Maybe the old Billy Sim's space?

You would think they would want a place with existing equipment, as that's how they landed at their previous location.

Any update?

Why in the world does he allow his Facebook page to be a year old since the last post and it still indicates he is open and operating on Penn.

They hope to open in about a week at Northpark.

I'll keep an eye on things and post when they are open.

I have a friend who offices out of Northpark. I will touch base with him to see if he can get some pics.

They hope to open in about a week at Northpark.

I'll keep an eye on things and post when they are open.

yes Pete, please do. this will be a closer drive for me, and i'll be certain to make it. i made it a few times to the old location for lunch, even though it cut my lunch hour pretty short with the drive

They are taking the old Billy Sims space, which is just inside the south entrance on the west side of the mall.

Will be a very similar setup as Hacienda Tacos, with an entrance outside and inside the mall. The outside entrance is underneath that covered entrance just to the south of BC Clark.

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Are Hacienda Tacos in the space that was formerly occupied by City Bites for many years?

They hope to open in about a week at Northpark.

I'll keep an eye on things and post when they are open.

We drove by yesterday... looks the same as your pics. Windows still covered by the brown paper. We, and many others in the Village, have been looking forward to the opening... it'll get great traffic once it opens.

That is if we Villagers can manage to get out of our neighborhoods with all the bloody road construction going on... and on... and on...

Just two days ago, they filed for a building permit.

I suspect they tried to get open without one, then realized it would be needed and now have to wait for the city to approve.

Yes, City Bites moved into the building in the NE corner of the property, next to the liquor store, and Hacienda took over their old space.

I just stopped by Northpark, place still looks the same with the windows covered up, still not open.

Hmmmm. Sum Ting Wong.

I just stopped by Northpark, place still looks the same with the windows covered up, still not open.

They still haven't had their building permit issued.

I believe they started work with the thought and intention of not needing a permit and then the city stepped in and work stopped.

Jest fer fun . . . and approaching lunchtime . . . I took a stroll through the New! Improved!! NorthPark Mall. I even took a pratfall for the team suggesting the need for Safety Tape on the Mallwalk in search of the perfect burger. The resident Safety Officer informed me that they weren't open yet. Dang.

Was that perhaps a harbinger of why Gourmet Gallery moved to Edmond?

Was that perhaps a harbinger of why Gourmet Gallery moved to Edmond?

Weren't both locations open at the same time for years? I may be wrong, but I thought the Gourmet Gallery in the mall had the same owner(s) as the one on Boulevard a few blocks south of 15th St., and thought the Edmond one had been open for years alongside the mall one.

Drove by yesterday and they still aren't open and it was hard to see if they've made much progress inside.

But they should be close soon because they have all the necessary building permits.

Rumor has it: November 11 opening...

So is today the day or what??

I'm not seeing any hints on Facebook or their website... we've got to get out for an appointment around 12:30. We'll drive by and report back. I'm going to be so disappointed in my source if the rumor doesn't prove true!

No joy. My rumor source was correct in one thing (another restaurant in North Park: The Hamilton), but not about Lip Smackers... windows are still papered over and 'Coming Soon' signs still up.

I peaked in about a week ago and it looked like they were close.

As long as I have an onion dip burger by Christmas I'll be happy.

I wish Jabbar was more social network/website savvy... he could / should really update both his FB page and his website. This silence can't be good for hanging on to business... I'm not about to give up on those burgers and fresh okra, but not everyone's as obsessed as I am with a good burger and fried okra.

What I find interesting is what I perceive as no sense of urgency.

He's had what seems an inordinately long time to get the NorthPark location up and running, yet has not, as it seems.

Maybe he's independently wealthy and only runs a burger joint for fun.

Otherwise, how has he been able to support himself/family since the first location closed?

Maybe he's got a job going on somewhere else.

Who knows?

Not me.

Has the gas station it was formally attached to closed down? I drove past the other day and it looked like a ghost town.

