Here is a JR article on what Pete posted five months ago:

Bleu Garten snuffs out smoking

By: Sarah Terry-Cobo The Journal Record May 22, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – Jamie Hyde is among a growing list of entertainment venue managers who don’t allow smoking outside. The general manager of Bleu Garten, the food truck park in Midtown, said she was at first nervous about the change as the implementation time drew near. Though customers supported the change, Hyde said she could understand that venues that are adults-only would have a harder time making the same case to customers.

Oklahoma State Health Department tobacco cessation coordinator Christin Kirchenbauer said it takes time to change social norms about smoking in public. So it’s important to take time to educate employees and customers before implementing a new nonsmoking policy.

Hyde said she and her staff were toying with the idea of going smoke-free last year, after allowing smoking for the first three seasons Bleu Garten was open. So they asked. She said the overwhelming response supported the decision to ban smoking inside the park’s gates.

“A lot of it was people with families, saying ‘thank goodness, we had to leave because the guy next to us was puffing smoke all over,’” Hyde said. “They are so happy we are family-friendly and now being smoke-free takes it one step further.”

Kirchenbauer said there are loopholes in Oklahoma smoke-free laws that don’t protect everyone from secondhand smoke. There are still some restaurants, bars, and work sites that allow smoking. Protecting workers’ and customers’ health can be a tougher argument to make in an outdoor, patio-like setting, rather than an enclosed space such as a restaurant.

“But (secondhand smoke) is still dangerous and they are still breathing it,” she said. “Secondhand smoke is more dangerous because when you inhale it, there is nothing to filter those chemicals.”

More than 7,300 people nationwide die each year from lung cancer related to secondhand smoke, according to the American Lung Association.

Kirchenbauer said it takes time to change what society considers normal as it relates to smoking. A half-century ago, people smoked in hospitals and on airplanes. But adding smoke-free policies has shifted the norm so it seems unusual to see someone smoking inside, she said.

“It’s important to make sure not to rush and give people plenty of time and ample opportunity to know about the change,” Kirchenbauer said. “It’s important to not shame anyone, but reinforce that you’re protecting people and making it safe for workers and for those who visit the business.”

The Bleu Garten food truck park closes in the winter, so Hyde said she decided to roll out the change in March when it opened for the 2018 season. She said she’s received good responses from social media posts about the new policy. That’s when Free the Night program contractors reached out to sponsor Tuesday’s live music.

The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust pays for the Free the Night initiative to create awareness of businesses that have smoke-free policies. About 35 bars and clubs have voluntarily gone smoke-free after the program’s staff members have worked with those businesses, according to TSET spokeswoman Julie Bisbee.

Hyde said she can enforce the policy by training staff and the security company workers who work there. If someone lights up, he or she is immediately told to put it out or go outside the park to a nearby bench with smoker’s pole butt disposal stands.

Some patrons told her they have come to Blue Garten for years and didn’t notice the new signs around the park, Hyde said.

“The good thing is 99 percent of our guests are laid-back, so there have been no issues,” she said.

I'm really surprised (but very pleased) they went this route because 1) the entire space is outdoors and 2) tons of their patrons smoke.

In the times I've been there I noticed tons of people smoking.

Cool, we might actually give it a try now (hate cigarette smoke, my folks smoked heavily for decades while I was growing up, surprised it didn't kill them or harm me or my brother).

Went by last night around 10PM and for that late hour on a Thursday night, they were absolutely jamming.

Clearly, the no-smoking change has not hurt their business.

Legendary bartender James passed away. There’s a gofundme for his funeral.

https://www.gofundme.com/bleu-garten039s-james-merriweather-funeral?member=&utm_source=twilio&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=contacts-v2-invite-to-donate

Horrible. He always seemed happy. RIP.

Operator signed new lease through 2023. This area with the Collective coming online is going to be so great during the warm season. Streetcar should get a nice workout.

They are reopening this weekend.

Last Fall for BG

https://twitter.com/BleuGarten/status/1435353756581961729

The $ value of that corner has definitely outpaced Bleu's operations I am sure. I would not be surprised to see a large apartment complex proposed soon.

They could easily move that operation to another Midtown lot or elsewhere; they stated as much when BG initially opened.

I suspect this has as much to do with profitability and operator interest as it does future development.

