Bowling alley coming to Lower Bricktown; condos pre-sold

[BDP]

It's something completely new for the area

And, imo, that's what BT and LB should be all about. There isn't much point to doing this long term if it's not attracting new options for the area.

I am actually excited about this. To me, 66 Bowl will always have its place, but this will be a new and interesting concept for Lower Bricktown and, more importantly, the city. If it works, then maybe some of the developers down there will realize that new concepts can work in the district.

[AFCM]

The renderings look very nice, but I wish there were more than 10 lanes. There's not enough to do in Bricktown, and now there still won't be enough to do in Bricktown after the lanes are full, say...about 10 minutes after opening.

"Well, we're full right now but I can put you on the waiting list. You're number 138. We'll give you a call as soon as your lane is available."

[metro]

I agree AFCM. I think the place will be constantly packed on nights and weekends. Oh well, perhaps it will spur interest in another downtown bowling lounge, perhaps in the CBD somewhere.

[Pete]

Most of these places don't have dozens of lanes... As I mentioned, they become more of a lounge and club than anything else, with the bowling as backdrop.

Here's another article:



Thu July 19, 2007
RedPin lounge strikes new entertainment

Construction is expected to start next week in Bricktown on the RedPin Bowling Lounge. The lounge will offer a new atmosphere for bowlers with 10 lanes for action.

By Trisha Evans
Business Writer


Hoping to capitalize on the recent bowling renaissance, a group of investors are bringing a new entertainment concept to downtown Oklahoma City.

Construction is expected to begin next week on RedPin Bowling Lounge in the basement of the Centennial Building in Bricktown. The 12,000 square-foot space includes a restaurant and bar with 10 bowling lanes.


But don't count on the typical, beer-and-cigarettes, deep-fried food kind of bowling alley. This is posh bowling.

"RedPin promises a unique entertainment experience incorporating contemporary dining, an upscale environment, and the excitement of bowling,” said architect David Wanzer. "We're designing a space that exceeds expectations from a 60-foot video wall at the end of the lanes to couches and cocktail tables in place of the usual plastic furniture. With full dining service throughout, RedPin will truly be a destination unto itself.”

And it's a concept majority owner Erin Brewer said Bricktown needs.

"There are really not a lot of entertainment options for people who aren't interested in going to a club or a bar,” with the exception of Harkins Theatre next door, she said. "We thought dinner and bowling made sense.”

The bowling market is hot right now. Combo restaurant bowling spots have exploded, pioneered by Lucky Strike, which opened its first bowling lounge in 2003, and since has opened a dozen more.

Brewer saw a similar Florida bowling lounge in a magazine three years ago, but seeing the crowds firsthand convinced her.

"They were really popular places,” Brewer said. "It's so new and different. It's just really unique. There's nothing else like it in the state.”

But bowling as the "hip” thing to do is far from new, she said.

"Bowling was really popular in the '20s and '30s,” she said. "It was kind of a martini bar kind of place then, so we're really kind of getting back to its roots.”

And while everyone isn't good at the sport, almost everyone can do it, she said.

Besides bowling, the restaurant and lounge areas will take up another two-thirds of the space. The appetizer-heavy menu takes classic American food and spices it up a bit, Brewer said.

The pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, wings, macaroni and cheese and cotton candy, just to name a few, are the brainchild of Robert Black, the restaurant's consulting chef. Black, the chef responsible for several Oklahoma City restaurant menus, also helped design the kitchen.

And one of RedPin's greatest assets, Brewer said, is its eastward-facing patio. The patio is one of the largest in Bricktown and has the most canal frontage.

"It's going to be a place to see and be seen because there's so much traffic crossing that fountain plaza and it's so visible from there,” she said.

Part-owner Tim Egan said RedPin is more than a bowling alley; it's an entertainment venue that caters to a diverse crowd.

He expects families with kids to come on weekends and afternoons, a corporate lunch crowd during the weekdays and young adults in the evenings.

Trademarking the name was important, Brewer said, because she's hoping the Bricktown bowling lounge will be the first of a few locations

"We're pretty convinced that the experience we're going to create for people and the design of the space, the menu we're creating and the bar menu we're creating. People are going to be sold,” she said.

