Chicken Shack (formerly Drum Room)

[Pete]

I didn't realize this restaurant is part of the Deep Fork Group:

Deep Fork Grill
The Blue Note
Drum Room
Drunken Fry
The Wedge

Also, they operated Cafe Nova and I assume they are behind Barrel as well?

[Paseofreak]

Yep.

[Pete]

Whatever happened to Wade Starr (partner at Deep Fork Restaurant Group) after he was indicted for perjury a couple of years ago?

[Paseofreak]

Heard he was basically forced from DFG, had a hand in bringing Empire Slice House to opening, tried something at Foodies, failed and the last I heard he was waiting tables at Bellini's. I can confirm none of this, but it seems to be the general consensus in the food service crowd.

[OkieBerto]

Chicken Shack is coming to the old Drum Room location. This will be their 4th location.

[Thomas Vu]

Didn't know they had so many locations!

[Oski]

We really like Eischen's. But like most people have said on here, it's a heckuva drive just for chicken.
We really like The Drum Room. For a sit down place, it's the best I've gotten in OKC
My friend, Gale, swears by the fried chicken at Red Prime. I've never had it, so I can't comment.
My FAVORITE fried chicken? AQ Chicken house in Little Rock, AR. HOLY CRAP it's good! Especially the Over The Coals, where they fry the chicken, and then put it on a grill for a while.

I checked AQ after reading your post and found out they closed last year.

[SEMIweather]

Can anyone speak to the quality of the fried chicken at Half-Time Sports Grill in SW OKC? I’ve heard very good things, but have never made it out there since it’s in the middle of nowhere.

[Jeepnokc]

Can anyone speak to the quality of the fried chicken at Half-Time Sports Grill in SW OKC? I’ve heard very good things, but have never made it out there since it’s in the middle of nowhere.

We live near there and have been going there for 17 years, It is very similar to Eischens, If you like their chicken...you will like half time

[Martin]

lots of people swear by half time... my only guess is that it must be enjoyed hot out of the fryer. we went over 10 years ago and got an order to go and took it maybe 15 minutes away. it was ok, but nothing i'd drive to another part of town for.

[Jeepnokc]

lots of people swear by half time... my only guess is that it must be enjoyed hot out of the fryer. we went over 10 years ago and got an order to go and took it maybe 15 minutes away. it was ok, but nothing i'd drive to another part of town for.

They have changed hands a few times. They were hit or miss for a while as far as sometimes the oil tasted old etc. Been pretty consistent over the last few years.

[Martin]

fair enough... sounds like they deserve another chance!

circling back... we went to chicken shack in arcadia a few months ago and were really impressed with the food.

[Pete]

[floyd the barber]

Somewhere in my house or car there's a Sports Animal voucher for The Drum Room. We got two of them, and only one was used.

The food was okay. We didn't bother going back obviously. I'm fairly sure we were the only ones eating there at the time, but it was before five to be fair.

[ManAboutTown]

This new Chicken Shack location is now open.

[corwin1968]

This new Chicken Shack location is now open.

We saw that this weekend. Is this the same Chicken Shack that was out on I-35, North of Waterloo?

[CitySooner]

We saw that this weekend. Is this the same Chicken Shack that was out on I-35, North of Waterloo?

I'm not familiar with Waterloo location, but the same as the one out in Arcadia, yes. Same chicken, still slowly expanding the menu in terms of sides.

[Achilleslastand]

We saw that this weekend. Is this the same Chicken Shack that was out on I-35, North of Waterloo?

I believe{?} that was the Steak & Catfish Barn.

[BoulderSooner]

I believe{?} that was the Steak & Catfish Barn.

I think this is correct ..

[Urbanized]

Yeah, for those who haven’t been, the original Chicken Shack fronts Route 66 in Arcadia, just a bit east of the famous round barn. It’s only a few years old (maybe 5) in that location, but originally started (maybe as long as 20 years ago) on the edge of Luther, also fronting Route 66, next to a gas station. It was a pretty huge success in Luther; always packed when I’d pass by on motorcycle rides, though I never stopped in.

As mentioned, a few years ago it moved to Arcadia. Not sure if there was a reason to leave Luther other than growth, although in speaking with one of the bartenders I think there might be a McClendon family investment tie-in. This would make a lot of sense, and if I’m not mistaken the rather large property it now sits on is part of Arcadia Farms, which is owned by the McClendon family.

