind and the best sports bar in Okc. I think many people have been calling for more / better sports bars in Okc especially downtown / bricktown for a few years now. This should give the people what they want.

Think something like a better version of Buffalo Wild Wings / only with KD's name attached to it.

Isn't this going to be a sports bar concept?

Does Hal Smith operate a true sports bar?... I don't think he does, so I'm guessing they will go all out and make this one of a kind and the best sports bar in Okc. I think many people have been calling for more / better sports bars in Okc especially downtown / bricktown for a few years now. This should give the people what they want.

Think something like a better version of Buffalo Wild Wings / only with KD's name attached to it.

I'm with you on hoping for better sports bars. There really aren't many options. Louie's has done a great job of saturating and watering down the sports bar market. It seems like theyve stifled any competition by opening on every block. I would think someone would have noticed the success of Republic by know and replicated something like that somewhere else. All in all, there aren't many options to have great sports viewing while enjoying food and a drink, without smelling like an ashtray.

I'm with you on hoping for better sports bars. There really aren't many options. Louie's has done a great job of saturating and watering down the sports bar market. It seems like theyve stifled any competition by opening on every block. I would think someone would have noticed the success of Republic by know and replicated something like that somewhere else. All in all, there aren't many options to have great sports viewing while enjoying food and a drink, without smelling like an ashtray.

Well since Louie's is a Hal Smith project I am hoping KD's isn't just a Louie's with KD memorabilia instead of a variety of other stuff the way Louie's is now. I'd like them to at least try to make an origional space. The city does need more places to have brew and food and watch a game without all the smoke. Would be great if we Finally got on board with no smoking in Bars like most other Cities.

The only really good local sports bars IMHO are Republic and Brix.

Let's please get back to the subject, which is the new Kevin Durant Restaurant.

If you want to discuss the smoking laws -- and they are important -- please start a new thread for that.


Thanks.

[moved to new smoking thread]

Let's please get back to the subject, which is the new Kevin Durant Restaurant.

If you want to discuss the smoking laws -- and they are important -- please start a new thread for that.


Thanks.


Per the above from Pete, here's the correct place to continue discussion about smoking laws, etc. (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=29511)

So, anyway, I'm pretty excited about this new restaurant. I'm always up for something new in Bricktown.

As if drinking or eating fattening foods don't kill us....

I can't eat fast food for you.

Hogan plots new Bricktown building for two restaurants
By Brianna Bailey
Journal Record
Oklahoma City reporter - Contact 405-278-2847
Posted: 06:06 PM Wednesday, April 18, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY – Developer Randy Hogan unveiled plans Wednesday for a 10,000-square-foot building he plans to build in Bricktown to house two new restaurants, including one bearing the name of Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant.

Hogan shared preliminary designs for a brick building overlooking the Bricktown Canal with the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority, but declined to discuss specifics about the restaurants.

“We don’t really talk about tenants until all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed,” Hogan told the authority.

Durant has spoken publicly about plans to put his name on one of the restaurants, which would be operated by Hal Smith Restaurant Group.

The new building would be between the Harkins Bricktown 16 movie theater and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill, which is also operated by Hal Smith Restaurant Group.

One of the building’s two restaurant tenants would have an enclosed patio overlooking the Bricktown Canal.

“It’s a great view,” Hogan said.

A contractor filed for a $700,000 building permit to begin work on the new restaurant building earlier this month, according to city records.

Inspired by stone and brick architecture in Aspen, Colo., Rees Associates Inc. is designing the new restaurant development.
Hogan hopes to break ground on the project this spring and have construction completed in about 12 months, he said.

So wait, two resturaunts?im confused

Sounds like two stories as well. Now I have to spend the rest of the night looking up brick and stone architecture in Aspen.

http://www.okctalk.com/webkit-fake-url://7764737A-E82E-4DE4-962E-B1F27AF39E45/imagejpeg

Lloyd (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000120/): What the hell are we doing here, Harry? We gotta get out of this town!
Harry (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001099/): Oh yeah, and go where? Where are we gonna go?
Lloyd (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000120/): I'll tell you where. Someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called Aspen.
Harry (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001099/): Oh, I don't know, Lloyd. The French are assholes.

