Detailed renderings have been revealed for the new bar, Savings & Loan, now under construction in the historic Tower Theater.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings4.jpg

Levelland Productions will operate the bar in conjunction with hosting live music and other events within the the theater space itself.

The bar's name is an homage to the original tenant in the space. Throughout the interior, graphics accentuate the money theme. The 2nd level features a vault door and safety deposit boxes.

Even the sign will be a throwback, mimicking the original.

Savings & Loan will occupy the small area directly east of the theater entrance with a staircase leading up to a more expansive second level.

The Tower Theater is under extensive renovations which should conclude in early 2016.



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings1.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings2.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings3.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings5.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings6.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings7.jpg



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings9.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/towerbar1.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings10.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings8.jpg

Wow!. that looks sharp! great name and theme as well. I think it will be a big hit!

Editorial comment: Completely badass.

Bodes well for the entire Tower Theater development. Can't wait to see what they have in store for the rest of the building.

Is this part of the Tower Theater development? If not, who is doing this?

This looks like it's going to be my favorite bar in OKC.

This is the previously announced bar by the Levelland group in the Tower.

Great theme and location. Looks really nice, too. Thanks for the renderings!

Diggin' the hell outta' this.

love the name. love the look. love the location. hope this place is a home run. -M

Really can't add much more to the praises in the above post. It looks great. The upstairs has a bit of a Mad Men vibe too it.

The upstairs bar has started.

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From their Instagram feed:

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Uh oh...absinthe...

Holy Crap…they're wasting no time!!!

When's their anticipated opening date?

A couple pics from their IG feed:

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This appears to be their logo:

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Oh wow great branding. Wonder who did this.

I really like that.

I love this place already.

This will easily be a Top 5 Bar for me, and it may end up being #1…we'll see.

Interesting to name the place after a failed industry. I tend to think such an act is kind of a bad omen.

Interesting to name the place after a failed industry. I tend to think such an act is kind of a bad omen.

The Savings & Loan concept is the exact thing this satire article is making fun of regarding trendy "hipster" bars that are popping up everywhere. I don't think it will be a failure.

https://medium.com/@maxchanowitz/new-bar-in-town-d3397e0a3035#.wf793rhmw

^^^^Wow that article is awesome.

^^^^Wow that article is awesome.

Haha... Yeah, and kind of embarrassingly ironic.

The latest from social media:

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The Savings & Loan concept is the exact thing this satire article is making fun of regarding trendy "hipster" bars that are popping up everywhere. I don't think it will be a failure.

https://medium.com/@maxchanowitz/new-bar-in-town-d3397e0a3035#.wf793rhmw

Trendy places in general are something I try to avoid.

Anyone see the recent season of South Park? It has a season long story arch about restored historic neighborhoods and the dining/retain culminating in a whole foods. The tear jerking joke comes somewhere toward end when SoDoSoPa(south of downtown South Park) and ****tyPaTown(city part of town) create a rivalry but a character points out that urban revival is happening everywhere and forcing out the people who can no longer afford their previously low income housing like Chimichanga referring to chicagos mid channel district. Hilarious.

They are well along and hope to open sometime in January.

The first photo is of the intimate downstairs, which will be very similar to Sidecar. The second image is of the 2nd level, looking towards the windows that face 23rd with the bar on the right.



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings12215a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/savings12215b.jpg

Looking to open in late January. That article is pretty great and pretty spot on with most cocktail trends. That being said, we wanted to pay homage to what had previously been in the space during it's better years, hence the name. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it and we will only hit about 50-60 percent of those stereotypes ha ha!

Looking to open in late January. That article is pretty great and pretty spot on with most cocktail trends. That being said, we wanted to pay homage to what had previously been in the space during it's better years, hence the name. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it and we will only hit about 50-60 percent of those stereotypes ha ha!

The place already looks super sharp and I love the feel of the space.

Can't wait to see the finishes go up and for your doors to open.

Interesting to name the place after a failed industry. I tend to think such an act is kind of a bad omen.

Meh. Most of their target demo wasn't even born before the S&L crisis. To them it's no different than naming it The Telegraph or The Phone Booth. It's kitsch. Fortunately they didn't name it what was ACTUALLY there; a signature loan joint.

Looks like the church next door has started holding services on Sunday mornings...I thought they were going to wait until S&L opened their doors/acquired their ABC-3 license. Did they find a different way to work around the law involving new bars next to churches?

