I know there used to be another Charcoal Oven on NW Expressway west of MacArthur...

Where exactly was it?

Also, were there any other locations other than the original on NW Expressway near May?

If my memory serves me correctly.... It was about right ---> here (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5504131,-97.6208707,3a,75y,353.07h,69.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTJWibsvyitGpwt0HGTx__g!2e0!7i1 3312!8i6656?hl=en) <----

Sometimes my memory fails me though.

I figured it out.

It's where the Daisy Exchange is now and was sold off in 2010.

Were those the only two locations?

I figured it out.

It's where the Daisy Exchange is now and was sold off in 2010.

Were those the only two locations?

Those are the only two I remember.

There was one in Edmond on Broadway just north of 33rd.

Pretty neat comparison for the NW Expressway & MacArthur location.


Charcoal
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Daisy
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Not trying to start a rumor here but 2 months ago a co-worker played in a golf tournament and won a Charcoal Oven Gift Card as one of the door prizes. He doesn't go there so he gave me the gift card and said I needed to use it by August because the property is being sold to someone who wants to put a tire shop in that location. I said who told you that and he said the guy with the golf tournament who handed him the card. I drove by CO just the other day and they appear to be operating as normal so hopefully that was all BS.

Puh-leez no! I eat there nearly every time I'm in town.

Sadly, it's true:


Iconic Charcoal Oven sold, to be demolished (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=315-Iconic-Charcoal-Oven-sold-to-be-demolished)

A tire company has entered into contract to buy the Charcoal Oven property at 2701 NW Expressway and build a new facility on that site.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/charcoal2.jpg


The historic structure and charming grounds and drive-through will be completely demolished to make room for the new use. It had been actively for sale for several months.

This is the original and also the last of the remaining Charcoal Ovens, with the previous locations in Edmond and at Northwest Expressway and MacArthur having been sold off some time ago.

At the time it was built in 1958, it was one of the first drive-through restaurants and has remained in continuous operation since that time by the Wilson family.

Its 52-foot high neon sign has been an Oklahoma City landmark for decades.

Charcoal oven continues to operate but building permits have been filed for Discount Tire, with construction starting sometime after permits have been issued.



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/charcoal5.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/charcoal4.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/charcoal3.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/charcoal1.jpg

Ah man. I loved the Charcoal oven as a kid. Just a cool place.

Man, what a joke. Guess nothing can be done when the owners don't want to run a restaurant anymore and no one else wanted it.

It's still open.

Better get by there soon for nostalgia sake.

I went a few weeks ago after realizing I had not been in decades. Their onion rings are fantastic and burger was good enough. But crazy expensive. Think it was $13 for a burger, rings and smallish soft drink.

This is honestly heartbreaking. I get its probably in the best interest of the family to sell, and this was the best buyer they found, but man, just a cool facility. What sucks is we are going to lose that AWESOME sign, and even worse, it's a freakin DISCOUNT TIRE that's going to demolish it all and be built. Just eww.

It's still open.

Better get by there soon for nostalgia sake.

I went a few weeks ago after realizing I had not been in decades. Their onion rings are fantastic and burger was good enough. But crazy expensive. Think it was $13 for a burger, rings and smallish soft drink.

Yeah OKC's burger offerings have improved substantially since Charcoal Oven's heyday. Other than the nostalgia factor and my disappointment with what it's being replaced with, I won't miss it too much.

It's still open.

Better get by there soon for nostalgia sake.

I went a few weeks ago after realizing I had not been in decades. Their onion rings are fantastic and burger was good enough. But crazy expensive. Think it was $13 for a burger, rings and smallish soft drink.

The food has gone downhill over the past years and the prices have gone up, but it's an icon. Hopefully someone buys that sign.

It's still open.

Better get by there soon for nostalgia sake.

I went a few weeks ago after realizing I had not been in decades. Their onion rings are fantastic and burger was good enough. But crazy expensive. Think it was $13 for a burger, rings and smallish soft drink.

I went there once, a couple months ago, and thought it was pretty good but agree that it was quite expensive.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I can't even. A tire shop?

I've always loved the Charcoal Oven's theta sauce.

Man, that sucks. Any word on a solid closing date? Or will CO keep operating until the day the demo permit is issued?

Also, is there any plan to save that sign? I have no idea where it could be preserved but if it's at all possible, it should be saved.