Has the gas station it was formally attached to closed down? I drove past the other day and it looked like a ghost town.

Yes, been meaning to post about this. The entire property is now vacant and has been for a few weeks.

Hopefully it finds a higher and better use. That station is an eyesore.

Yes, been meaning to post about this. The entire property is now vacant and has been for a few weeks.

Hopefully it finds a higher and better use. That station is an eyesore.

It has been sketchy a long time. The signs in the bathroom telling you not to shoot up drugs in there was the first sign.

And the convenience store was a jumbled mess.

It's a great location and hopefully we see something better there soon.

I hope Jabbar can reopen... we often had long conversations about the restaurant business in OkC. His big problem was being crushed by his own success; he could not scale to his popularity, and the OkC crowd is fickle and demanding. I am afraid his re-opening will be a zoo of unhappy folks. To an earlier poster's point, I tried to impress on him the power of social media in today's business world, but to little effect. I would suggest to him that he have an invitation-only soft opening. If he just throws open the doors, that might be enough to sour the customers who don't get perfect service. He was struggling at the gas station, and had little overhead and only word of mouth advertising. I shudder to think what he is paying for the space at NorthPark, and the costs to permit and build out...

Just curious when did the burger king open and when did it close? seemed pretty nice when it was a burger king in the late 90's

I hope Jabbar can reopen... we often had long conversations about the restaurant business in OkC. His big problem was being crushed by his own success; he could not scale to his popularity, and the OkC crowd is fickle and demanding. I am afraid his re-opening will be a zoo of unhappy folks. To an earlier poster's point, I tried to impress on him the power of social media in today's business world, but to little effect. I would suggest to him that he have an invitation-only soft opening. If he just throws open the doors, that might be enough to sour the customers who don't get perfect service. He was struggling at the gas station, and had little overhead and only word of mouth advertising. I shudder to think what he is paying for the space at NorthPark, and the costs to permit and build out...

The restaurant business and patronage is fickle enough without an owner throwing away all their positive momentum. Lots of missed opportunities here and an unwillingness to even do the most basic of marketing and customer engagement. Seriously how much effort does it take to edit your Facebook page so that it doesn't indicate your former location is still your active location? I just hope all those customers who loved his Penn location actually drive and dine that far north. Otherwise, he is starting all over again.

Ha, I can imagine a Restauranteur 101 class instructor saying "For a prime example of what *not* to do when moving/opening a business, see exhibit A: Lipsmackers in OKC". And yes, I know, he built up a huge following at his original location despite not doing any of the things he's supposed to do, but as BBates said, hope he doesn't have to start completely over. Having said that, we probably won't be patronizing his new location, just too far for us to drive for a burger and maybe-frozen/maybe-not okra when there are multiple pretty-equivalent burger places much closer to us (we live near NW 36th/May).

Huge difference in being able to cook and being able to run a business.

Very, very common problem in the restaurant industry.

Huge difference in being able to cook and being able to run a business.

Very, very common problem in the restaurant industry.

Yep, and probably one of the top (if not the top) things that make a restaurant close. Vuong Nguyen is another example - can cook his *** off, but can't seem to get a business together (although hopefully the stint at The Collective will help him towards that end, we still need to try him there).

I wish him the best of luck, but I just can't imagine there's a large cross-section of people that spend a lot of time around both I-44/Penn and NW 122nd/May. That's a 15 minute drive on a good day.

I think there is still a niche for a good drug store-type burger (i.e. Nichols Hills Drug, Jones Belew). The small cafe on the east side of Northpark that served burgers and chicken salad sandwiches with chips survived for a long time. Times have changed, yes. But if done right, I think Lipsmakers could fill a need for quite sometime.

I wish him the best of luck, but I just can't imagine there's a large cross-section of people that spend a lot of time around both I-44/Penn and NW 122nd/May. That's a 15 minute drive on a good day.

We don't spend much time at all at I-44 and Penn... but we drove down from the Village to eat at Lip Smackers. I bet quite a few will take the time to drive up to 122nd/May. Then there are all the people in the North who have yet to discover his food... IF HE'LL EVER OPEN, dag-nab-it!!

