These are the three concepts going in the Maywood II development along Walnut Ave. All operated by chef Andrew Black.

Originally, Black Walnut was to be Meatball House but the other concepts are generally the same.

Work should be starting soon.

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


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


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

Wasn't there supposed to be a Black Walnut concept open in Edmond on Covell ?

Really like these concepts. Along with the existing establishments will further establish DD as an urban neighborhood. Wishing him the very best

These look like great concepts that will hopefully enliven that area of Walnut. I worry about the location as it really feels disconnected from the rest of Deep Deuce, but hopefully a place like La Baguette will draw people that way regardless.

These look like great concepts that will hopefully enliven that area of Walnut. I worry about the location as it really feels disconnected from the rest of Deep Deuce, but hopefully a place like La Baguette will draw people that way regardless.
A good friend of mine owns a brownstone. That whole maywood apartments development is a blight. At night you can see how many units sit empty. And the orientation of the retail space is absurd. I’ve never heard of a chef opening 3 concepts at the same time, hopefully he has restauranteur partners, I would think the developers are giving away a boatload of tenant improvement dollars to fill the space. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they were trying to sell it. But good luck to them, I would enjoy a little jamon beurre baguette with a good coffe for lunch, if there was any place to park that is.

I love this idea, but really worried about it being successful. I know I'm not supposed to say this, but where will parking be? I agree that we should all be willing to walk more, but if you have a date in heels, that's really not an option. I'm not sure there's enough business from just the folks living in DD to keep them alive. If it's good enough, it will still draw folks, but it sure doesn't help to not have any obvious nearby parking.

Really love that Black Walnut logo. It’s nice to see since the graphic designer in me had a panic attack over the atrocious Dust Bowl “B”.

La Baguette - will it be owned/operated by Michel & Alain Buthion, or licensed to others?

This entire development is sitting on a parking garage. Surely they have parking figured out...

La Baguette - will it be owned/operated by Michel & Alain Buthion, or licensed to others?

The former.

La Baguette - will it be owned/operated by Michel & Alain Buthion, or licensed to others?

The buthions licenses the la baguette name from the original la baguette bistro they didn’t own the name

This is the owner of la baguette

These look like great concepts that will hopefully enliven that area of Walnut. I worry about the location as it really feels disconnected from the rest of Deep Deuce, but hopefully a place like La Baguette will draw people that way regardless.

I think that problem might be solved if the property at 100 NE 5th is ever redeveloped, as well as the lots to its west.

It's also massively visible for the legions of people who take that Walnut exit off I-235 and into DD and Bricktown.

La Baguette - will it be owned/operated by Michel & Alain Buthion, or licensed to others?


The buthions licenses the la baguette name from the original la baguette bistro they didn’t own the name

This is the owner of la baguette
BoulderSooner is correct. Chef Black’s partner is Rudy Khouri, who co-founded and owns the original La Baguette Bakery in Norman. The La Baguette Bistro on North May - owned by Michele and Alain Buthion under a brand agreement with Khouri and using Khouri’s wholesale baked goods - has no connection to this project.

Regarding parking:


Customers will be able to acess the Maywood II parking garage at no charge, entering off of Oklahoma Avenue and parking near an underground interior entrance. there will be a learning curve but it will be very easy once you've been there one time.


There has been some discussion related to elimination of one southbound lane on Oklahoma and conversion to a parking lane. This would also have significant benefit for Mosaic and go a long way to making Deep Deuce more walkable in general.

Assuming you mean walnut and level ?

Oops. Yes, was in a hurry.

One southbound lane on Walnut closed to create parking lane, which would also benefit LEVEL. Not saying it is going to happen for sure; only that the idea is being discussed by some.

That would be awesome.

http://www.405magazine.com/New-Flavor-in-Deep-Deuce/

Welp. That explains it way better than I did.

Pete, is this different from the Black Walnut Cafe that was proposed in Edmond but never got built?

Pete, is this different from the Black Walnut Cafe that was proposed in Edmond but never got built?

Yes, completely unrelated.

