The Legacy at Arts Central would only be a few blocks walk, and they have fairly reasonable rental rates.

The Legacy at Arts Central would only be a few blocks walk, and they have fairly reasonable rental rates.

Hmm, it's probably a 20-25 minute walk.

yeah right!!!! It takes you 20-25 minutes to walk 4-5 blocks? You should be able to walk a mile in 10-12 minutes easily. I live further away from McNellies than Legacy Arts and I can get there in 10 minutes or less. The Seiber that he mentioned is almost as far away.

Slight hijack, but no way should the Sieber cost as much as it does. It's right across the street from an indigent mental health clinic. There's always a police car out there (or two).

I could think of safer places to be.

Perhaps some of us have shorter legs and it takes us longer to get somewhere? I think Legacy Arts is more than 5 blocks away from Midtown. I live next door to it. Technically, you could think of R.S. Kerr as 2nd street (perhaps 3rd), and Midtown's on 10th.

It would take me more than 10 minutes to walk there. I'd be hoofin' it to WALK a 10 minute mile. I have to jog to get that pace (I've timed myself on a treadmill).

You're slow though.

-- walking.

it's 6 blocks from the ne corner of legacy to the plaza court and less than .5 mile (.46 according to mapquest). r.s. kerr is the same as 3rd street. i'm just as guilty as anyone for thinking anything over a few blocks is driving distance, but in reality its totally doable.

Johnny, thanks for the info. Exactly my point, tell this to someone in Boston, NYC, Philly, San Fran, Portland, Seattle, Austin and they'd laugh if we can't walk 6 blocks to get a bite to eat, no wonder we have the fattest city in the nation and #1 junk food city, we think 6 blocks is driving distance.

Anybody been by the McNellie's space lately?

I'm curious as to their progress. I'm still hoping to organize a little get-together there in mid June (only a little more than a month away).

Pete, I drove by Sat. still lots of work to do, mainly interior cosmetic work from what I can tell, I'm not sure how their kitchen/equipment scenario is. I drive by/bicycle by on a regular basis as you know from my pictures. I will keep in touch and post new pictures next time I'm over there. Not much to look at right now, although it's been since Saturday since I've been by.

yeah right!!!! It takes you 20-25 minutes to walk 4-5 blocks? You should be able to walk a mile in 10-12 minutes easily. I live further away from McNellies than Legacy Arts and I can get there in 10 minutes or less. The Seiber that he mentioned is almost as far away.

Bah, I guarantee you it's not just an easy 10 minute walk. It would be an easy "20 minute" walk, and if you want to speed walk it, then maybe around 15.

20 minutes to walk 6 blocks or less than half a mile (0.46)? So you're saying it takes most people 45 minutes to walk a mile?

The average person walks about 3 MPH, so that would be 20 minutes per mile.

For half a mile, that would be 10 minutes.

I'm sitting across the street watching work progress.

Can't be too much longer now.

I noticed an ad in the Gazette (i think) last week that they are hiring staff now so I think you are right.

Anybody heard an opening date?

I'll be in OKC late next week and would love to be able to hoist a pint there.

Anybody heard an opening date?

I'll be in OKC late next week and would love to be able to hoist a pint there.

Have some friends on staff. I'll try to get a tentative date from them.

Our own Wednesday Night Cheap Burger night!!! I hope it opens soon.

Taps are installed (boy is there a bunch) and they were moving in furniture yesterday.

Taps are installed (boy is there a bunch) and they were moving in furniture yesterday.

I saw that.

Walked by the other day. The taps were in some time last week.

Thanks for the updates. Furniture is usually one of the very last steps.

Still hoping they'll still be open in some fashion by the end of next week.

Called the Tulsa location today and was told they will be open within two weeks, but a specific date has not been released.

I suppose they'll do a soft opening pretty soon and take it from there.

I have to say that I am really pleased with the progress in Midtown. I spend a fair amount of time in the Plaza Court Bldg and that is now going to increase when McNellies opens in a few weeks.

One day when I was going to work out at the Y upstairs and I stopped by McNellies to look into the windows to see how the progress was going. The kitchen manager introduced himself and gave me a tour of the unfinished space. It was neat to get a behind the scene look and I appreciated the hospitality.

They are painting the aluminum window frames brown...:(

I hope they got permission for that. It's a historic preservation structure.

