Metro Diner to open first Oklahoma location in far north OKC (http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=452-Metro-Diner-to-open-first-Oklahoma-location-in-far-north-OKC)

A restaurant chain featured on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” is planning to open its first location in Oklahoma City at Memorial and May.


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


The Florida-based company has leased 4,000 square feet in the Shoppes at Quail Springs development and will be located directly north of Salata.


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http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/metrodiner1.jpg


Metro Diner offers classic diner fare with all-day breakfast and has over 50 locations in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The Food Network show hosted by Guy Fieri featured Metro's meatloaf, steak salad and stuffed French toast.

The Shoppes at Quail Springs is a 91,000 square foot two story retail and office center located on the southwest corner of May and the Kilpartrick Turnpike. It was developed and is owned by Mazaheri Properties.

Metro Diner has won several awards in the markets it serves, such as Best Breakfast, Best Diner, Best Family Dining and Best Fried Chicken.

The company does not franchisee and directly operates all of their locations.

The new Oklahoma City location will open later in 2018.


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Well you had my attention at diner but when you said fried chicken you sold me on driving from Moore and trying it!

I'm glad to see the diner concept making a comeback. It seems the overchromed airstream trope is stuck deeply into so many minds (and as seen in the pictures, the chrome doesn't always go away...), but the thing I've always appreciated about diners is simple, affordable food. Not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with rosemary fried chicken, a side of saffron mashed potatoes, and "haricot verts" (just putting it that way doubles the price), but sometimes you DON'T want to pay $35 for chicken and veg.

I'm glad to see the diner concept making a comeback. It seems the overchromed airstream trope is stuck deeply into so many minds (and as seen in the pictures, the chrome doesn't always go away...), but the thing I've always appreciated about diners is simple, affordable food. Not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with rosemary fried chicken, a side of saffron mashed potatoes, and "haricot verts" (just putting it that way doubles the price), but sometimes you DON'T want to pay $35 for chicken and veg.

HAHA.... I've always wondered how many people are shocked when they order something with haricots verts expecting to see something fancy and exotic and see green beans arrive at the table.

In the era of the $20 breakfast, Metro seems to be a throw-back to solid food for a decent price.

I'm sure there is room in the market for both.

In the era of the $20 breakfast, Metro seems to be a throw-back to solid food for a decent price.

I'm sure there is room in the market for both.

Well I paid almost $18 for breakfast at Sheri's Diner this morning including tip...... So I agree with you.

Granted I had the bone-in ham steak but it was worth it.... Just look at the sear and crust they got on this piece of pork!

14363

Well I paid almost $18 for breakfast at Sheri's Diner this morning including tip...... So I agree with you.

Granted I had the bone-in ham steak but it was worth it.... Just look at the sear and crust they got on this piece of pork!

14363

That looks *almost* as good as The Hungry Frog's Big Ham Steak. :)

Back on topic, though, nice to see an all-day breakfast place, shame it's so far up May Ave from us, but we'll still give it a try one late Sat afternoon.

Love the Hungry Frog and I need to get back there soon.

Their breakfast potatoes are sublime.

Love the Hungry Frog and I need to get back there soon.

Their breakfast potatoes are sublime.


That looks *almost* as good as The Hungry Frog's Big Ham Steak. :)

Yep... Like Hungry Frog too and generally if I am there for lunch I'm eating breakfast and it's their ham steak. Although they do a pretty decent chicken fry steak too.

What are the hours of that new Hal Smith breakfast place on the north side that I can never remember the name of for some reason... Something Jam

Is it closing in the afternoon also?

I guess I've never noticed there being a lack of places to go for 24 hour breakfast because there's always a Waffle House, Mama Lou's, or truck stop available to me that serves breakfast 24 hours.

^

Neighborhood Jam.

6:30AM to 2:30PM.

Pretty sure Woodbridge serves breakfast all day too and their south location is open until 10:30 PM and the north is open to 8:30 PM.

I think Nina's, where Coits used to be on Portland, serves breakfast all day too and it's open until 8:00 PM.

Pretty sure Woodbridge serves breakfast all day too and their south location is open until 10:30 PM and the north is open to 8:30 PM.

I think Nina's, where Coits used to be on Portland, serves breakfast all day too and it's open until 8:00 PM.

