They just had their first inspection, so getting closer.

I must be a freak. I got ALL EXCITED when I saw that there was activity in this thread! I haven't had a cheeseburger for weeks...MONTHS!, waiting for this. I'm gonna go back to heroin if it doesn't open soon.

delete

Learned last night that all the kitchen equipment is in and they've been doing their menu testing.

The basement bar will feature a lot of blue velvet and be intimate.

Hope to be open within 30-60 days.

This post is from mid-March. I guess they aren't in any hurry at all.

I believe they have been delayed a year as they were expecting to open last September/October.

Yeah, they could have opened several months ago but for some reason have decided to wait.

Yeah, they could have opened several months ago but for some reason have decided to wait.

Maybe they want the anticipation to build :p

Nic once told me March 2015.

Bigray in Ok

Was at Nic's Grill for lunch today and got the following info on the Diner & Lounge.... CO2 is going in today. Passed all inspections so far with one more to go and it is scheduled for early next week. He was inviting people to the soft opening but I didn't catch the date.

Won't be long now.

Won't be long now.

I won't believe it until I see it...

**crickets**

There's a help wanted sign up in the window

There's a help wanted sign up in the window

Oh great! Based on his track record, only 8 months of training and this place should be open!

The 'Help Wanted' sign has been up since July 5th, probably longer.

I took a picture of it and posted it on the previous page.

I hope this place will be open by spring.

They are going through their final inspections.

There has been progress!

They are going through their final inspections.
There has been progress!
So maybe open in early/mid-October? I sure hope so.

Nic/Justin can cook one heck of a good breakfast though its been a couple years since I had one.

They removed the paper covering the front doors and removed the 'Now Hiring' sign. I looked through the doors and it looks like all work is complete. The place looks really nice on the inside, seems intimate from what I could see.

Hopefully that means they will be opening soon!

They removed the paper covering the front doors and removed the 'Now Hiring' sign. I looked through the doors and it looks like all work is complete. The place looks really nice on the inside, seems intimate from what I could see.

Hopefully that means they will be opening soon!

Yeah! Right! ;(

The place is absolutely packed tonight, I'm assuming a soft.opening. It looks great from the outside and smells even better. Really excited, got to be any time now.

I hope it is open for my birthday! 10/20. Does anybody have any details on when it will be open to the public? There should be some kind of announcement right?

I'm going to a soft opening tonight and will report back.

Went to a soft opening last night but they were only offering burgers and a couple of sandwiches off the menu.

First of all, the space is beautiful. Way nicer than expected with lots of dark millwork and etched glass. Wait staff wears white shirts and ties; cloth napkins on the table.

It's also bigger than it looks. As you walk in, there is a semi-private dining area straight ahead through etched glass, with another room to the left. To the right is the main dining area with booths along the perimeter and high top marble tables in the middle. They spent a lot of money on the interior.

I ordered the Nic's Original to compare to what is served at Nic's Grill on Penn. It seemed to be almost exactly the same but served on a big plate with a steak knife, which was welcome in order to tackle that beast. It was fantastic.

My dining companions tried some of the other burgers along with the pork cutlet sandwich. All reports were highly favorable.

You'll see the dinner menu below. There will be a separate menu for breakfast / lunch. They hope to open on Tuesday.

You can see they have some high-priced items on the menu, such as a couple of steaks. Whereas a Nic's burger with cheese, fries and drink costs $9.92 at Nic's Grill, here it is $11.25 w/o a drink.

Nic was working the grill and seemed really happy with everything, as he should be. Absolutely gorgeous place and I can't wait to try their breakfast items.

The downstairs bar is kind of amazing. Absolutely beautiful and bigger than I would have thought. They will have all types of beer, signature prohibition theme cocktails and several wines on tap. This is going to be a great spot and there was no burger/grill smell to be detected in the least.



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nics11.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nicsdiner1.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nicsdiner2.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nicsdiner3.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nicsdiner4.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nicsdiner5.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nicsdiner6.jpg

Hey that's me (far left edge, talking to the blonde woman) in the last pic! I agree with everything Pete said. Beautiful space, amazing burgers.

This looks much better than the one on Penn.

Tears in my eyes from happiness! (For Nic, not carnivorism, but for that TOO!) I'm finishing a big job in Ada, and should be able to get to this lair in a couple o days. I'm going to bring all my vegan friends I can think of.

Is "carnivorism" a word? I'd sure be embarrassed if I were thought of as someone with an 8th grade education.

^^^^^

If it isn't, it should be!

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/nics101616.jpg

Looks quite nice inside.
Are opening day and regular operating hours established yet?

So, a burger and drink for lunch is going to run $14, plus a tip = $17. Isn't that double the prices at the original Nic's?

*Just saw there will be a separate menu for lunch. Any idea what those burger prices will be?

So, a burger and drink for lunch is going to run $14, plus a tip = $17. Isn't that double the prices at the original Nic's?

*Just saw there will be a separate menu for lunch. Any idea what those burger prices will be?

From looking at the menus posted it seems like the burger menu will be for lunch too. A cheeseburger, fries and drink at Nic's is ~$11 so I could see a ~$3 price increase being reasonable for the setting.

Does anyone know if they will take cards or is it just cash still?

So, a burger and drink for lunch is going to run $14, plus a tip = $17. Isn't that double the prices at the original Nic's?

*Just saw there will be a separate menu for lunch. Any idea what those burger prices will be?

Yeah that concerns me a little, too...I was thinking he was just opening a downtown instance of what he already had, not a different concept place with similar food. A lot of people are drawn to Nic's because of the simplicity of the setup. Not saying there's anything *wrong* with building a nicer place in the new location, but it just may not match up what people are *expecting* when they think of Nic's Diner.