The venue is scheduled to open by mid-October.

[Luke]

Very cool!

[JWil]

Nice read on the bowling center.

Random thought: How about a Dave and Busters somewhere in Bricktown? That would definitely add to the entertainment choices down there.

I look forward to the eastern half of Bricktown developing more...

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I'd sell my sister into slavery for a Dave & Buster's here.

[okclee]

Has anyone tried to email Dave & Busters for an Okc location??

[metro]

Yes, we've emailed D&B plenty of times. There are several threads on it. I'll try to dig them up and post the link. I personally don't see what the big deal is with Dave & Busters. I fit into their target "young professional" demographic and have been to one a few times and I personally don't think it's that big of a deal but apparently it is to enough people. I usually get these things and stay on top of trends. It's basically a Celebration Station for adults and has better food than cheap overpriced pizza.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Yes, we've emailed D&B plenty of times. There are several threads on it. I'll try to dig them up and post the link. I personally don't see what the big deal is with Dave & Busters. I fit into their target "young professional" demographic and have been to one a few times and I personally don't think it's that big of a deal but apparently it is to enough people. I usually get these things and stay on top of trends. It's basically a Celebration Station for adults and has better food than cheap overpriced pizza.

Which one did you go to? I've been to about 5 of them, and they're all a little different from each other. I wasn't nearly impressed with the one in Dallas as the one in Denver...Or the one in Times Square.

Denver had some BBQ-sauce-slathered, bacon-wrapped-shrimp-kabobs that knocked my socks off when consumed in combination with some Devil Mountain Five Malt Ale...But I didn't see it on the menu at the San Diego location.







mmmmmmDevilmountainfivemalt....*drool

[traxx]

Dave & Busters? Really?

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I feel compelled to share it. I used to be excited when the metro would get one of the latest, greatest restuarants because I felt it put us in the same class as large cities. But as these chains roll out their locations all across the nation I'm disappointed with how homogenized our country is becoming. A person can go to Dallas, OKC, St. Louis, KC, Denver, etc., etc....and eat the same thing, see the same thing and go to the same places. That used to be one of the reasons to travel is to see and try different things, especially food. It's great to go to a city or even small town and eat something that you can't get anywhere else. Those places still exist but more and more when you travel through a city or town you see the same familiar stores and restaurants dot the country side. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy eating at several chains but sometimes enough is enough. That's my little soapbox.

[MadMonk]

Let's bowl!

[CCOKC]

Dave & Busters? Really?

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I feel compelled to share it. I used to be excited when the metro would get one of the latest, greatest restuarants because I felt it put us in the same class as large cities. But as these chains roll out their locations all across the nation I'm disappointed with how homogenized our country is becoming. A person can go to Dallas, OKC, St. Louis, KC, Denver, etc., etc....and eat the same thing, see the same thing and go to the same places. That used to be one of the reasons to travel is to see and try different things, especially food. It's great to go to a city or even small town and eat something that you can't get anywhere else. Those places still exist but more and more when you travel through a city or town you see the same familiar stores and restaurants dot the country side. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy eating at several chains but sometimes enough is enough. That's my little soapbox.

I agree with you totally. I remember my husband was in Columbus or some other city in Ohio and asked the front desk clerk for a local restaurant recommendation. He suggested Friday's down the street. Not exactly what he meant by local.

[Easy180]

Dave & Busters? Really?

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I feel compelled to share it. I used to be excited when the metro would get one of the latest, greatest restuarants because I felt it put us in the same class as large cities. But as these chains roll out their locations all across the nation I'm disappointed with how homogenized our country is becoming. A person can go to Dallas, OKC, St. Louis, KC, Denver, etc., etc....and eat the same thing, see the same thing and go to the same places. That used to be one of the reasons to travel is to see and try different things, especially food. It's great to go to a city or even small town and eat something that you can't get anywhere else. Those places still exist but more and more when you travel through a city or town you see the same familiar stores and restaurants dot the country side. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy eating at several chains but sometimes enough is enough. That's my little soapbox.

ok traxx....We can stop the chains moving in to the metro

AFTER we get a Dave and Busters of course

There will always be popular local eating establishments wherever you travel

More choices the better near my home...Chains or not

Especially because most mom and pop stores close within a year

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Dave & Busters? Really?

