They are going to absolutely kill it.

Great concept, they have clearly done their homework and done things in a quality way... Thousands of people already following their progress.

I smell a complete home run.

I really hope this will be non-smoking as discussed earlier. If not, I could see it turning some people off.

I really hope this will be non-smoking as discussed earlier. If not, I could see it turning some people off.

I wonder if this is why Americans don't travel?

I wonder if this is why Americans don't travel?

Actually -- as you are aware -- the smoking laws in Europe are generally much tougher than Oklahoma.

I wonder if this is why Americans don't travel?

What do you mean? Because we don't like smoke we don't travel? My wife and I went to Paris where everyone smokes and met plenty of tourists there (obviously).

Actually -- as you are aware -- the smoking laws in Europe are generally much tougher than Oklahoma.

Not the places I went. I've never seen so many people light up in my life. My parents have always smoked, so it doesn't particularly bother me, but I've lived relatively far away from it for the past 5 years and was absolutely shocked at how many people over there smoke (most roll their own cigarettes). At worst, they're about the same. I can't say I went to a ton of restaurants as I ate probably too many kebabs and pizza and German bread, but a good 1/3 to 1/2 the Europeans I hung out with smoked, and I remember at least a few of them smoking when they were out of the hostel.

Not sure about the actual laws, but not sure they're particularly relevant to the discussion.

Smoking rates are lower in the UK, Ireland and France than the U.S. And they all have strict country-wide bans.

And of course, within the U.S., Oklahoma has one of the highest smoking rates of any state.

Actually -- as you are aware -- the smoking laws in Europe are generally much tougher than Oklahoma.

I wouldn't lump all of Europe together, with Eastern European countries leading the world in cigarette consumption per capita.

Not really sure how it is relevant to traveling, though.

I wonder if this is why Americans don't travel?

Are you speaking domestically, internationally, or both? If you are speaking internationally, a European can hit many countries by auto or train. Outside of Mexico and Canada, US citizens are not travelling internationally by land. And Mexico is not even accessed by train or car in significant numbers. For an Oklahoman going to Texas, it would be like a Czech going to Slovakia. Due to geographic considerations it seems apples and oranges.

Smoking rates are lower in the UK, Ireland and France than the U.S. And they all have strict country-wide bans.

And of course, within the U.S., Oklahoma has one of the highest smoking rates of any state.

I was in Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany.

Oklahoma may have one of the highest smoking rates in the country, but publicly it pales in comparison to what I've seen in my time out of the country.

Anyways, it was a rhetorical question guys…I'm taking a jab at our culture of "I can't be bothered to be around things that I find less than enjoyable". If others smoking outside bothers someone so much that they won't go and enjoy what is going to be a fantastic development, then…well…nevermind.

[Disclaimer: I do not smoke cigarettes, and I really would prefer people find another vice as I find it to be a complete waste of money and the health detractions are obvious and well documented]

I was in Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany.

Oklahoma may have one of the highest smoking rates in the country, but publicly it pales in comparison to what I've seen in my time out of the country.

Anyways, it was a rhetorical question guys…I'm taking a jab at our culture of "I can't be bothered to be around things that I find less than enjoyable". If others smoking outside bothers someone so much that they won't go and enjoy what is going to be a fantastic development, then…well…nevermind.

[Disclaimer: I do not smoke cigarettes, and I really would prefer people find another vice as I find it to be a complete waste of money and the health detractions are obvious and well documented]

Must have been a long time ago. Smoking is banned in public places in Poland (2010) Austria 2009 Germany 2009 (in bars) France in public 2008.

Just traded texts with Hunter and he said it will be non-smoking, although they are considering having a smoking section for after hours.

Seems like a wise compromise.

Also, they may have a soft opening sooner than the 27th. Stay tuned!

I'm sure I could be easily persuaded to show up for a soft opening, depending on the date and possible prior commitments.

I wonder how busy this place will be on a consistent basis?

I really like the whole food truck deal but H&8th has gotten a bit too large.

