Quote Originally Posted by Urbanized View Post
Both have been open less than a year. RockNRoll open maybe 6 months. I hesitate to comment too much on either as I know the ownership of both, and like them to boot. But I had thoughts on both when they opened that unfortunately proved true. I’ve seen many places open in downtown over the years - with particular experience in Bricktown - and I’ve developed a pretty uncanny knack for predicting almost immediately which ones will succeed or fail, based on quick assessments regarding brand, operator, etc.

For instance - right down the way - I knew KD’s would be a smash hit, privately suspected Legacy Grill might have a tough time, believed and still believe that Charleston’s will be a long-term success. All in the very same space, run by the same group.

Part of my experience with this also involves my own retail efforts, which had some limited success and also some failures, and the post-mortem I did on those efforts, so that if nothing else I came away with lessons in business.

Regarding RockNRoll, as I mentioned above, I just think it was more of an opportunistic thing than an inspired effort. These are bar/club operators who are having what I read as great success downstairs with their patio bar. That bar is all about location. People in Bricktown and especially along the canal during the season are actively seeking a great outdoor place to drink. Inexplicably, those places are tough to find in Bricktown.

That patio is tailor-made to cater to those people. I was involved with the effort to bring Captain Norm’s there, not as an owner but in a bit of an advisory/helper role. Initially, Captain Norm’s was a smashing success. It would still be there today, except that the owner and the landlord ended up not getting along, so their lease wasn’t renewed, to put it as simply as possible. To the credit of the guys who now run Tipsy Tiki, they recognized exactly what worked at Norm’s, and Tipsy is largely a carbon copy, with upgrades. They also have a following from their other bars, and draw based on that. They definitely know how to run a bar. Unless they also get sideways with the property owner (not uncommon for bars, in fairness) , I’d expect that place to be there a long time.

I think they saw opportunity in the shuttered pizza place upstairs. They probably knew Knuck’s started out pretty strong. Of course Knuck’s was run by food people, and initially Knuck’s owners hustled their butts off to make it work, including tons of catering, delivery everywhere, etc. The problem at Knuck’s ended up coming from elsewhere; the owners over-extended with other operations, had other places which lost money, and ultimately ended up divorcing. Had it just been Knuck’s, run as it was at the beginning, it would STILL be Knuck’s.

That said, the location is not perfect. It’s not super visible, getting there is not intuitive, it’s on a (currently) dead upper level section of the canal, etc. Not a deal-killer, but I think whatever goes there needs to be clever/creative/different and will probably still have to hustle for business. It would grow easier if some of the surrounding upper-level space on that strip also got some quality tenants.

My impression of RnR Pizza was that they were sort of going through the motions because there was already a pizza place there, full equipment, big kitchen, etc., and because they wanted to offer food in the successful bar downstairs. So, if it turned into tough sledding (which it must have) it’s easy to cut the cord. I think that’s what happened there. I don’t think those guys are sentimental, and the6 try to focus on what they know works. There’s something to be said for that, when it comes to business.

I think in many ways Sussy’s was quite the opposite. The owner really believed in the concept, and had a passion for it. There was a ton of sentimentality surrounding it. I know that the line between fast casual and sit down dining drifted a bit and was at times tough to decipher, but a ton of thought (and capital) went into the place overall. The owner wasn’t an experienced restaurant guy, but he hired experience and the crew was good, at least initially. The place was very nicely appointed. The bar was nice. They absolutely NAILED the recipes, which stayed very true to the originals, but tasted fresher.

My personal take on the reason it didn’t succeed was that it probably isn’t the right location for the brand. It is a venerable, historic brand for OKC. Great overall reputation, especially for the recipes. But the people who care about that brand aren’t your typical Bricktown demographic (young, active, families, bar/club goers, suburban and exurban OKC metro, visitors from out of market). Most of these people have never even heard of Sussy’s. They have no connection to its history, or to old OKC. And most of them aren’t looking to fill up on pasta, to spend much on a meal, etc.

That brand - which I myself am partial to - resonates with an older crowd, a northwest OKC crowd. An affluent crowd. I think the same place if opened somewhere on north Western or north May (north even of the old Nomad) would absolutely KILL IT. Still.

But that crowd isn’t a regular Bricktown crowd. In fact, they are the parking grumblers, the “I don’t go downtown” folks, etc.. So in a nutshell I think Sussy’s was a beautiful idea, (mostly) very well executed, just in the wrong location for Sussy’s. If I were putting something in that location at this moment in time it would probably be a burger place of some sort (which Bricktown desperately needs). If I were a restaurant pro I’d do that tomorrow without a second thought.

And if the same owner wanted to put Sussy’s in the old Hideawy on Western, I’d probably be willing to invest in it.

Anyway, that’s my take on it.
Urbanized, I always enjoy reading your posts and responses across all threads. You get it.

I totally agree on your Sussy's assessment. You're absolutely right, it would be a big hit located outside of Bricktown, even on N Western.

Cheers.