Yeah that concerns me a little, too...I was thinking he was just opening a downtown instance of what he already had, not a different concept place with similar food. A lot of people are drawn to Nic's because of the simplicity of the setup. Not saying there's anything *wrong* with building a nicer place in the new location, but it just may not match up what people are *expecting* when they think of Nic's Diner.

I never got that impression. I'm pretty sure he would never go for a "2nd location" of the original, for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that he will want to continue to man the grill at 12th and Penn and he will have more control over that. This wasn't his project only, and with other people involved, you lose control...that his name is on it is surprising enough to me.

I never got that impression. I'm pretty sure he would never go for a "2nd location" of the original, for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that he will want to continue to man the grill at 12th and Penn and he will have more control over that. This wasn't his project only, and with other people involved, you lose control...that his name is on it is surprising enough to me.

Well, maybe that was just my expectation. I know it's what I thought when I first heard "Hey Nic's is opening up a location downtown!" my first thought was that it was going to be a concept substantially similar to what was already so popular.

Just have to see how it goes.

Well, maybe that was just my expectation. I know it's what I thought when I first heard "Hey Nic's is opening up a location downtown!" my first thought was that it was going to be a concept substantially similar to what was already so popular.

Just have to see how it goes.

I'm with Teo on this one. I never expected this new establishment to be substantially similar in any way to what he already had.

For some reason the 555-5555 phone # isn't working for me.


;)

From looking at the menus posted it seems like the burger menu will be for lunch too. A cheeseburger, fries and drink at Nic's is ~$11 so I could see a ~$3 price increase being reasonable for the setting.

Thanks. i was thinking the combo cheeseburger was $7.

This was posted 5 days ago:

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/fbh/5826127497.html

Hopefully they open this week

This article said they'd be opening today as long as the soft openings went well.

http://newsok.com/three-new-restaurants-to-open-in-next-seven-days-the-pritchard-nics-diner-and-dekora/article/5522555

Can anybody confirm they are open today or anyway to ask them myself?

Can anybody confirm they are open today or anyway to ask them myself?

They are open today.

went for dinner today. the burger was just as good as the original location.

I will agree that if you compare it to the original location, it is expensive. But if you look at the finishes and base it off something more comparable, republic maybe, it's right in line. I think that even though the main draw is burgers, there will be little competition with the Garage... Think it's comparing apples to oranges. This place is going to kill it.

The Garage is casual (shorts/t-shirt minimal) while this place looks more trendy. I wouldn't wear anything less than nice jeans and a polo or button-up shirt with nice dress shoes to this place...which means I'm much more likely to go to The Garage if I'm down that way.

Again, I assume credit/debit cards are accepted?

Again, I assume credit/debit cards are accepted?

I'm sure they are.

This is a sit-down, nice place.

Are they open now? What are their hours?

Are they open now? What are their hours?

Yes, they are open.

Open at 10:30AM and stay open until around 10PM.

Bar is not open yet.

Again, I assume credit/debit cards are accepted?
Yes. Also, I am still in a food coma after eating a JoJo burger yesterday. And the bar is straight sick. Probably the nicest bar in OKC and I'm not exaggerating. Bar won't open until next week though.

I stopped by last night and the word is starting to get out because when I left at 7:30 there were people waiting for tables.

They are still only serving burgers at this point and I had the Nic's Original, which was great as always.

But instead of fries I had their haystack onion rings which were fantastic. Highly recommend.

I stopped by last night and the word is starting to get out because when I left at 7:30 there were people waiting for tables.

They are still only serving burgers at this point and I had the Nic's Original, which was great as always.

But instead of fries I had their haystack onion rings which were fantastic. Highly recommend.

I think I may be going there for lunch today. I will try to get the some pictures.

I stopped by last night and the word is starting to get out because when I left at 7:30 there were people waiting for tables.

They are still only serving burgers at this point and I had the Nic's Original, which was great as always.

But instead of fries I had their haystack onion rings which were fantastic. Highly recommend.

I was there last night too celebrating my birthday. Not sure if our time overlapped we probably left around 6:30ish. I was there with my infant son who was causing a ruckus trying to talk to everybody in the entire place.

The place is put together with incredibly high quality material, and some really great design. I wish I could have seen the bar. The food was delicious as expected. It did start to get pretty packed when we were leaving.

I do got to say though, its a weird mixed concept with feeling so high class but having to stuff such a messy burger down my gullet. I'm sure it will work but I get why he told Steve in his latest article why he was worried about the pairing.

The menu they have been using is only their lunch menu. The dinner menu will be different with higher-end items like steaks.

And then of course there will be a breakfast menu too.

They are wise to work out the kinks slowly but surely. The burgers are clearly a big enough draw to get them started.

Tried to go for lunch today.....line was about 25 deep. I'll try again

Tried to go for lunch today.....line was about 25 deep. I'll try again

Sounds like the line followed him from Penn to Robinson since he has the grill temporarily closed.

Went by around 2:30 and it looked like the place was full but no line outside.

13190

I'm probably going to request for "well done" next time, this was "medium well", a little to pink for me.

Yeah that looks medium rare... And what happened to that bottom bun? Lol

Wait... Is Nic actually cooking at this place?

Wait... Is Nic actually cooking at this place?
Yes, Justin (Nic) personally brought out a new burger when we brought up the done-ness. Amazing Bar Downstairs and the the burgers are just as good as the location on 10th street except a lot more topping options. I had one with Gouda Cheese and Green Chiles, mine was cooked much closer to medium-well.

They are not serving food downstairs yet but they plan too soon.