It seems like if that is the case it might also explain the expansion to north Western, which was also once a focus of Aubrey McClendon’s real estate investments. I’m not sure who owns that building. The assessor’s site says that it was purchased by C & HP Investments LLC, addressed in Edmond, property transferred in 2007. This roughly matches up with when McClendon was aggressively buying up Western Avenue properties, so it wouldn’t be surprising to me if there were an AKM connection. I’m definitely not saying this is the case; just thinking out loud and trying to connect dots. If anyone has more detail that would be great.

Anyway, back to the OG Arcadia Chicken Shack: it’s worth a visit if you haven’t been. The chicken is pretty good in my experience, but in fairness I’ve only actually EATEN THERE once, and it was only strips on a quick stop-in with a beer. So I’m specifically not giving an informed food review. I’ve stopped at the place multiple other times simply to cool off or to avoid rain, and it’s quite the place.

The facility itself is the headline. It’s sprawling, both indoors and out. They have an indoor space, plus a very large indoor/outdoor space that stays reasonably cool in the summertime, and a vast outdoor space, some of which is developed and some of which is more pasture-like. Fire pits, giant jenga, cornhole, all of the things. They regularly have live music, pretty good live music in my experience.

Anyway, I know this thread is about the Western Ave location, but wanted to clear up the history/location of the original (it’s not Steak and Catfish Barn), which might also give some hints to the business approach of the new location (though they couldn’t be any more different spatially).

[BoulderSooner]

Yeah, for those who haven’t been, the original Chicken Shack fronts Route 66 in Arcadia, just a bit east of the famous round barn. It’s only a few years old (maybe 5) in that location, but originally started (maybe as long as 20 years ago) on the edge of Luther, also fronting Route 66, next to a gas station. It was a pretty huge success in Luther; always packed when I’d pass by on motorcycle rides, though I never stopped in.

As mentioned, a few years ago it moved to Arcadia. Not sure if there was a reason to leave Luther other than growth, although in speaking with one of the bartenders I think there might be a McClendon family investment tie-in. This would make a lot of sense, and if I’m not mistaken the rather large property it now sits on is part of Arcadia Farms, which is owned by the McClendon family.

It seems like if that is the case it might also explain the expansion to north Western, which was also once a focus of Aubrey McClendon’s real estate investments. I’m not sure who owns that building. The assessor’s site says that it was purchased by C & HP Investments LLC, addressed in Edmond, property transferred in 2007. This roughly matches up with when McClendon was aggressively buying up Western Avenue properties, so it wouldn’t be surprising to me if there were an AKM connection. I’m definitely not saying this is the case; just thinking out loud and trying to connect dots. If anyone has more detail that would be great.

Anyway, back to the OG Arcadia Chicken Shack: it’s worth a visit if you haven’t been. The chicken is pretty good in my experience, but in fairness I’ve only actually EATEN THERE once, and it was only strips on a quick stop-in with a beer. So I’m specifically not giving an informed food review. I’ve stopped at the place multiple other times simply to cool off or to avoid rain, and it’s quite the place.

The facility itself is the headline. It’s sprawling, both indoors and out. They have an indoor space, plus a very large indoor/outdoor space that stays reasonably cool in the summertime, and a vast outdoor space, some of which is developed and some of which is more pasture-like. Fire pits, giant jenga, cornhole, all of the things. They regularly have live music, pretty good live music in my experience.

Anyway, I know this thread is about the Western Ave location, but wanted to clear up the history/location of the original (it’s not Steak and Catfish Barn), which might also give some hints to the business approach of the new location (though they couldn’t be any more different spatially).

they also have a location in Harrah .. that does very well .

[Urbanized]

Is that the converted lumberyard? It has a similar feel if so, but I never saw the direct connection to Chicken Shack. That lumber yard location is cool as hell regardless of whether it’s Chicken Shack or chicken something else, BTW. Tons of potential.

[BoulderSooner]

Is that the converted lumberyard? It has a similar feel if so, but I never saw the direct connection to Chicken Shack. That lumber yard location is cool as hell regardless of whether it’s Chicken Shack or chicken something else, BTW. Tons of potential.

yes the lumber yard location ..

https://chickenshackrt66.com/order/lumbershack-harrah

https://chickenshackrt66.com/

[Urbanized]

Ah, thanks. I’ve stopped in there a couple of times, but I’ve never put two and two together.

[corwin1968]

I believe{?} that was the Steak & Catfish Barn.

This was in the Rodeo Corner convenience store on Seward Rd, just off I-35. The chicken restaurant is gone now, but my wife loved their gizzards and I loved their "Shack Mac".