I went by the Northpark location and the paper is still up on the windows and I couldn't tell if they've made progress.

I'm sorry to report that I believe this restaurant is dead.

My understanding is the construction was more expensive than anticipated and the long delay (was supposed to be open in August) caused a big loss of income, and now Jabbar is pretty much out of money.

Was told the landlord is already seeking another tenant for that space.


Maybe they'll resurface somewhere else down the line but for now, it looks like Lip Smackers is no more.

Wow, sorry to hear. Many here were spot on.

Couldn’t he look at that consortium place where they fund you and get part of profits?

Unfortunately I feared this would be the case after the long delay. Fingers crossed that he opens up in one of the new food courts once a spot opens.

Hopefully someone with some real financing and marketing savvy can team up with him and get LipSmackers back up and running and doing so correctly in the near future.

I do hate to hear that... even though it's what I feared as the 'down time' stretched out into 'this is ridiculous' time. I'll keep my fingers crossed he gets his feet under him and makes another go at it - but not unless he's got some guidance that he'll listen to and follow.

I wonder why he attempted this move in the first place. It could be -- since the attached service station has subsequently closed -- that he didn't have much choice.

If not, it's yet another cautionary tale of how expensive it can be to setup a new restaurant.

And beyond all that, they were never consistent enough in their hours to build steady business, as word of mouth had already brought many people through the door. Even if he had completed the new place, how many of those same people would have driven an extra 5 miles? He would have been starting completely over for the most part.

Rip

I went by today and their "coming soon" signs are gone and if there was any doubt, this looks completely dead.

I went by today and their "coming soon" signs are gone and if there was any doubt, this looks completely dead.

(Assumes Mary Shelly's Frankenstein position)NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Stick a fork in it, it's done. done. finished.

To borrow from Bro. Bogart in Casablanca: "In the overall scheme of things . . . a burger is just a burger. Yet some of us will always have a memory of the Best Burger Ever. Not in Paris, TX . . . In a fledgling eatery, next to a sketchy filling station, not far from downtown OKC. If someone hadn't suggested to the Owner that it would be a good idea to take wing and fly north . . . Well then, I recon it is what it ain't. =~)

I'd be interested to know who would suggest to go North as well. I don't see NorthPark getting a lot of traffic at all.

Hacienda Tacos does very well there, but of course they face right on May and have a patio facing that direction as well.

Seeing how the gas station closed too, maybe he had no choice.

Believe it or not, there are plenty of us up here in the God-forsaken North who would - gasp! clutching of pearls! - go to Northpark for an excellent burger.

Wish they could have make it work, still never got to try this although I guess that’s my fault more than anything else.

On another note, didn’t take long for a pretty visible homeless camp to pop up at their old location at I-44 and Penn now that that building is completely empty.

I know Lip Smackers never reopened, I understand that,

I'm just wondering if he ever surfaced at any other restaurant around town?

Surely he is working somewhere? Or maybe he moved away.

He just disappeared as far as I know.

Just curious.

Believe it or not, it looks like Lipsmackers is going to resurface at I-240 and Sunnylane of all places.

There has been a sign permit for them at the new E-Express gas/convenience store that is being built on the SW corner of that intersection, immediately north of a run-down E-Express which will be bulldozed.

The new store will have multiple food vendors, including a Subway which is moving from the old building, an Einstein's Bagels and a burrito place.

On the north side of the building is an attached but completely separate space for Huddle House, a national chain with a few truck stop locations in the area; looks very similar to Waffle House.

I stopped by there to take the photos below, and that crappy old store was booming so evidently there is a good market in that area.

The new E-Express looks like they are about a month out from finishing, and will have a drive-thru around the back similar to OnCue. They are a local outfit with a handful of locations but obviously stepping up their game due to OnCue and the new 7-11's.

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Wow, what a revival. Hope it works out!