Signs to go up soon.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/blackwalnut4.jpg

Are they still keeping those terrible blue awnings? Also would love to see those two little “house” entrances to be cover in vines. Make it look charming cause right now it just looks awkward.

Are they still keeping those terrible blue awnings?.

I believe they will be going.

Very sad when I found out that this "Black Walnut" wasn't the same as "Black Walnut Café" that is in Texas. Easily some of the best brunch food that I have ever had in my life. Also, hope the owners have more success with this establishment than they did with House 333 on Campus Corner in Norman...lasted all of about 6 months, maybe.

Very sad when I found out that this "Black Walnut" wasn't the same as "Black Walnut Café" that is in Texas. Easily some of the best brunch food that I have ever had in my life. Also, hope the owners have more success with this establishment than they did with House 333 on Campus Corner in Norman...lasted all of about 6 months, maybe.

I was excited, until you mentioned this.

I was excited, until you mentioned this.

I was telling some friends from Texas that we were getting one in OKC and they were getting excited, then I had to be the bearer of bad news....

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/blackwalnut072918.jpg

The doors were open on the La Baguette the other day, looks like some progress is being made.

https://i.imgur.com/HtwCdHr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UrFVlsJ.jpg

Paper is off the windows at both this and La Baguette and it looks pretty much done inside.

Hope it works out. It would be nice to have decent dining in DD.

Looks like they are close to opening.

1st is LaBaguette; 2nd is Black Walnut.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/labaguette122218.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/blackwalnut122218.jpg

That'll be really great if these can succeed and enliven the north side of Deep Deuce, which is pretty dead. I just worry about how uninviting the street is for pedestrians and whether people will intuitively know how to get here. It would be nice if that other Walnut lot was developed. Having said that, maybe the brand recognition of La Baguette will be enough.

I'm very much looking forward to these opening and hoping they do soon, got some dinners before shows at the civic center to plan for, and these would be nice! I also worry about where they are, with lack of parking, etc etc etc. I think Urbanized (or someone else) has pointed out in the past though that these should be highly visible, with the amount of traffic going in and out on both 4th street and Walnut every day. Hopefully that keeps it at the top of people's minds, as well as being a 2-3 block walk from a streetcar stop.

Convert the curbside southbound lane to on-street parking. Northbound needs two driving lanes until a better solution for I-235 access is resolved (never).

There is currently a large sign indicating that parking for these two establishments can be had inside the parking garage.

How close are these places to a Circ bus stop?

Right around the corner. There's a CIRC stop in front of the former Urban Johnnies.

La Baguette will open later this month per their FB page.

LaBaguette to officially open next Friday, 1/18.

Peeked inside Grey Sweater last night and it is looking just as nice as the other two!

https://i.imgur.com/5rgoE9J.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dSpYayF.jpg

My wife, toddler, and I went to LaBaguette for a late brunch on Sunday. It was stellar.

We arrived around 1:30 and ordered a ton of food. I had the Croque Madame and my wife had Eggs Benedict. We also split a side of fresh fruit and a lemon danish. The food came out warm and the service was great. Food quality is on par with the other LaBaguette locations - which is far superior to most OKC outfits.

The owner was in since it was opening weekend. He came up and said hello. Staff was great.

I am trying to think of something negative about the experience but nothing comes to mind. We had no issues parking but I suspect others might, especially when the brunch crowd peaks. Also, I don't love the street that LaBaguette/Black Walnut/Grey Sweater sit on. I am hopeful that additional development and foot traffic from the nearby apartments and brownstones will keep these places thriving.

We will be back, for sure.

^

Thanks for the review.

Setting up the patio along Walnut will help the vibe there a lot and aid in buffering what is a pretty busy street.

I also visited for brunch yesterday at La Baguette. They have a great selection of breakfast and lunch items, sandwiches, salads and soups. I had a three-egg omelet with gruyere, bacon and sauteed spinach. My wife had their scrumptious chicken sandwich on croissant. Tried one of the soups du jour, tomato basil.

Great atmosphere, friendly service and excellent food. If there's any complaint at all it is the lack of tables in the space.

By the way, parking is FREE in the adjacent garage. You can walk through the garage directly to the restaurants. They need to publicize this fact as there is plenty of available parking.