Did not know that about Woodbridge, it's not far from us, have to check it out, thx! As far as Nina's, last time I drove by it didn't look open, but maybe I'm thinking of another spot near it, will check it out next time I'm around there.

Did not know that about Woodbridge, it's not far from us, have to check it out, thx! As far as Nina's, last time I drove by it didn't look open, but maybe I'm thinking of another spot near it, will check it out next time I'm around there.

Been about a year since I was at Nina's last. So it's possible they closed but last time I was there they were doing a pretty brisk business at lunch.

I get why so many new restaurants are going in along Memorial, but I wish some of these guys would look at the success of Pub W on the southside and realize that we are starving for quality restaurants.

I get why so many new restaurants are going in along Memorial, but I wish some of these guys would look at the success of Pub W on the southside and realize that we are starving for quality restaurants.

Agreed... as a resident of Moore. Most of my dining takes place north of I-40.....Heck north of I-240 for that matter.

There will likely be more Metro Diner locations in OKC, just not exactly sure where.

This is their future spot at May & Memorial.

Hard to tell but they have done a lot of work inside and the sign should be going up soon.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/metrodiner031818.jpg

Metro Diner is now open.

Sun – Thu: 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Fri & Sat: 7:00 am – 9:00 pm

Menu (https://245xq72m7u8l39tsbf33v0j6-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/MetroDinerMenu_V3A.pdf)

Damn I'm glad they are on the north side and not closer to me.... that fried chicken meal is definitely not keto and is my daily calorie allowance in one meal....... May have to make it a cheat meal when I drop another 15 though!

Has anyone else tried this yet? I’m anxious to give it a shot.

Excellent reviews on Yelp:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/metro-diner-oklahoma-city-2?osq=metro+diner

Went there today. Had the meat lover Omelette. Pretty good food, hard to mess up breakfast. Good sized Biscuits. Supposedly everything is fresh never frozen. Still working out kinks with staff and cooks. I'll think that will work itself out. I like jimmy's egg but this is a good choice too.

How does it compare to black bear on the other side of memorial service road?

My family agreed that it was a lot better than Black Bear. The cinnamon roll pancakes and the monte cristo were hits for us. I had their protein breakfast and the scrambled eggs were cooked to what I think is perfection and the bacon was very very tasty. Avocado toast was a hit for the wife. The service was really good. We got right in at 9A this past Sunday.

The wife got us invited to their soft opening a few weeks ago so we got to try it with a couple of friends. They were clearly training but we all noted that it was similar to Charleston's in that nothing like empty sugar packets, straw wrappers, etc. stayed on the table longer than a few seconds before someone swooped in to get it off our table.

It really was outstanding. The fried chicken was legit and the huge pancakes were great. That scoop of strawberry butter was a nice touch. We spoke to one of the owners and he talked about being from Tampa and being in the restaurant business for several decades. Then casually mentioned that he founded Outback steakhouse, sold it off in the early 2000's, then founded longhorn steakhouse. Lol. Being an inquisitive OKCTalker I asked if he was working with someone local or just decided to try OKC... He then said he's working with someone local, Hal Smith, maybe we've heard of him. Lol. We laughed and said that explains the similarities to the service at Charleston's and he says they call it the 5 second rule and they preach it to the workers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_T._Sullivan

All in all it was very good and I see it doing well here.

^

Wow, thanks for all that info.

I know they are planning more OKC locations but not sure where.

Has anyone else tried this yet? I’m anxious to give it a shot.

Ate there tonight - always fun to try a new place. However, I can’t say i was overwhelmed. I think breakfast might be the better meal choice. Service was OK, food OK (not great, not bad). Everyone should try it out and see what they think.

Went today for Breakfast/Lunch. Small wait at 12:30. Had chicken and waffles. Probably some of the juiciest chicken I have had. Waffle and that strawberry topping was wow. Friend had 3 eggs, toast, hash browns, links. Everything was good. Price was $8.99 for eggs breakfast. Maybe a tad more price wise than Jimmy's Egg. Jimmy's you can get more side options. Like pancakes, or homemade toast where here toast was the only option. Looks like a little more hash browns though than at Jimmy Egg. Overall great but Jimmy's is right down the street from me and I would say a tad bit cheaper cause of the extra side you can get. Plus I'll get a coupon from them from time to time. If they were both the same distance from my home I probably would lean more towards Metro though.