Food trucks are all the rage right now. This is something people are very excited about. I expect it to do very well.

Must have been a long time ago. Smoking is banned in public places in Poland (2010) Austria 2009 Germany 2009 (in bars) France in public 2008.

Drinking in public is banned in Poland too (found that out the hard way) but it doesn't stop many people, from what I've seen, from doing it. As I said earlier, I'm not sure about the actual laws, but again, they are not particularly relevant to the discussion. We're talking about what is actually encountered in day to day life. And I'd be willing to bet that any privately owned business legally allows people to smoke in outdoor areas of their establishments regardless of whether it is legal indoors.

Just traded texts with Hunter and he said it will be non-smoking, although they are considering having a smoking section for after hours.

Seems like a wise compromise.

Also, they may have a soft opening sooner than the 27th. Stay tuned!

That seems good. I mean, really, designating tables where smoking is allowed would probably be fine, and with the food trucks in there, I'm sure the smell would struggle to cut through the other competing scents anyway.

I'm certainly not going to be bothered if it's non-smoking.

Heard they are having a soft opening tomorrow.

Heard they are having a soft opening tomorrow.

Actually, they are shooting for next Thursday, 9/25.

Looking good!

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bg091814.jpg

Wow. Looking good! Can't wait for it to open.

It looks like a farmer's market is set up right next to Bleu Garten. I spoke with the guys today when they were setting up, they will be open Friday from 1-6/7. They used to be set up on 8th and some other street, but they moved do to all the construction.

It looks like a farmer's market is set up right next to Bleu Garten. I spoke with the guys today when they were setting up, they will be open Friday from 1-6/7. They used to be set up on 8th and some other street, but they moved do to all the construction.

Just to the west of Bleu Garten where they did all the dirt work?

Makes sense because that site will be used for the Holiday Pop-Up shops, but only during the holidays and perhaps a few other short periods.

To answer my own question, yes they are just to the west of Bleu Garten, 1 to 6PM every Friday:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/farmers.jpg

I should have taken a picture like you.

Steve's update and of interest:

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5343837?embargo=1


Wheat is planning an invite only soft-opening next week, with a public opening to follow soon after. Limits will be placed on capacity to ensure guests at Bleu Garten are able to enjoy their visit. The food court will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and will stay open until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Oklahoma City's first permanent outdoor food court set to open next week in Midtown | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-citys-first-permanent-outdoor-food-court-set-to-open-next-week-in-midtown/article/5343837)

They officially have their occupancy permit and will open to the public on Thursday:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bg092114.jpg

9-23-14

https://www.flickr.com/photos/williamhider/sets/72157647549109279/

This video from the Oklahoman gives the best feel yet for this place.

OKC Central blog player (http://bcove.me/8gni5cip)

Is this open for regular business now?

Is this open for regular business now?

Opens tomorrow (Thursday) at 11AM.

If you go to www.bleugarten.com and scroll down, you'll see the trucks they have scheduled for each day.

I just went by and the place is poppen tonight.

Rode by a little bit ago and it was packed.

Yes I talked to the owner his morning and he said he was going to have one more big opening bash before it is regulary open

I'm a bit confused.... Went by the 'Grand Opening' at 12:40pm only to learn there was only ONE food truck at the Grand Opening and that they had already sold out within the hour.

Were my expectations too high or was this a (not so) Grand Opening?

I expected 4-8 trucks, live music, etc. O'well.

I'll guess that they will quickly adjust to demand. Hard to anticipate what it will be up front. but I'll bet after trucks regularly sell out they will be standing on top of each other to be there. I drove by about 11:20 an decided to pass since maybe 50 were in line, then drove on through downtown and saw the Big Truck Tacos truck in front of the County courthouse with a single customer. I'm sure once the trucks realize (LOTS of) people are coming to them, the slots will be very competitive at Bleu Garten.