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I feel compelled to share it. I used to be excited when the metro would get one of the latest, greatest restuarants because I felt it put us in the same class as large cities. But as these chains roll out their locations all across the nation I'm disappointed with how homogenized our country is becoming. A person can go to Dallas, OKC, St. Louis, KC, Denver, etc., etc....and eat the same thing, see the same thing and go to the same places. That used to be one of the reasons to travel is to see and try different things, especially food. It's great to go to a city or even small town and eat something that you can't get anywhere else. Those places still exist but more and more when you travel through a city or town you see the same familiar stores and restaurants dot the country side. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy eating at several chains but sometimes enough is enough. That's my little soapbox.

Normally I'm on the same page as you on this sort of thing...But Dave & Buster's rocks.

[okclee]

does anyone have the link in order to contact Dave & Busters , for a possible Okc location??

[Easy180]

does anyone have the link in order to contact Dave & Busters , for a possible Okc location??

Would have shot them an email, but they don't have that option on their website and I'm not a big phone guy

Dave & Busters :: Contact Us Page

[AFCM]

As for Dave & Busters, where would they set up? I don't think the Lower Bricktown buildings have enough space for D&B and I don't think they'd be willing to negotiate with Brewer for his outrageous leases in Bricktown Proper. I'm just thinking those considerations might be some reasons they wouldn't come to Bricktown.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

As for Dave & Busters, where would they set up? I don't think the Lower Bricktown buildings have enough space for D&B and I don't think they'd be willing to negotiate with Brewer for his outrageous leases in Bricktown Proper. I'm just thinking those considerations might be some reasons they wouldn't come to Bricktown.

I don't know...They have got to be paying BIG money for some of their present locations.

Put that sucker in Bass Pro's parking lot...Or maybe...Just MAYBE...Toby Keith's will fold, leaving that spot open.

[BDP]

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I feel compelled to share it. I used to be excited when the metro would get one of the latest, greatest restuarants because I felt it put us in the same class as large cities. But as these chains roll out their locations all across the nation I'm disappointed with how homogenized our country is becoming. A person can go to Dallas, OKC, St. Louis, KC, Denver, etc., etc....and eat the same thing, see the same thing and go to the same places. That used to be one of the reasons to travel is to see and try different things, especially food. It's great to go to a city or even small town and eat something that you can't get anywhere else. Those places still exist but more and more when you travel through a city or town you see the same familiar stores and restaurants dot the country side. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy eating at several chains but sometimes enough is enough. That's my little soapbox.

Totally agree. There is something about the culture here that puts a premium on getting chain food restaurants. And it's almost like the more prevalent they are and the more the national market is saturated with them, the more we want them. There's this prevailing chain envy that seems to seek validation through getting the chains that everybody else has. Usually, communities are trying to play up their individuality and local character. OKC often seem to want less of it.

[Easy180]

Totally agree. There is something about the culture here that puts a premium on getting chain food restaurants. And it's almost like the more prevalent they are and the more the national market is saturated with them, the more we want them. There's this prevailing chain envy that seems to seek validation through getting the chains that everybody else has. Usually, communities are trying to play up their individuality and local character. OKC often seem to want less of it.

I'm pretty much the opposite...If the food is good, atmosphere is cool and the prices are right I don't really care how many locations there are

[mturner]

"RedPin promises a unique entertainment experience incorporating contemporary dining, an upscale environment, and the excitement of bowling,” said architect David Wanzer.

So. When did this guy with a BA in Business and a 2 yr degree in Arch get licensed? According to the state, he's an intern! You have do finish that, and pass 9 exmas before you're able to call yourself an Architect. That's like me taking a law class and calling myself a lawyer!

[CuatrodeMayo]

You're right, but it doesn't seem like he is calling himself an architect. I believe whoever is writing the article mistakenly called him that. I'm sure he knows better than that.

[Express Girl]

wow I just read this. That is a really sweet idea!

[mturner]

Perhaps, CuatrodeMayo. I'd wouldn't like to think he'd misrepresent himself, but neither is he correcting the impression or trying to establish the right credentials. Search the forums, the reference is there more than once that he's already an architect.