The Gazette has a thorough write-up:

https://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/fieri-effect/Content?oid=4499318

Metro Dinner to build new location neat the Outlet Mall:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/metrodiner121418.jpg

Yes I live just south of the Lake. Love their food but was a bit too far to go all the way up to Quail Springs Mall area. Especially with Jimmy's Eggs which is comparable for breakfast. They usual build in a strip mall though. Is there something else going in?

Talked to a friend of mine that is a manager for them. He says they do have stand alone stores. Takes 3-4 months to build one once they get going.

Tried to show their menu to a relative, the PDF of the local menu is pooched and won't load. Showed him the general menu on the website, and he said "looks good, how much is it?". I assume that answer would be on the local menu, which can't be loaded. He was less than impressed.

Metro Dinner to build new location neat the Outlet Mall:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/metrodiner121418.jpg

Literally next door to Jimmy's Egg... It's like CVS vs Walgreens...

Literally next door to Jimmy's Egg... It's like CVS vs Walgreens...

But Jimmy's Egg closes at 2pm.

But Jimmy's Egg closes at 2pm.

So Jimmy's Egg is CVS, which closes at 9pm... Haha

I've eaten here several times and it's one of my wife's favorite brunch places. The food and service is very consistent and there always seems to be a wait so others must be enjoying it as well!

I tried to go there Sunday morning but their wait was over an hour. The rather curt man on the phone cut me off saying they won't put my name in the line and that it is first-come, first-served then hung up. I'm happy they have good business but was a bit put off by the man's lack of simple politeness. I'll also throw in, they should take phone calls to get in line. If it's that busy and the person isn't there, move on. It's not that hard.

I tried to go there Sunday morning but their wait was over an hour. The rather curt man on the phone cut me off saying they won't put my name in the line and that it is first-come, first-served then hung up. I'm happy they have good business but was a bit put off by the man's lack of simple politeness. I'll also throw in, they should take phone calls to get in line. If it's that busy and the person isn't there, move on. It's not that hard.

Dont let one person ruin it for you. There are a lot of places that don't take call ahead, for the longest time Cafe Kaco would not take call a head, thankfully they fixed that but it was an issue for a couple of years.

Any word yet on when building might start. I would think they would want to be open sometime in the fall and before winter.

Any word yet on when building might start. I would think they would want to be open sometime in the fall and before winter.

The building permit was just approved so they should be starting soon.

The building permit was just approved so they should be starting soon.\

Hope this gets going soon I love their food.

So is this still a go? Nothing has been started yet. I would think Oct Nov would be good building weather.

The building permit was just approved so they should be starting soon.

Still going on or did something happen. I guess it's common for land to be built and it takes a while to build. I think Whataburger owns land along 240 and in Yukon and hasn't built anything yet.

Still going on or did something happen. I guess it's common for land to be built and it takes a while to build. I think Whataburger owns land along 240 and in Yukon and hasn't built anything yet.

The permit was approved but for some reason Metro has not paid the final fees for it to be issued.

Talked to a friend today that's a manager for them (not Locally) and he said they have pumped the brakes on building new stores. They grew so quickly a few years ago that they are having a hard time keeping up with things out of their small offices in Florida. I would like to see this get going sometime soon as it's close to my home and their food is pretty good.

The permit was approved but for some reason Metro has not paid the final fees for it to be issued.

Any updates? Do they still own the land?

Any updates? Do they still own the land?

Their permit has been ready for them since April and they haven't bothered to pay for it and have it formally issued.

I would guess this deal is dead.

Wondering if anybody's been to the memorial location in a while. Are they still busy all the time. Has their food gone downhill any?

Wondering if anybody's been to the memorial location in a while. Are they still busy all the time. Has their food gone downhill any?
Seems like the food has been consistent. Every time I’ve been they’ve been reasonably busy.

We went with friends a week ago - first time for all of us - for a Thursday morning breakfast... food was delicious. I've had better sausage gravy (it was too... too... broken up. I like chunkier sausage gravy.). Service was great. They were busy, though, even on a weekday.

Dirt has started to move over by the outlet shoppes. Is Metro Dinner still a go or did they sale the land to someone else?

What's Metro Diner on Memorial like on a Saturday morning lately. The place doesn't look too big. Do you usually have to wait on a table?