Nichols Hills Plaza

[thunderbird]

The new Starbucks is open as of this morning. The parking lot was FULL when I drove by and there were 3 cars backed up to the ordering station in the drive-through. This was at 10:30 am, not rush hour. They will kill it here with the new building.

I was there about nine and I don’t understand how cars will back out when there is a drive thru backup. There are two parking strips back to back and the drive thru lane goes down the middle of the two. I think the hope is that if the line gets too long people won’t block people in and park and go inside. I can see a few parking lot fights in the future.

[OKCretro]

Sad. I liked that location because it was one of the few left that was a remnant of 2005, when Starbucks was still trendy and "cool." Back when they were a destination where you went to meet friends and hang out and before they had a drive-thru. There's kind of a nostalgia aspect to it from my college days. Hard to believe that it was once one of those chains that everybody was in a frenzy about when it was announced they were finally coming to OKC. Nowadays it's the McDonalds of coffee.

i preferred when the space was "ground floor cafe" but that was in the late 90's

[barrettd]

I was there about nine and I don’t understand how cars will back out when there is a drive thru backup. There are two parking strips back to back and the drive thru lane goes down the middle of the two. I think the hope is that if the line gets too long people won’t block people in and park and go inside. I can see a few parking lot fights in the future.

That's what I think about the Chisholm Creek location, too. Seems like most of the day that drive thru line is backed up so that people are waiting on Penn just to turn into the parking lot. Not sure how any of the other businesses deal with that backup blocking their parking spaces.

[LFordD40]

Not sure if there is an actual past thread on this, but does anyone know how quickly Osteria is planning on or will be able to re-model and start operations now that starbucks has officially moved? Their Instagram always looks very appetizing.

[Pete]

Not sure if there is an actual past thread on this, but does anyone know how quickly Osteria is planning on or will be able to re-model and start operations now that starbucks has officially moved? Their Instagram always looks very appetizing.

I know they design work has been largely done and work should be starting soon now that Starbucks has moved out.

[ditm4567]

Mamasita's is closing August 16th.

[Pete]

Mamasita's is closing August 16th.

This is part of the plan to build new along 63rd, similar to the new Hopdoddy building.

Will also be demolishing the small building the east which was most recently used as a temporary home for NH City Hall while they renovated their building. Been empty since.

I can't believe Mamasita's lasted as long as it did. Looks like they haven't done anything since 1986.

[Johnb911]

I can't believe Mamasita's lasted as long as it did. Looks like they haven't done anything since 1986.

Ditto

[sooner88]

Any idea what's going in the new spaces?

One thing I noticed when I went to Hopdoddy is how poorly they designed the parking lot in front of the building. I pulled in and the lot was full, so you're forced to backup which is made even more difficult as more cars continue to pull in.

[Pete]

I don't think they have anything pre-leased.

The two spaces next to Hopdoddy are still vacant.

[PaddyShack]

Any idea what's going in the new spaces?

One thing I noticed when I went to Hopdoddy is how poorly they designed the parking lot in front of the building. I pulled in and the lot was full, so you're forced to backup which is made even more difficult as more cars continue to pull in.

I have never cared for the parking lot in and around NH Plaza. It is all terrible design, especially the tree planters that cut out a corner of every third or fourth parking space in front of Pops. For us with longer, bigger vehicles it makes parking limited lest we want to be sticking out into the already tight lanes. Add on the numerous rich people and their "My car is worth more so I have right of way" mentality and it becomes a cluster...

[CloudDeckMedia]

I have never cared for the parking lot in and around NH Plaza. It is all terrible design, especially the tree planters that cut out a corner of every third or fourth parking space in front of Pops. For us with longer, bigger vehicles it makes parking limited lest we want to be sticking out into the already tight lanes. Add on the numerous rich people and their "My car is worth more so I have right of way" mentality and it becomes a cluster...

I believe that the parking lot redesign south of Avondale was done around the time of the Chesapeake/Glimcher transition. Everything then and since seems to have created problems instead of solving them. Curbs were installed just north of the porte-cochere to slow traffic, but the result is an awkward intersection. @PaddyShack mentioned the planter problems. Parking around Starbucks & Hopdoddy's is inadequate and the traffic flow is congested, and that's before spec space is occupied. I fear that what replaces Mamasita's will be more of the same. I recall that C-3 retail in OKC required 3 parking spaces/1,000 sf NRA, and restaurants required 10 parks/1,000 sf - is it the same in Nichols Hills?