It's coming sooner than you think! Monday at the latest.

I'll be in OKC until Monday AM so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be open this weekend.

I'll be sure to provide a report if I get in.

The MidTown bar will serve a plethora of bottled, tap beer
Daily Oklahoman
By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer

It's been a long three years for J. Elliott Nelson in his pursuit of opening a "real Irish bar” in MidTown – but he's finally ready to have a beer and treat Oklahoma Citians to the same spirits that have flowed from Nelson's original James E. McNellie's Pub in Tulsa.

When Nelson first looked at MidTown's Plaza Court Building at NW 10 and Walker for his second pub, the landmark was empty, and the area's overall future was in doubt.

"It's looking a lot better than when I first looked at this,” Nelson said.

Nelson already had a lease with the Plaza Court's previous owners when Greg Banta made the building one of his first MidTown acquisitions in 2005. Since then, Banta has created a restaurant row along the 1000 block of N Walker. And when Nelson opens his pub this weekend, it will be joining Irma's Burger Shack, Subway and the Prairie Thunder Bakery in a virtually full Plaza Court.

Before Banta agreed to honor the lease Nelson signed with the prior owners, he first had "mystery shoppers” visit Nelson's Tulsa pub. Banta quickly agreed to let Nelson become a part of his vision of an entertainment district for locals — an urban district where people will live, work, shop and play.

Nelson said he's ready to put some fun into MidTown's nightlife. He boasts his pub will have one of Oklahoma's largest beer selections including 60 drafts and 300 different bottled brands.

"We'll add a lot to the mix,” Nelson said. "We'll be the only real bar.”

The project has had some delays. Nelson hoped to open for St. Patrick's Day 2007, but soon discovered old buildings have their own timelines. He had to negotiate with the city to allow a lower than normal ceiling in the kitchen so that he could add a mezzanine level. Nelson has spent the final week, hanging large flat-screen televisions and adding other touches he believes are critical to establishing McNellies as a neighborhood pub. He took old light fixtures from the Plaza Court lobby and re-installed them in the main dining area.

And while he could have ordered furniture from the usual suppliers, he decided to buy genuine Irish tables, seats and stools.

"I didn't want furniture that looks like it came from a Chili's,” Nelson said. "For me, a pub is a gentle mix — you have to get a place that feels just right.”

It's for that reason Nelson never considered Bricktown – even though MidTown was a risky choice when he first signed a lease in 2006. "I didn't want that commercial feel — a lot of bright lights,” Nelson said. "This area is up and coming. You can get people to buy into it.”

http://static.newsok.biz/article/20080612/3256277/hotel_007_06-12-2008_317SIJG.jpg

J. Elliott Nelson looks over his soon-to-open MidTown Irish pub from a mezzanine he added into the corner spot of the Plaza Court Building. By Steve Lackmeyer, The Oklahoman

MidTown update
Developer Greg Banta is nearing completion on the Walker Avenue portion of his MidTown Renaissance project and says he is continuing to proceed with renovations at NW 10 and Robinson.
Banta said he recently signed a lease for a deli to occupy the last vacant space in the Walker Shops just north of 1492 New World Cuisine. Other tenants in the strip include a bridal shop that opened in December and a sushi restaurant set to open later this summer.

Banta said he has contracts for former flop houses he renovated on the west end of his development, including duplexes converted into offices at 1217 and 1221 N Francis and the Homestead, a former apartment complex at 1226 Shartel.

Banta said his first housing project will begin this summer with the renovation of Hadden Hall at 215 NW 10. The 10-unit condominium complex will include gated parking.

McNellie is doing training will full staff this week. I got a little taste when they were on break, the wait staff looks pretty good. 3 levels confirmed.

Hey Im all for downtown mid town development, and i love beer.
But just what we need is another beer bar / resturaunt?
Don't we have enough of them in bricktown?


How about some entertainment venues or some retail ?
Something original would be nice.

actually good bars in this town are rare. take for instance, a sports bar -- there is only one option, BW3 -- there is a lot room for improvement.

Hey Im all for downtown mid town development, and i love beer.
But just what we need is another beer bar / resturaunt?
Don't we have enough of them in bricktown?


I defy you to name two "good" bars (NOT clubs) in Bricktown. Tapwerks and.....