Well I know what I'm getting for lunch

Also sad to see Charcoal Oven go. Grew up going here and I work nearby so I stop in every couple of months. Agreed it wasn't as good as it once was, but still hard to beat a Charcoal Oven theta burger with the shredded cheese and curly fries. I was there with my dad and some of his childhood friends a few months ago and they had some great stories of walking there from the Shepherd area while growing up. Oh how times have changed! Too bad to see this "old OKC" staple go by the wayside.

Not trying to start a rumor here but 2 months ago a co-worker played in a golf tournament and won a Charcoal Oven Gift Card as one of the door prizes. He doesn't go there so he gave me the gift card and said I needed to use it by August because the property is being sold to someone who wants to put a tire shop in that location. I said who told you that and he said the guy with the golf tournament who handed him the card. I drove by CO just the other day and they appear to be operating as normal so hopefully that was all BS.

I had to stop in yesterday after replying to this thread. My Chick-a-doodle-doo which I've eaten hundreds of over the years was as tasty as ever. So sad to see it go.

Can't be anymore disappointing that this is being torn down for a tire shop.

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5092/5545556367_98b7410593_n.jpg

http://kfor.com/2016/08/19/closing-of-a-classic-oklahoma-city-burger-joint-closing-its-doors-after-58-years/

http://kfor.com/2016/08/19/closing-of-a-classic-oklahoma-city-burger-joint-closing-its-doors-after-58-years/

Yet another local news agency who doesn't bother to cite the original reporting we did on this story.

Channel 4 had no clue until we posted our article and it spread on social media.

The ethics of the local media in this city are appalling.

The ethics of the local media in this city are appalling.I disagree, Pete. They're simply non-existent. No adjective can be applied to a member of The Empty Set.

Ok, I give up, where was the Edmond location? My late wife and I ate at the NW Expressway and May location when she was a student nurse at Baptist hospital in the mid 60's, and I ate many times at the MacArthur location, but I lived near Edmond for over forty years and for the life of me, I don't remember an Edmond location.
C. T.

^

On Broadway near 33rd.

I can't recall the exact spot.

We went there not too long ago and it was pretty good. What a cool old place that goes back to my childhood. I'll be sad to see it go.

Curtis Hart needs to work a deal and get his hands on that sign, and get it moved to the Muscle Car Ranch to be put it on display with his other signs from around the state.

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The ethics of the local media in this city are appalling.

You misspelt non-existent.

I can't picture it. I'm sure I knew it at the time but even though I have a pretty good memory, I seem to have lost on this.
C. T.

Yet another local news agency who doesn't bother to cite the original reporting we did on this story.

Channel 4 had no clue until we posted our article and it spread on social media.

The ethics of the local media in this city are appalling.

What do you expect from KFOR? They are biggest joke in the OKC market. Worst news ever.

What do you expect from KFOR? They are biggest joke in the OKC market. Worst news ever.

Channel 5 just reads our stuff on the air all the time and have never even contacted me.

But they always cite us as the source, so I give them credit for that.

I question why a Discount Tire? It doesn't seem to fit the neighborhood. The only reason that I can think of is that Sam's Club just opened at I-44 & May and they tend to set up shop close to them.

I question why a Discount Tire? It doesn't seem to fit the neighborhood. The only reason that I can think of is that Sam's Club just opened at I-44 & May and they tend to set up shop close to them.

Neighborhood? It's a giant street. One littered with tire stores. Including another Discount Tire. There's two Hibdon Tires Plus on either side of MacArthur.

I wonder if there's a way to at least incorporate the sign...

Charcoal Oven and Discount Tire do have the same number of letters in the exact same sequence....

There were probably 40 cars lined up all the way down NW Expressway around lunch today.

Having grown up in Edmond, I've never seen or remembered a Charcoal Oven in Edmond and I lived there from 1978 and on.

With regard to this location, I grabbed some grub from there today. The drive-thru was 8 cars deep and will be packed all the way up until September 16th, when they close.

Yet another local news agency who doesn't bother to cite the original reporting we did on this story.

Channel 4 had no clue until we posted our article and it spread on social media.

The ethics of the local media in this city are appalling.

It's possible (even probable). It's also quite possible that someone simply mentioned to a reporter a 'rumor' they heard online about the restaurant closing and then the reporter mentioned to the assignment editor who decided their time was better spent calling the restaurant instead of simply chasing a 'rumor' that might not have a verifiable source or facts.