Getting closer:

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They are getting close.

All but the last photo are of the top floor.



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sl021616a.jpg


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http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sl021616.jpg

This place is going to be amazing. I can walk to it so I am sure I will be there quite often.

Any word on an opening date?

I was in there this past week and it looks like they are finished apart from the booths and furniture.

Shouldn't be long now.

Hey Pete, any update on this exciting new bar? Do we have an opening date yet? The pics above make it look like it is nearly finished. Thanks!

I believe they have largely been finished for quite a while.

The proprietors also operate The Criterion, which has been more than a full-time job itself. They will also be booking the Tower Theater itself and running the bar inside that space, so I believe they are just trying to get everything under control before opening S&L.

I believe they have largely been finished for quite a while.

The proprietors also operate The Criterion, which has been more than a full-time job itself. They will also be booking the Tower Theater itself and running the bar inside that space, so I believe they are just trying to get everything under control before opening S&L.

Sounds like they will be making a lot of money.

https://twitter.com/briokc/status/727561157771304960

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Holy crap, is that flooring original????

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I don't think so.

They had a soft opening last night but I was unable to attend.

Plan to open in 2 weeks.

Opens this Tuesday 6/28 at 4PM.

Opens this Tuesday 6/28 at 4PM.

Will this bar set a precedent for other entrepreneurs wanting to open a bar within 300 feet of a church?

Given the number of churches in this city that would be dozens of buildings now available for that purpose. Have there been any other examples of mixed beverage liquor licenses issued this close to a church?

This was resolved when the OKC Community Church went out to their way to rent they property rather than own it directly, which circumvents the law.

Thank you for replying. I remember there being room in the law's language for all interested parties to look the other way. That just seems like a big investment to bet on having no one complain to ABLE.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CmDsR1TWkAAM4AH.jpg:large

Checked it out last night. Gonna be a fun place. The space itself is really special.

Was there for a while last night and really enjoyed the space. The downstairs is narrow and intimate and the upstairs is bigger than I expected and will be a great place for lounging with groups. Hopefully people will quickly realize the space upstairs and won't congregate too heavily by the bar downstairs - it won't take many people to make the downstairs seem very crowded. I was with a decent sized group so I was able to taste a bunch of different drinks - both some classic cocktails (Hemingway Daiquiri and Negroni) and quite a few of their house cocktails. One of the bartenders said they received their liquor at 5:30, received their POS system at 6:00, and hadn't been able to try much of anything. So while there were some minor issues and the bartenders will still learning the drinks, in that context I thought they did a great job. The house cocktails I tried are very creative and very good (ranging from what tasted like a lavender whiskey sour to a drink served in a flower pot with dried mushroom and rye bread "dirt" on top). Prices were reasonable for a nice cocktail bar ($8 - $12ish, with most of the classic cocktails being on the $8 end.)

Savings and Loan is a great addition to the neighborhood and did a great job designing, as Urbanized said, a special space that will hopefully enjoy great success.

I went last night and agree with pretty much everything Timshel said. I really enjoyed it and will be back.

Was there last night too and even at 11PM pretty much every seat was taken upstairs and downstairs.

Super cool and unique spot.

I went on Friday night around 11 and we were able to grab the last table upstairs. I really like the setup... it almost felt like you were walking into one of those hidden bars. You walk up that really narrow staircase in the back and it opens up into a much larger than expected lounge. Looking forward to going back.

I dropped in to check out this space... First, I couldn't tell it was there... We walked right past it before realizing we'd gone too far. That's not necessarily bad as being nondescript can kind of work for some places. Or maybe they'll add more signage. I like the downstairs space and bar. It's pretty intimate and they did a good job with the theme. They may still be working on this, but the upstairs felt very empty. Maybe they just need some more furniture and things on the walls... Or maybe when it's fuller it won't feel that way, Anyway, I hope they succeed. That whole area really has a lot of options now...

^

They left a lot of space upstairs for people.

When busy, that space does not feel empty at all.

I also found it way too empty, and I was there when it was busy. A few bar height tables without chairs would help create a place in the middle of the room.

If you look at the renderings in the first post of this thread, there is a fair bit of furniture in the middle of the upstairs space.

Not sure if they changed their plans or are just waiting to install it.

So are the old teller registers real? We had this debate tonight.

I came across this today:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4BzUsJGS4A