The owner of BG has had 2 pretty spectacular and expensive recent failures: Banquet Cinema Pub and Anatomy Wine Bar.

Also, 3 other 'food truck parks' have been far from successful: The Yard, Delmar Gardens and Relax Park.

^ That rings true to me. MidtownR owns the whole block (Harvey to Hudson and NW 10 to NW 11), including the Palomar building. I know Palomar is eventually slated to move to a new facility as part of MAPS 4, but that is some time away. So unless there is imminent development on a *huge* scale (you could fit something like 15 or 18 Sentinels on that block) that would also involve Palomar moving quickly, seems much more likely that this is due to something with the BG operation itself.

Much more to do with failure of the operator. Then concept

And Midtown R owns that large vacant lot directly south of Fassler Hall.

You'd think if they wanted to do a large development sometime soon, they would choose the completely vacant land over the one that is occupied.

Much more to do with failure of the operator. Then concept

I'm guessing the Collective and Parlor did them (and the rest of the food truck lots) no favors.

I also thought they needed to do more to keep the space fresh and appealing and didn't seem to do that. Honestly, they should consider giving it a rest for a year or 2, see if some nostalgia builds up, and then open back up down on the Ford site. I think they could crush it down there especially on game nights and especially if Thunder Alley never takes off.

This is such a prime corner, and an open-air bar, while cool, is not the best use of this corner. This needs to be a larger apartment/condo or mixed-use building, with some height (not a skyscraper, but a few stories would be awesome here)!

Wild to think that an open air, outdoor food truck-bar lot with plenty of space for physical distancing is closing during a respiratory pandemic…

Wild to think that an open air, outdoor food truck-bar lot with plenty of space for physical distancing is closing during a respiratory pandemic…

They had inconsistent hours, and were not very communicative of times when they would be closed (or open, for that matter). It is on their operator for them failing, not the environment or COVID, in my opinion.

Wild to think that an open air, outdoor food truck-bar lot with plenty of space for physical distancing is closing during a respiratory pandemic…

Hey now, we here in Oklahoma just pretend the things in our life are unaffected by any "global news"

Get outta town

They could easily move that operation to another Midtown lot or elsewhere; they stated as much when BG initially opened.

I suspect this has as much to do with profitability and operator interest as it does future development.

The owner of BG has had 2 pretty spectacular and expensive recent failures: Banquet Cinema Pub and Anatomy Wine Bar.

Also, 3 other 'food truck parks' have been far from successful: The Yard, Delmar Gardens and Relax Park.

The owners are very nice people, but I think they may have bit off more than they could chew with how rapid they wee expanding. Vision comes with a price; I think all 3 concepts were cool but requires a ton of cash to keep that train on the rails.

The owners are very nice people, but I think they may have bit off more than they could chew with how rapid they wee expanding. Vision comes with a price; I think all 3 concepts were cool but requires a ton of cash to keep that train on the rails.

they never ran blu garten well .. from the very first day on ...

They had inconsistent hours, and were not very communicative of times when they would be closed (or open, for that matter). It is on their operator for them failing, not the environment or COVID, in my opinion.

I actually had thought they closed last year and didn't realize they were still open at all.

Wasn't it known from the get go that this was just a temporary operation?

Wasn't it known from the get go that this was just a temporary operation?

yes .... but "long term" temporary ..

yes .... but "long term" temporary ..




Term is for three years and may extend beyond that.



Not if you look at #1 in this thread

Not if you look at #1 in this thread

they planned for at least 5 years from the start ... and thought they would have 8 ...

they planned for at least 5 years from the start ... and thought they would have 8 ...


Ok... They made it 7+... What's your point?

It was known up front this was a short term operation.... So why all the uproar and speculation about why it is closing?

Ok... They made it 7+... What's your point?

It was known up front this was a short term operation.... So why all the uproar and speculation about why it is closing?

i don't think we are saying any thing different ..... (but 7 years for a restaurant is not really temporary )

i don't think we are saying any thing different ..... (but 7 years for a restaurant is not really temporary )
Ok you have completely lost me…. They thought that they’d make it 5-8, made it 7, and your point is….. I’m still not really sure lol

It was known up front this was a short term operation.... So why all the uproar and speculation about why it is closing?

I suspect most of the general public didn't realize it was never intended to be permanent, and they always seemed successful/busy.