I've seen this posted as simply "Did you hear, Charcoal Over is closing and gonna be a tire shop... God NO!!!!!!" No citation, no way to track down the source. So, why not just call the restaurant and report it?

FYI - I don't recall Pete's article, plastered on the front page of OKCtalk and Facebook, citing the fact this was first mentioned by an OKCtalk contributor and not a result of his investigative journalism.

I post stuff all the time on my site that then appears on news sites - unless I'm interviewed, I'm never cited. I also have no idea (just suspicions) that they got the story directly from my reporting.

Not an attack, just a perspective from someone not emotionally attached to the original complaint.

FYI - I don't recall Pete's article, plastered on the front page of OKCtalk and Facebook, citing the fact this was first mentioned by an OKCtalk contributor and not a result of his investigative journalism.

I was working on this long before that post and was absolutely the result of months of tracking and researching this.

I started this thread and asked for leads on other CO sites because I was working on this story; that post about a rumor then followed but I already had the building permit in hand; i.e. had issued an open records request, researched the sale, etc.

I just didn't think the demand was that high for tire shops anymore...A good set of all seasons go 30k miles these days. The parcel is massive though, but essentially neighborhood between belle isle and may ave. I used to live in the neighborhood right behind Juniors and it's still my go to place for chargrilled burgers. Love to picnic on the patio furniture when the weather is nice. But I'm that weird Okie who was born here and been everywhere but never moved away.

I still go to juniors. I still buy hickory sauce from johnnys and make my own split-t burgers at home. I still go to tacoville 5-6 times a year and take my food to Douglas park with an illegal tall boy of light beer. I still buy pull off the road halfway to Ardmore and load up on robertsons beef jerky and arbuckle fried pies even though you can get them on 50th & McCarthur now. I still float the Illinois every summer. I still hike sulfur springs every fall. I know the one manager at the one acceptable deal rancho that can make a passable steak sandwich supreme and I ask for him by name before I take an uninitiated friend. I still miss coits, even though it was kinda gross. I care not for the truck! It was the experience. I miss all the (as my mother would call them) "dairy bar" restaurants. The tiny 1-3 man independently operated burger and shake places that opened by the thousands in the wake of the 1950's McDonald's craze. A perfect example is big truck tacos. I don't know what it was before. But used to be one.

All of these things are slowly going away and being replaced with things that are new and exciting. But I don't feel the same "simple charm" rooted in the institutions that were established 40-50-60 years ago like the institutions here and gone did. But the charcoal oven is a loss. And might be an especially painful reminder if they try to adulterate that old sign up to loop through the sign ordinance(which would never allow a sign like that to be placed in 2016) to have a great big DISCOUNT TIRE sign in our faces as we drive down expressway. Oncue on May & I-44 did with the 100ft steel beam sign I the easement. So this wouldn't be a shocker.

I was working on this long before that post and was absolutely the result of months of tracking and researching this.

I started this thread and asked for leads on other CO sites because I was working on this story; that post about a rumor then followed but I already had the building permit in hand; i.e. had issued an open records request, researched the sale, etc.

Cool. And it apparently only took the other person simply receiving a gift card to get the details they posted. All of that is well and good. What it proves is that information doesn't just flow from one faucet/source. The same info can come from several sources. Maybe Ch4 was also aware of it and once they realized the word was out there they decided to pull the trigger. Or, maybe they just heard the rumor too. But, no, you had to throw them under the bus and in the same breath wonder why they don't call you or cite you. Got it.

I'd provide more information but don't feel the need to have to explain how I know what I know, especially given the tone being taken.

Back to Charcoal Oven.

Being that I lived near there through high school I and most all of my friends spent a lot of time there. A bunch of my HS alumni have been there the past couple of days and posted about it. All of us are reminiscent but none of us, including me, have been patrons since school.
As far as a need for more tire stores? Go into any Discount or Hibdon anytime and try to not be the third, forth, fifth or more in line for installation. I even try to get there at opening on weekdays when I do go in and there are a handful of people with the same idea.