“We don’t really talk about tenants until all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed,” Hogan told the authority.

What a joke. Randy Hogan is such a loser. This is the same guy that promised us a first class urban development in Bricktown, and won over Urban Renewal's selection for this project, over then competing developer Moshe Tal (who had a partnership with David Cordish, one of the better urban developers of entertainment districts in the nation), through using good ole boy network tactics and lies. Let's see, he first promised us an Edwards Cinema with 22+ screens and the largest IMAX theater in the region, he released photos of his development showing multi-level buildings looking much like an extension of the north canal, he promised themed restaurants like Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill and others (glad these didn't occur anyways, but you get my point), he promised a Sega Gameworks, and the list goes on and on. So for him to say that he doesn't talk about tenants until leases are signed is just a flat out lie, because that's exactly what he's done for years and years with his Bricktown development disaster. 1 level wasted space buildings sporting Sonic and other fast food establishments as well as office space and condos for the corporate elite, were only part of the plan later after his plan was already accepted. He even tried to claim that he was part of the Torchmark Corp, a Fortune 500 company, that he claimed was his financial backer. What a joke. Where is this financial backing now? Whatever happened to Torchmark?

Just for fun, here's a link to the original proposal site. This is what we were promised: http://www.specialtyretail.net/issues/dec98/Entertainments_OK.htm

And here's the pictures of what Randy Hogan promised us. Notice it looks much different from the 1 story buildings of today:

http://www.specialtyretail.net/issues/dec98/images/brick.jpg

http://www.specialtyretail.net/issues/dec98/images/brick2.jpg

Sounds like two stories as well. Now I have to spend the rest of the night looking up brick and stone architecture in Aspen.

It's not. The renderings I've seen clearly show it to be 1 story. I don't think people on here are going to be very happy with the architecture. It looks like a typical strip mall building with larger windows. Fits in with lower Bricktown.


Edit: See here (https://twitter.com/#!/OKCBiz/status/192731426444148736/photo/1).

It's not. The renderings I've seen clearly show it to be 1 story. I don't think people on here are going to be very happy with the architecture. It looks like a typical strip mall building with larger windows. Fits in with lower Bricktown.


Edit: See here (https://twitter.com/#!/OKCBiz/status/192731426444148736/photo/1).

I am typically more lenient than most here regarding design standards, but Hogan should probably be run out of town on a rail. This is shameful.

It's not. The renderings I've seen clearly show it to be 1 story. I don't think people on here are going to be very happy with the architecture. It looks like a typical strip mall building with larger windows. Fits in with lower Bricktown.


Edit: See here (https://twitter.com/#!/OKCBiz/status/192731426444148736/photo/1).

Yep, that sucks. Thank goodness I didn't get my hopes up (I know better by now). BTW - someone needs to warn those two senior citizens they are about walk right into the canal.

HOW DO NONE OF THESE BUSINESSES HAVE PATIOS OPENED UP TO THE CANAL?!? The stupidity is infuriating! Terrible design and project.

Yep, that sucks. Thank goodness I didn't get my hopes up (I know better by now). BTW - someone needs to warn those two senior citizens they are about walk right into the canal.

Personally, I'm chalking up lower Bricktown as a complete loss with regards to urban architecture. We should no longer be concerned or interested in it--it's done for from that perspective.

Steve just tweeted a rendering of it. Its one story and doesnt even show a patio...which is joke. To not even have a patio on canal frontage...thats unbelievable.

It's not. The renderings I've seen clearly show it to be 1 story. I don't think people on here are going to be very happy with the architecture. It looks like a typical strip mall building with larger windows. Fits in with lower Bricktown.


Edit: See here (https://twitter.com/#!/OKCBiz/status/192731426444148736/photo/1).

It looks like a copy of the building that Marble Slab and Earls is in.