Yea, I am with runOKC & Roger. I don't really follow the operator-fault narrative unless there is stuff people just aren't saying publicly. I know the hours were always iffy, but that was because weather dictated basically the entire thing. Even so, it was easy to check their social media as they were frequent posters.

This to me is more about the value of the corner and increased competition in the area. Collective and Sunset have both poached significant numbers of patio-seeking patrons. Which is completely fine. It seems to me that Bleu served its original purpose beautifully.

I suspect most of the general public didn't realize it was never intended to be permanent, and they always seemed successful/busy.

Right.... I expected that from the Facebook commenters since they are clueless most of the time..... Wasn't expecting to see it from this crew.

Guess I dont get some of the negativity towards Bleu. They were a trendsetter for midtown and pretty much were what anchored the initial midtown crowds. Competition has arrived and peoples tastes have changed and that probably explains the smaller crowds but I say bravo to them for 7 or whatever years of running this business attracting lots of people over the years. As Pete mentioned, they were far and away more successful than any other food truck yard.

Their last day is Sunday.

Very strange to end things so abruptly and when we have are just getting into the best days of fall.

Doing a Costanza, going out on top

Pete, maybe a development is imminent?

Their last day is Sunday.

Very strange to end things so abruptly and when we have are just getting into the best days of fall.
My guess is that it was hastened by a staffing shortage.

My guess is that it was hastened by a staffing shortage.

That's a good point, given the fact they can only offer inconsistent hours.

Was just told that the McNellie's group is taking this over.

Excellent news. I’ll bet that place will eventually/soon be first-season busy again.

So not apartments or condos?

So not apartments or condos?

I said all the way along that I seriously doubted Midtown Renaissance was anywhere near ready to develop that property.

And they are on the record saying they will never build any for-sale units, so you can rule out condos on any of the large lots they still own in Midtown. And that's too bad because Midtown condos would likely sell well. All that is available are the ultra-pricey Villa Teresa units.

Why would they never build for sale units? Is there something harder about building for sale vs for rent?

Why would they never build for sale units? Is there something harder about building for sale vs for rent?

They want to hold their properties.

Great news!

Was just told that the McNellie's group is taking this over.

best news i have heard in a long time ....

The McNellie's down the street has struggled with staffing too...getting service on the patio this year has been a struggle.

Don't see how them taking over really helps.

The McNellie's down the street has struggled with staffing too...getting service on the patio this year has been a struggle.

Don't see how them taking over really helps.

That's a short-term issue. McNellie's group a professional team. They will reinvest in the space - something that hasn't been done previously - and as soon as they can get up to reasonable staffing levels you can bet that they will be open during any hours in which they could be turning a profit. Lack of ongoing re-investment and unreliable/non-aggressive operating hours were the main downfall of Bleu Garten.

Was just told that the McNellie's group is taking this over.

Does this mean they will run the food truck park, or do you expect them to develop the land into a restaurant?

Does this mean they will run the food truck park, or do you expect them to develop the land into a restaurant?

I believe they will run it in a similar manner as Bleu Garten.

I'm sure they'll also make some changes and hopefully some upgrades.

It would be smart for them to offer some kind of limited food/delivery menu from their restaurants for those times when the what's available via on hand food trucks isn't appetizing

^

Or add their own kitchen.

That's the setup at their soon-to-be big rival, Truck Yard.

Yes, of course, if there's room for that

The lease with the McNellie's group isn't quite finalized, but they are working on it.

The plan is to add some permanent food items and make other small changes.

With the cold weather coming, I suspect they won't reopen until spring.

Rumor I heard was some kind of Burger concept

Rumor I heard was some kind of Burger concept

Cutting edge.

The McNellie's Restaurant Group has signed a lease to operate the old Bleu Garten space. The new name is City Garden.

They will be doing a refresh, planting 4 mature trees, adding new furniture, fire pits, more lighting and generally updating everything.

Will open one day for Saint Patrick's, then start a regular schedule this spring.

A permanent kitchen will offer a variety of tacos and likely one other type of food while they will also host rotating food trucks.

Local beers with seasonal cocktails will be available at the bars.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/citygarden1.jpg


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Those mature trees will make a massive difference. Looks awesome.

wait you mean they are going to invest in the space .... what an amazing concept .. trees and misters .. will make this fantastic

They should put in a shooting range for the Kong's crowd.