Saw The Newz Reports on all this . . . Decided to check the veracity here on OKC Talk. Determined the story was true. Makes me a little sad. Why? I ate there a couple of times and they had darn good "charcoal broiled burgers" and a nice location in which to devour one. Plus, I met the owner or manager once, in connection with investigating on-going and proposed drainage issues vis-a-vis overdevelopment and the ditch behind the restaurant. He was just as good--on that topic--as the burgers passed thru the window for those in a hurry. As I said: Makes me a little sad to see "an Icon" disappear. I'll get over it. Edited to Add: The burgers at Charcoal Oven were some of the best burgers I ever enjoyed. The reference to the "drainage ditch" behind the location had nothing directly or indirectly to do with Charcoal Oven nor the Owner/Manager thereof. It was an entirely separate issue. It had more to do with City Planning and such. Or the lack thereof. Tire Shop? Really?

I will miss Charcoal Oven. The best Onion Rings in town.

Back to your original comment about the "ethics" of local journalism in general, and KFOR in particular. Used to be that "timeliness" was the essence of reporting, sometimes even at the expense of accuracy. Just saw a promo commercial during the Today show, plugging a feature on the Edmond post-office shooting, to be aired Tuesday night. Folks, the anniversary was last Saturday, and waiting three days to observe it ain't timely. Might as well show the fireworks on July 7.

Local journalism isn't dead, although it's on life support. However the "professionals" of the business demonstrate daily their lack of professionalism.

Thanks, Pete, for keeping us informed!

Not to defend KFOR, because I think they're a garbage television station from top-to-bottom, but timeliness is important for covering current, breaking news. For a feature about the anniversary of something that happened thirty years ago, not so much. More eyeballs will see it on a Tuesday night as opposed to a Saturday night, especially a Saturday night in the midst of Olympics coverage.

Lots of reasons to dislike KFOR, but this one's pretty low on the list. With that being said, it's almost lunchtime. Someone bring me a Chick-A-Doodle-Do.

Isn't there a connection between Johnnies and Charcoal Oven? There are a few items (chick-a-doodle do) that I'd like to see live on somewhere.

The cool thing about Charcoal Oven is that the building and the grounds still look like it's straight out of the late '50s.

The cool thing about Charcoal Oven is that the building and the grounds still look like it's straight out of the late '50s.

Which is exactly why this is another pointless loss for OKC, which has little regard for history. A tire center could go anywhere. Surely there's a way to have preserved this in some way... Just disappointing.

There were probably 40 cars lined up all the way down NW Expressway around lunch today.

It was packed at 4:30ish on Sunday afternoon, too. Cars out into NW Expressway and a bit of a traffic jam. Shame the owners couldn't continue to make a go of it.

Which is exactly why this is another pointless loss for OKC, which has little regard for history. A tire center could go anywhere. Surely there's a way to have preserved this in some way... Just disappointing.
Nostalgia is often a money losing business.

Nostalgia is often a money losing business.

Yet you sure see it in other cities.

Yet you sure see it in other cities.

So the owner of charcoal oven doesn't deserve his golden parachute after decades of hard work? And who is exactly should be paying for a tiny % of people nostalgia? The city? That's not the city's job.

It had been for sale for a while so nobody else bothered to spend the money to save it, either.

I give the Wilson family a lot of credit for doing this as long as they did. Continuous operation since 1958 is about as good as you'll ever get, AND they kept the place in good shape that entire time.

I don't really see anyone faulting anyone else for this; only saying that it is a shame. It's too bad one of the hot local restaurant groups didn't take on the challenge to update the brand and menu while retaining/ceebrating the history. But they are spread pretty thin, and honestly it's not really the right part of town to pique their interest. It's just a timing issue, and a bummer that it's a nice piece of kitchy midcentury OKC history that we are losing. And it's ESPECIALLY a bummer that it is being replaced by such a mundane use. The whole episode is ripped straight from the pages of Kunstler's The Geography of Nowhere (https://www.amazon.com/Geography-Nowhere-Americas-Man-Made-Landscape/dp/0671888250).

So the owner of charcoal oven doesn't deserve his golden parachute after decades of hard work? And who is exactly should be paying for a tiny % of people nostalgia? The city? That's not the city's job.

Like I said, my statement remains valid. I never once said the owner should be forced to keep running it. Go back and reread what I said.

From last night.

http://www.okctalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=12909&d=1471959136

Yet you sure see it in other cities.We do seem to have a lot of people interested in keeping nostalgic buildings and such in OKC. Unfortunately it seems to be us broke folks.