What a joke. Randy Hogan is such a loser. This is the same guy that promised us a first class urban development in Bricktown, and won over Urban Renewal's selection for this project, over then competing developer Moshe Tal (who had a partnership with David Cordish, one of the better urban developers of entertainment districts in the nation), through using good ole boy network tactics and lies. Let's see, he first promised us an Edwards Cinema with 22+ screens and the largest IMAX theater in the region, he released photos of his development showing multi-level buildings looking much like an extension of the north canal, he promised themed restaurants like Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill and others (glad these didn't occur anyways, but you get my point), he promised a Sega Gameworks, and the list goes on and on. So for him to say that he doesn't talk about tenants until leases are signed is just a flat out lie, because that's exactly what he's done for years and years with his Bricktown development disaster. 1 level wasted space buildings sporting Sonic and other fast food establishments as well as office space and condos for the corporate elite, were only part of the plan later after his plan was already accepted. He even tried to claim that he was part of the Torchmark Corp, a Fortune 500 company, that he claimed was his financial backer. What a joke. Where is this financial backing now? Whatever happened to Torchmark?

Just for fun, here's a link to the original proposal site. This is what we were promised: http://www.specialtyretail.net/issues/dec98/Entertainments_OK.htm

And here's the pictures of what Randy Hogan promised us. Notice it looks much different from the 1 story buildings of today:

http://www.specialtyretail.net/issues/dec98/images/brick.jpg

http://www.specialtyretail.net/issues/dec98/images/brick2.jpg

I'm not sure it would have mattered. The above buildings just look like a Disneyworld version of something. They may have had a few more stories, but I don't think it would have looked much better. I agree that Lower Bricktown is a sad place, architecturally. But, this new restaurant will barely be visible. There's no way it was going to save LBT regardless.

Hogan may be a total scumbag, and his lower Bricktown development is total crap, but he's honestly the only person who has succeeded in selling downtown condos in OKC.

Hogan may be a total scumbag, and his lower Bricktown development is total crap, but he's honestly the only person who has succeeded in selling downtown condos in OKC.

not true ... as i am someone that lives in a 4 story condo building that has been completely sold for several years



i will also say i believe that the theatre was under contract ... and then was the delayed because of several lawsuits

it's not. The renderings i've seen clearly show it to be 1 story. I don't think people on here are going to be very happy with the architecture. It looks like a typical strip mall building with larger windows. Fits in with lower bricktown.


Edit: See here (https://twitter.com/#!/okcbiz/status/192731426444148736/photo/1).

wtf!?!?

https://p.twimg.com/Aqy4NhKCAAAfUU3.jpg:large

People complained about when they were going to put something on that vacant lot, then somebody stepped up to put something on that vacant lot, and people are still complaining, go figure. Reminds me of the same conversations re Chris Johnson's House of Bedlam development on the canal.

Hogan's building is for a restaurant people, a restaurant. I wouldn't expect more for a restaurant.

I know Mr. Hogan and worked for him for a year at their management office in Lower Bricktown. He is in no way a scumbag! He is a really good guy and was really great towards me and my wife and gave me a great job while I was still in school. I can't say enough about the guy!

Yes what has been developed in LB isn't structurally what we all want to see for the area but it is something, and that is better than nothing. And it has arguably been the most successful development in Bricktown.

I had also heard the the Aloft was originally planned to be next to the land run monuments but the city vetoed that because they thought it would cover the land run monuments. That may have changed some people's views of LB as a whole, maybe not.

doing something =/= doing the right thing.

Hogan's building is for a restaurant people, a restaurant. I wouldn't expect more for a restaurant.

You can and should expect more, especially a patio. How do you have a restaurant on the canal and not have patio dining? Absurd really. I just hope that they will have one and the rendering isnt showing it.

I was once at a home tour at the same time as a local architect. He leaned over and said to me, "Oh to have their money and my taste!" Perhaps that's what we're dealing with here. Maybe this all looks good to Randy Hogan et al. Obviously people have differing tastes, and perhaps lower Bricktown was someone's idea of beautiful. It is true that the Centennial condos sell really quickly. It's a sterilized version of urban living you get there, and it may be that in a city where people aren't accustomed to living in an urban area, it feels safe. If you're used to suburban "North Dallas" style architecture, this looks good perhaps.