My point is we have lots of them, I never said any of them were good.
They pop up like koolaid stands all over. Its called saturation of the market.
How about a few quality ones. Is McNellies a good one?
And if so , horray, we ll see, when they open.

If McNellie's is half as popular as its Tulsa counterpart, it will do quite well. I can't think of one popular bar in Bricktown other than TapWerks, hoenstly. Daiquiri Zone is gone and wans't popular, Halftime- don't even know if it's still open.... I guess LIT still does OK.

When are they scheduled to open? I would like to check them out.

This sounds more like a neighborhood pub like you would see on Western than any of the bars in bricktown. And since MidTown doesn't really have one yet, I think it's a great addition and rounds out the neighborhoods options nicely. I really think that MidTown has the most potential of anywhere in the city right now and I think it needs something like this in the mix and it sounds like McNellie's was a good choice to fill this niche. I am looking forward to seeing it open up and maybe help draw some youth into the area.

Cenaurian,

You are in for a welcome surprise with McNellie's. I go just about every time I'm in Tulsa. Elliott is a visionary person. His pub is a "real" pub. His pub food is exceptional. He travels to Ireland frequently to keep it real.

Trust me, this is the biggest deal for MidTown yet.

Plus the Wednesday burger special!!!! It's like $3 for a burger with fries on Wednesdays..hopefully that promotion will come here too.

Yea, buddy. I work across the street. Woot!

If McNellie's is half as popular as its Tulsa counterpart, it will do quite well. I can't think of one popular bar in Bricktown other than TapWerks, hoenstly. Daiquiri Zone is gone and wans't popular, Halftime- don't even know if it's still open.... I guess LIT still does OK.

Daiquiri Zone was a nice place, but they screwed themselves by naming a sports bar after a froo-froo drink.

This place is going to clean up as the only true Irish Pub in the entire innercity area and neighborhood bar for Mesta Park and Heritage Hills.

Daiquiri Zone was a nice place, but they screwed themselves by naming a sports bar after a froo-froo drink.

They screwed themselves in many ways, MidT. Awful service, sometimes there wasn't even a hostess. Many times I walked in and walked out....it was set up REALLY well, though, and whoever endeavors to clean the place out and start over has a nice setup waiting on them. Is all their stuff still locked in by sheriff's order?

They screwed themselves in many ways, MidT. Awful service, sometimes there wasn't even a hostess. Many times I walked in and walked out....it was set up REALLY well, though, and whoever endeavors to clean the place out and start over has a nice setup waiting on them. Is all their stuff still locked in by sheriff's order?

I did a UCC search -- it looks like what probably happened was the owners "Jones & Brown, Inc." d/b/a Daiquiri Zone couldn't meet their debt obligations. I couldn't find any lawsuit, and don't have the means to see whether they declared bankruptcy, so presumably, their creditor, Acacia Funding, Inc. out of Seattle would own whatever wouldn't be considered a "fixture" in the building.

I'd interpret that as saying that the secured parties on the startup debt got anything in the restaurant which wasn't nailed down. That stuff was probably sold to a liquidation company.

-- of course I'm shooting in the dark here.

I defy you to name two "good" bars (NOT clubs) in Bricktown. Tapwerks and.....

I'd be hesitant to categorize Tapwerks in that category, they charge a cover charge to get in the door on busy nights, a cover charge for a beer bar, F That!

I understand they sometimes have a band upstairs, but that's upstairs, it's big enough to be a separate bar, they should only charge people that go up there and actually see/hear the band...

I did a UCC search -- it looks like what probably happened was the owners "Jones & Brown, Inc." d/b/a Daiquiri Zone couldn't meet their debt obligations. I couldn't find any lawsuit, and don't have the means to see whether they declared bankruptcy, so presumably, their creditor, Acacia Funding, Inc. out of Seattle would own whatever wouldn't be considered a "fixture" in the building.

I'd interpret that as saying that the secured parties on the startup debt got anything in the restaurant which wasn't nailed down. That stuff was probably sold to a liquidation company.

-- of course I'm shooting in the dark here.


All their crap was still in it a month or two ago...wonder when they'll sell it. It's a prime location and all the "hard work" of setup in there is already done.

If the Tulsa McNellies is any indication, this place will by far be the best bar/pub in all of Brick/Down/Midtown. Definetely will be the best attraction in Midtown to date.