We must have all been there at the same time. I really enjoyed La Baguette too. I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Grey Sweater and Black Walnut from one of the managers. All of the restaurants are ready to go as they share the same kitchen and restrooms. The manager explained that all 3 restaurants had to have their occupancy permits at the same time as they are all connected. The furnishings are exquisite all in different ways. It is a really cool concept. I did not get what the connection was between the restaurants (besides common ownership) until I got to tour them. I look forward to trying the others when they open.

We are at Central Ave. Villas, so really excited about these new options. Glad t hear the positive early reviews.

Looks Blanut Walnut will open on Valentine's Day.

This place is amazing. Hands down some of the best service and most creative drinks and food in OKC. I'm not over exaggerating this. It's awesome. Hats off to Chef Black on this. Got to tour the Grey Sweater as well, cannot wait for it to open.

This place is amazing. Hands down some of the best service and most creative drinks and food in OKC. I'm not over exaggerating this. It's awesome. Hats off to Chef Black on this. Got to tour the Grey Sweater as well, cannot wait for it to open.

+1 on that - went a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Same experience with service and also got a tour of GS. These places are a huge bump for the area.

Black Walnut is seeing good business as word of mouth and reviews have been very positive.

Because they have been busy, Chef Black told me they won't open Grey Sweater until June.

We went for the dinner last night without really any expectations and absolutely loved it. We ordered a bunch of dishes for the table and shared them, and very much enjoyed everything we had. The menu reminds me of The Girl & the Goat in Chicago. We talked to the sommelier about Grey Sweater (which he also said was opening sometime in June) and he gave us a tour of that space. It's beautiful and looks like they could open tomorrow if they wanted to. Overall it was a pleasant surprise and one of our new favorite restaurants.

The city has provided on-street parking in front of La Baguette.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/blackwalnut111520a.jpg

Chef Andrew Black, having been involved in hotel and corporate culinary operations for years in the OKC area, has opened up a triple concept location--three restaurants under one roof, from casual, to casual dining, to fine dining. Tried the casual dining option the other day, as they were offering reserved outdoor seating. The food was amazing, cocktails were excellent, service was great. Indoors was packed, and it looked like Grey Sweater, the more upscale concept, was also full.

La Baguette is a known entity, so I'm sure it's fine.

Cheers to Chef Black. Quite an undertaking.

Chef Andrew Black, having been involved in hotel and corporate culinary operations for years in the OKC area, has opened up a triple concept location--three restaurants under one roof, from casual, to casual dining, to fine dining. Tried the casual dining option the other day, as they were offering reserved outdoor seating. The food was amazing, cocktails were excellent, service was great. Indoors was packed, and it looked like Grey Sweater, the more upscale concept, was also full.

La Baguette is a known entity, so I'm sure it's fine.

Cheers to Chef Black. Quite an undertaking.

Black Walnut is one of my wife and I's favorite spots. I honestly feel like it is very much overlooked, the food is always spot on and as you mentioned the drinks are outstanding. I haven't tried Grey Sweater yet, one day I will certainly make that happen.

On top of everything else, Andrew Black is simply one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Black Walnut is one of my wife and I's favorite spots. I honestly feel like it is very much overlooked, the food is always spot on and as you mentioned the drinks are outstanding. I haven't tried Grey Sweater yet, one day I will certainly make that happen.

I can recommend the branzino. Everyone at our table was impressed with what they got. Chef Black could be successful anyplace he wanted to go. We're lucky to have this offering.

And apologies for the double post. I did do a search for Black Walnut and came up dry.

Black walnut okc.com. Website

And apologies for the double post. I did do a search for Black Walnut and came up dry.

Absolutely no worries. The post was appreciated and it's always easy to move/merge.


Here's a search tip: Choose the "Topic Search" button in the menu atop every page, and enter one keyword, in this case you could use "walnut" (not black walnut) and the desired thread would be listed with just a few others.

On top of everything else, Andrew Black is simply one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.
^^^^^^
Fact

Made reservations for Black Walnut on Friday for my first real dining experience since COVID hit. Didn't make it in before. I'm excited.