People complained about when they were going to put something on that vacant lot, then somebody stepped up to put something on that vacant lot, and people are still complaining, go figure. Reminds me of the same conversations re Chris Johnson's House of Bedlam development on the canal.

Hogan's building is for a restaurant people, a restaurant. I wouldn't expect more for a restaurant.
Why not???

The problem with low standards is that they are usually met.

How is Hogan a scumbag? Because he is not building what you all want? I know him very well and know that he is anything but a "scumbag". The proposals at the beginning of LBT were all plans that were followed through on until they failed for different reasons (Edwards theatre, gameworks, etc)

What do you call what can be typical developer bait-n-switch? Presenting renderings in their proposals to get the job and the final product bearing little resemblance to what was pitched??? You know, saying they are going to build what people want and then don't.

Hogan's building is for a restaurant people, a restaurant. I wouldn't expect more for a restaurant.

?

Why not? There are many examples of restaurants in interesting developments all over the place. But this is different. As a tax payer, you actually invested in this property. If there were a case where you SHOULD expect more, this is it.

However, like I said before, the boat has sailed on lower bricktown. To do a development right down there now would almost look out of place and only server to shame the rest of it.

We need to learn from this though. We never should have given the canal to a developer that was going to totally ignore it. We need to acknowledge that we seem to have had some bad luck with a lot of developments to which we have given significant public assistance. It has worked out sometimes, but the amount of unimpressive results seems to warrant some reevaluation of the process and some better oversight in the future. We can all easily point out how much better the city is before these projects, but I'm afraid any competitive advantage gained will be short lived as more ambitious projects are taken on in the region and that support for public investment in other developments will be tempered as a result of some of the uninspiring results we have had.

The reality is that mid-town and uptown now have most of the potential and, in a lot of ways, are already more interesting districts to visit than lower bricktown.

The above buildings just look like a Disneyworld version of something.

True, but it certainly had a lot more space for a better mix and density of tenants that Hogan could probably be leasing now. As it is now, it still looks fairly disneyfied, albeit half assed, and LBT is pretty much done.

Having lived 10 miles from Disney property and having a season pass to the Magic Kingdom/EPCOT (was out there at least once a month if not more) back in my high school/college days, I would welcome anything Disneyesque. Certainly an improvement over what is being proposed now.

Having lived 10 miles from Disney property and having a season pass to the Magic Kingdom/EPCOT (was out there at least once a month if not more) back in my high school/college days, I would welcome anything Disneyesque. Certainly an improvement over what is being proposed now.

Yeah. If that's the choice, I would take it, too. And honestly, I would just take anything that had more density of leaseable space at this point and maybe at least acknowledged the existence of the canal.

Yeah. If that's the choice, I would take it, too. And honestly, I would just take anything that had more density of leaseable space at this point and maybe at least acknowledged the existence of the canal.

Why? The customers all arrive by car on the other side of the building. That is the real failure of Lower Bricktown. People arrive at Upper Bricktown by car also, but they park in a garage and walk to their destination. If Lower Bricktown had built a large parking garage instead of 20 acres of surface parking the canal would have been the focus.

Why?

Because then there would be more stuff to do. Strange, but I think we said the same thing. If a garage was built instead of surface parking, that would allow for more leasable space configured more densely. leading to more attractions and making it worth driving to in the first place.

BDP - I understand that and you understand that (and I venture to say that most of OKCTalk understands that) - but Randy Hogan doesn't understand that. The LB mistake was made long ago and I am just waiting 15 more years for the Lower Bricktown Business Improvement District plan (ala Meridian and I-240) to be annouced so they can find a way to 'fix' it - when the solution is soooooo simple and could be put in effect today. Make people walk and density will take care of itself.

How is Hogan a scumbag? Because he is not building what you all want? I know him very well and know that he is anything but a "scumbag". The proposals at the beginning of LBT were all plans that were followed through on until they failed for different reasons (Edwards theatre, gameworks, etc)

You're right. He seems like a nice guy. I was trying to point out that he's the only guy who has truly succeeded in selling downtown condos. Not a fan of his development project, and I fervently supported him over Moshe Tal.