And speaking of sportsbars, when is someone going to figure that out. This city is seriously lacking a good one. Sure BWW is ok, but they have no HD and their projection tv's suck, not to mention no flat screens. Its sad that the best place to watch a game is at The Sipango. Maybe it'll change when we get a permanent NBA team.

I'd be hesitant to categorize Tapwerks in that category, they charge a cover charge to get in the door on busy nights, a cover charge for a beer bar, F That!

I understand they sometimes have a band upstairs, but that's upstairs, it's big enough to be a separate bar, they should only charge people that go up there and actually see/hear the band...

Taperks is okay.

-- but yeah, they're the only place I'd really call a "bar" in Bricktown.

Drinkz I think classifies as a bar, but their beer selection is pitiful.

I do like the bar at Mickey Mantle's though. It's a nice low-key place.

Also, I think that Makers counts as a bar.

Yeah Maker's is a pretty great spot actually...kinda expensive, but I like it.

I generally hate tobacco-anything. Once a year or so, though, you'll find me up there smoking a cigar and sipping on a single-malt.

They kindly invited my father and I to their "silent opening" last night (invite only, mostly to help train staff and let them practice on understanding people), and I now can't wait until their open. I was told, very unofficially, that they're going to be open tomorrow, but don't be angry if I'm wrong. They're going to be a great addition to the Plaza Court, and I can't stress enough what wonderful neighbors they're going to make. It's going to be the best pub in town and will draw people from all over the metro and beyond.

I stuck my head in there today and they were getting ready to do or had just done a VIP dinner thing ahead of their opening.

They were putting their sign on the outside glass and look really, really close to finishing up.

I hadn't realized the ground floor space wasn't all that big. There is kind of a oval-shaped bar with tons of taps and that's about all that fits. Then there is what must be the mid-level that is open and overlooks the bar below. I guess there is one more floor where the live music will be.

It's going to be a really cool place.


On a side note, I had a long tour of Prairie Thunder with the owner and I'll post more on that later. He (John) is a fantastic guy and that business is going to go through the roof when it hits it's stride.

Also, had a no-name burger and a beer at Irma's.... Man, that area of town is where I'd live if/when I move back. Really turning into a great urban neighborhood.

The second floor is really, really big. The walk-in is the most state-of-the-art in this part of the U.S. A designer from Boulevard Brewing put it together for him, I believe. It is on the third floor but will feed the bottom floor. Third floor all smoking and none on 1 and 2. Opens Saturday.

I know what I'm doing on Saturday.

I went last night and it was noisy & busy.

The beer and food was great. I had the fish and chips. I recommend the sweet potato fries.

The best part is that I can walk or ride and bonus points for being open 7 days a week.

Went to McNellie's tonight. It was excellent. I was surprised by the buildout. Elliot did a terrific job: it feels like it's been there forever. Unbelievable beer selection. Great food. Interesting crowd. It's going to be such a hit.

I'm going Friday night for happy hour. I peeked in this Thursday, and was most impressed with the look. I read the article saying they'd bought tables from Ireland, but I love the mismatched chairs, most of which looked like they were old and from somewhere in the UK. What kind of food are they offering? Is it traditional pub food, or more eclectic?

We went last Saturday just for drinks. I love the space--it's so unique and doesn't feel "commercial" at all. It was an interesting crowd. My friend used to live in D.C. and he said it reminded him of places there, sort of an "educated" crowd. I also loved seeing people WALKING up to the door from down the street.

A++

YES, great to hear guys.

This will add and do wonders for Downtown Oklahoma City!

Anyone have a phone number for them yet? I want ot see if they have the same $3 Wednesday burger deal that they do in Tulsa.

Matt:

Try the website: McNellie's Public House - Tulsa, Oklahoma - Restaurant Menu - Entrees (http://www.mcnellies.com/menu_entrees.php)

Maybe you can get an email out. If you find out let us all know.

Yes, they have the $3 burgers on Wednesday! I was just there yesterday.

The sweet potato fries were so tasty. I'm confused about the sandwich I got, though. I ordered a chicken sandwich on texas toast with bacon, and I got some kind of turkey/ham club type sandwich on a croissant which wasn't even on the menu :P It was still good, and I didn't really even realize it until I got home and looked at the menu again!