[Pete]

Yes, the parking had to be reworked due to Trader Joe's and their large draw.

[bchris02]

Mamasita's is closing August 16th.

Mamasita's is definitely a relic of OKC's past that I'm surprised has made it this long. I've heard from several different people that it was one of the trendiest bars in town back in the 80s. It really shows how far things have come.

[Pete]

Mamasita's is definitely a relic of OKC's past that I'm surprised has made it this long. I've heard from several different people that it was one of the trendiest bars in town back in the 80s. It really shows how far things have come.

To demonstrate how long it's been there in it's unchanged form, I was fresh out of college and it was one of the few places to go, along with the old Varsity which was to the south in a now-demolished office building.

It was a good scene for a while but that was 30+ years ago and I stopped by today and, yes, it still looks just the same only worn and tired.

[Uptowner]

Mamasita's is definitely a relic of OKC's past that I'm surprised has made it this long. I've heard from several different people that it was one of the trendiest bars in town back in the 80s. It really shows how far things have come.

I have a golf buddy who ALWAYS insisted we go to mamasitas after a round at the country club. And since I am always a guest I don’t protest. It was always dead and always had cute female employees that had no qualms taking tequila shots with raunchy middle aged men. They all tip quite well also. At least enough, it seemed, to keep it barebones staffed. The food was inedible, so it was chips and dips.

They did change one thing over the years. That huge hail storm that battered the area damaged their neon sign. Which was actually a really cool sign. They left it half lit and broken for a couple years then changed it to that garrish plastic sign they have now. The same story applies to Classic’s on western. However I never frequent the place.

[Pete]

Took this today:

[bchris02]

I have a golf buddy who ALWAYS insisted we go to mamasitas after a round at the country club. And since I am always a guest I don’t protest. It was always dead and always had cute female employees that had no qualms taking tequila shots with raunchy middle aged men. They all tip quite well also. At least enough, it seemed, to keep it barebones staffed. The food was inedible, so it was chips and dips.

They did change one thing over the years. That huge hail storm that battered the area damaged their neon sign. Which was actually a really cool sign. They left it half lit and broken for a couple years then changed it to that garrish plastic sign they have now. The same story applies to Classic’s on western. However I never frequent the place.

I went to Mamasita's one time and never went back. Food was awful and the place was dead. I do remember the old sign. It hasn't been that long since they replaced it.

[Pete]

Here is the old sign circa 2013:

[Libbymin]

Far better restaurants have closed in shorter amounts of time so they must've gotten themselves a long term on their lease with a lot of options to be able to last this long. I always got the sense that it was Nichols Hills residents who frequented there so they could order happy hour drinks and then not have to drive too far.

[Pete]

[Pete]

On a whim, I went by Mamasita's last night around 8PM.

It was relatively busy and you could tell there was a hardcore group of regulars who were trying to squeeze in some time in the final days. One of the wait staff said she had been there 19 years and of the dozen or so people at or near the bar, they all seemed to know each other and the staff.

They were out of a few items due to stronger than expected demand now that word is out about the impending close.

As I noticed a few years ago when I stuck my head in, the place is just incredibly tired. The green Formica bar top, tattered black vinyl stools, the weathered outdoor pergola... It looked like almost nothing had been updated since opening in the mid 80's.

But they clearly have had their own following and I know some that are really going to mourn the loss.

I honestly had not been a paying customer since around 1988 so I ordered a margarita and a fish taco and a chicken taco. Margarita was out of a machine and had that artificial color and taste and the food, well... I'm glad I got to try it one more time before they shuttered.

Still, the experience left me melancholy. Mamasita's was a big part of my social life in the late 80's, usually the place we went after an after-work drinking session at the old T-Bar. Not many places still around from that era.

[shawnw]

https://twitter.com/TheFoodDood/stat...30894845624320

whoa... how can we go about getting this moved to the Midtown Kaiser's?

[timothy.a.owen]

I heard a rumor that Pop's is closing - has anyone heard anything more concrete?

[CloudDeckMedia]

I heard a rumor that Pop's is closing - has anyone heard anything more concrete?

The NH Plaza Pop’s location offers fare that is well-positioned against neighbors Hop Doddy, Hutch, CoolGreens, Saturn Grill, En Croûte, St. Mark’s. If it doesn’t go forward as Pop’s, I could see Garage or S&B taking the space, although Hop Doddy may have negotiated a competing burger exclusion in their lease.