Hogan is not scummy, he just overpromises and underdelivers, as he has on most of his development projects. But he was able to sell downtown condos!

The harsh reality of it, is that there are more people who don't care about how Lower Bricktown is developed, than the people who do.

You're right. He seems like a nice guy. I was trying to point out that he's the only guy who has truly succeeded in selling downtown condos. Not a fan of his development project, and I fervently supported him over Moshe Tal.

Hogan is not scummy, he just overpromises and underdelivers, as he has on most of his development projects. But he was able to sell downtown condos!

he is not the only guys that has succeeded in selling downtown condos

Again, he's building next to a nice canal and not even putting a patio outside of his building. How can this guy take pride in himself professionally? What a joke of a development. I would much rather this land remained vacant until at least an average developer could get ahold of it. It's dumbfounding.

Again, he's building next to a nice canal and not even putting a patio outside of his building. How can this guy take pride in himself professionally? What a joke of a development. I would much rather this land remained vacant until at least an average developer could get ahold of it. It's dumbfounding.

Maybe Hal Smith Group requested it without a patio ?

Maybe Hal Smith Group requested it without a patio ? Or maybe they looked at the fact that their future neighbors enclosed their patio because it does better business wise enclosed than it did open. It is a business after all.

Look closer. The building does have a patio.

1232

I don't understand why people get so worked up about renderings. Out all people, OKCTALK people should know projects never turn out exactly like their renderings.

Hmm. I'm not sure how this deal makes Hogan a scumbag, and while I still would never call him that, I can think of a few deals that are at least a little closer to that in reality. Not the KD restaurant.

This isn't bad. I am actually pleasantly surprised here. I still wish CenterPoint Market was being built with the KD restaurant on the canal level, but oh well. I would have thought KD would want a little more monumental design for his namesake, but if it were my namesake I guess this would be good enough...

Ok, I take that back, one negative comment..


Inspired by stone and brick architecture in Aspen, Colo., Rees Associates Inc. is designing the new restaurant development.

Huh? What about being inspired by, gee I don't know, the BRICK architecture of BRICKTOWN. Holy crap... Next they'll be justifying EIFS by claiming inspiration from the Moorish stucco dwellings of Sevilla. Bricktown is not supposed to have architecture inspired by Aspen or anywhere else no matter how cool. Bricktown is supposed to have a branded aesthetic, it's kinda important to the district's image.

Maybe Hogan is a scumbag...hmm I guess I rushed too soon to discount that theory. Scumbag is probably way too strong. I think we could safely say that Hogan is unphased by suggestions of building standards and has very low regard for anyone's hopes for what Bricktown could (or could have) become. Perhaps he has a moral objection to doing high-quality development.

It also sounded like the KD restaurant is going to be shacked up in a duplex with some other restaurant? Does KD realize what he has signed his name away for, and is there any way for him to save face or demand that they put his name on a little higher quality product? I am legitimately worried for the guy because he strikes me as one of the most genuinely nice guys in all of professional sports, and I would hate for him to have a bad experience in OKC because of Randy Hogan.

I think Durant is well aware that it won't be a flashy upscale restaurant. That seems to be his style. His basketball shoe was priced so the average family could afford them.

http://newsok.com/kevin-durant-keeps-signature-shoes-affordable/article/3581780



Durant's memory of not being able to have the shoes he wanted had a big impact when it came time to price his own line of shoes.

While NBA stars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have shoe lines that cost around $150, Durant offers his Nike KD line at $88. His shoe has become one of the most popular on the market.



Read more: http://newsok.com/kevin-durant-keeps-signature-shoes-affordable/article/3581780#ixzz1sXTOSoaM

Look closer. The building does have a patio.

1232

Nice catch. This "patio" just doesn't seem very integrated into the design though. I mean, there's tables there, but it doesn't look like there's any room for a decent patio. How many tables are in the design... still not very promising.

In the Journal Record it did state that one of the restaurants would have an enclosed patio. Not sure what that means exactly. Maybe big sliding glass doors, garage doors open...?

What another underwhelming design in Lower Bricktown.