I'll guess that they will quickly adjust to demand. Hard to anticipate what it will be up front. but I'll bet after trucks regularly sell out they will be standing on top of each other to be there. I drove by about 11:20 an decided to pass since maybe 50 were in line, then drove on through downtown and saw the Big Truck Tacos truck in front of the County courthouse with a single customer. I'm sure once the trucks realize (LOTS of) people are coming to them, the slots will be very competitive at Bleu Garten.

Just seems so odd to me that with the popularity of food trucks they only managed to get or only provided a single food truck that only had enough food for 250 orders. I'm not in that business but even I knew there was going to be good demand. Was this a missed opportunity, bad planning or is there a reason the trucks didn't come?

I checked and lots of trucks were spread out all over town, why wouldn't they want to be at an 'event' as opposed to 'we're in front of' or 'on the corner of' blah, blah, blah.

Something seems amiss......

I don't know...not sure anybody expected 250 for LUNCH on a Thursday. There are established and popular restaurants downtown who have never done 250 covers for lunch. Hindsight is 20/20. I'll bet it looks different next Thursday.

Just seems so odd to me that with the popularity of food trucks they only managed to get or only provided a single food truck that only had enough food for 250 orders. I'm not in that business but even I knew there was going to be good demand. Was this a missed opportunity, bad planning or is there a reason the trucks didn't come?

I checked and lots of trucks were spread out all over town, why wouldn't they want to be at an 'event' as opposed to 'we're in front of' or 'on the corner of' blah, blah, blah.

Something seems amiss......

I know that there has been several food trucks at the Capitol Complex every day this week for State Charitable Contributions fundraisers... That could be some of it.

I am hanging out here right now watching the OSU game. It's a great place to hang out and have a few drinks and watch a game. There are a ton of people here doing just that I had some fries from one of the two trucks here but that was all. I did have a mixed drink and a beer from the bar. It does not hurt that the weather is perfect tonight. I can see myself spending a lot of time here.

I just wish they had something scheduled for lunch tomorrow, first chance I'll have to go by and nada.

I am hanging out here right now watching the OSU game. It's a great place to hang out and have a few drinks and watch a game. There are a ton of people here doing just that I had some fries from one of the two trucks here but that was all. I did have a mixed drink and a beer from the bar. It does not hurt that the weather is perfect tonight. I can see myself spending a lot of time here.

Sounds awesome.

I'm sure once they get a couple of weeks under their belt, the trucks will be lining up for a spot.

I just shared a couple of pretzels from Twist that showed up a little while ago. Yum! Maybe there will be some flexibility to their schedule.

Could the lack of trucks be contributed to this new Independent Food Truck Alliance I keep hearing some of the trucks menion on their social media feeds?

Haven't found any details on it anywhere but keep seeing it mentioned by them.

Honestly, I think there is some overreaction here. They had 400 people show up for their first lunch, midweek. It's unreasonable to anticipate that would have happened.

A more reasonable guess might have been 100-200, which still would have been spectacular, yet a single truck could have easily handled it. Much worse would have been for a nice crowd of 100 people to show and five trucks to have been there, sitting on their hands and wondering why they bothered. I'm sure you will see more trucks next week.

At the same time after the "new" wears off I wouldn't expect more than 1-2 on weekday lunch times; if they overbook it won't be profitable for the trucks, and that profitability is important for the them, for the venue AND for the customers.

Honestly, I think there is some overreaction here. They had 400 people show up for their first lunch, midweek. It's unreasonable to anticipate that would have happened.

A more reasonable guess might have been 100-200, which still would have been spectacular, yet a single truck could have easily handled it. Much worse would have been for a nice crowd of 100 people to show and five trucks to have been there, sitting on their hands and wondering why they bothered. I'm sure you will see more trucks next week.

At the same time after the "new" wears off I wouldn't expect more than 1-2 on weekday lunch times; if they overbook it won't be profitable for the trucks, and that profitability is important for the them, for the venue AND for the customers.

How is it 'unreasonable' to think they would have the turnout they had? Look at the attendance of other promoted food truck events and to me it was obvious it was going to be a large turnout. Sure this wasn't an 'event' in the same sense the nighttime food truck gatherings are - but there was plenty of press regarding the grand opening and the soft openings drew good size crowds too.

We only drove by at 12:40 because we assumed it would be very busy and we might not want to wait - but we also figured several trucks would be there and thought there might be a chance of getting something different.

I'm only knocking the fact I think this was a missed opportunity that leads to some less than stellar word-of-mouth. Sure they can make up for it, but my marketing side says the opening was not planned well. This isn't hindsight, this to me was simply obvious and not recognized.

Regardless, I plan to attend and think it should do well, I just hope there is more variety and better planning going forward.

Looking at the psoted calendar (http://www.bleugarten.com/#menu-1-section), I'm not really seeing a lack of trucks. Next week is mostly booked, and I imagine October will fill up once the truck owners get a feel for how much of a success for them this is or isn't.

This is probably unreasonable since there is most likely an outside food policy, but it seems a vendor could roll up near the joint and steal customers without actually paying for the BG truck slot - especially if they know the trucks inside are overwhelmed.

This is probably unreasonable since there is most likely an outside food policy, but it seems a vendor could roll up near the joint and steal customers without actually paying for the BG truck slot - especially if they know the trucks inside are overwhelmed.

Interesting thought. But can any food truck simply pull over to any empty curb space, fire up a generator, and just start dishing up their grub? I have no idea, but it seems like if this is an available option these folks would be out in force near the arena or Bricktown or the zooamp or other people packed places quite regularly. Perhaps they are. Hermit that I have become again, it could definitely escape my notice.

https://twitter.com/BleuGarten/status/515497664696561664


We will only be open for dinner tonight to prep for our first Friday !

Well, that explains why they don't have anyone booked for lunch today.

Are they charging food trucks a fee to park there? Does anyone know? Maybe thats why there werent many trucks there for the opening? Because some trucks actually charge to come somewhere, especially if they dont hit a sales quota. IDK, just speculating.

Are they charging food trucks a fee to park there? Does anyone know? Maybe thats why there werent many trucks there for the opening? Because some trucks actually charge to come somewhere, especially if they dont hit a sales quota. IDK, just speculating.

Yes, they charge but it's not much.

Hunter from BG has said they will make most their money from the bar.

I was there on Wednesday night. It's a really special "place". So much good will come of this.

People are overreacting.

1. This is the first food truck venue in OKC (the state?)

2. Thursday afternoon in midtown -- I wouldn't guess that so many people would show up. Could understand Friday or Saturday night launch.

3. Trucks may have been a little hesitant because they were unsure of how many people would show up, and/or had better opportunities somewhere else in the city.

This is uncharted territory, they are literally figuring out the demand as they go. It will probably take an entire year (as the seasons change so does the demand) to get the number and types of trucks matched up to the demand.

And again, as with anything, you're better off having long lines for limited product on opening day, instead of way more product than people. There is no single greatest advertisement than a line of people waiting for something.

Grasping at Straws- BBates

This is going to be a huge, monumental, smash success for OKC. Everybody I know is talking about this. This is the kind of thing that makes a city cool, hip, and attractive to millennials.

Thinking about trying it this evening, maybe after the dinner rush, but I'm expecting it to be absolutely mobbed. What is the capacity of the venue?


This is going to be a huge, monumental, smash success for OKC. Everybody I know is talking about this. This is the kind of thing that makes a city cool, hip, and attractive to millennials.

Definitely agree.

why am I not surprised BBates is disappointed in something.

Thinking about trying it this evening, maybe after the dinner rush, but I'm expecting it to be absolutely mobbed. What is the capacity of the venue?

Their occupancy permit indicates a max of 650.

Hunter was and is very aware of the "less than stellar word of mouth" which is why yesterday he handed out free drink tickets to people due to the line being so long. BBates I'm sure you were flawless on your first day of work. Please teach Hunter more.

Thinking about trying it this evening, maybe after the dinner rush, but I'm expecting it to be absolutely mobbed. What is the capacity of the venue?

Definitely agree.

H&8th is tonight so that entire area will be packed. Just a head's up.