Hal Smith restaurant update
Another plateful: Hal Smith’s restaurant presence grows in Norman and Oklahoma City
Hal Smith and his restaurant group are about to expand their empire.
The restaurateur, who lives in Norman, already owns the successful Charleston’s, Boomerang and Redrock Canyon Grill brands, as well as the Krispy Kreme stores in Norman and Tulsa.
He plans to open Louie’s on the Lake in November and is eyeing the first week of December for the Norman openings of Louie’s at Brookhaven and The Islands.
The Louie’s brand is an outgrowth of Louie’s Deli & Bar on Campus Corner in Norman, in which University of Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops also has a stake.
The two new restaurants, which will be located off Britton Road and Lake Hefner and Brookhaven Village at 3750 W. Robinson, will be casual but will feature a more upscale menu than their namesake, Smith said.
“We’re still formulating a bit of the menu on both of the places right now but it's going to be a bit more upscale from Campus Corner, more entrees for dinner,” he said. Pizzas, steaks, sandwiches, salads and a generous bar menu are among planned offerings.
Smith defended his decision to locate in Brookhaven Village, despite the bad luck of two previous restaurants.
His leased site at Brookhaven Village, recently purchased by Allen Gann, is the former site of Old Germany and, most recently, the former Danny’s Steakhouse, which closed in late June. Both restaurants were rumored to have struggled financially.
While business expansions are seldom without risk, Smith believed his Louie’s at Brookhaven would succeed where others had failed.
The previous establishments were “a little pricey for Norman. We’re going to have a casual atmosphere but upscale it slightly,” he said.
Overall, Smith said he is spending $250,000 on the Brookhaven property, something he wouldn’t do if he didn’t feel confident it would work.
Menu items will range from $8 to $12 and the addition of a climate-controlled patio with misters and heaters should be an enticing draw for customers, as well.
“Oklahoma is a funny state when it comes to dining or having a cocktail outdoors. There are very few days when the weather doesn’t affect something, but if you can climatize [a patio] with misters and heaters, you can do something special,” Smith said.
The Islands, which is a new brand, will be located at 700 Ed Noble Parkway, the former address of Smith’s Pearl’s franchise and Bellini’s prior to that.
It’s visible to both north and southbound Interstate 35 traffic and situated amid a high-traffic shopping center that includes Home Depot, Toys “R” Us, Barnes & Noble and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Contrary to some rumors, Smith said he didn’t close his Pearl’s franchise because its sales were low.
While he admitted he believed Norman customers were “shifting away from the spicy, Cajun type of food,” he said it really came down to the “hefty” franchise fees he had to pay for use of the Pearl’s name.
“I know if I hadn’t had to pay the royalty fees, we would have made pretty good money in that restaurant,” he said. “If we just come close to the same sales numbers as before, it will be a successful restaurant.”
As its name implies, The Islands will be a seafood-themed restaurant. Thatched roof décor will hang over the dining areas but the overall ambiance won’t be as “eclectic,” Smith said, as Lake Hefner’s Bahama Breeze.
Appetizers will range from about $5 to $7 and entrees from about $8 to $14, with fresh seafood being offered daily. While Norman also has a Red Lobster and a Joe’s Crab Shack within two miles of where The Islands will be, as well as a few sushi establishments, Smith believed his concept would be unique for Norman and that the community would be able to support it.
He said he was only having to spend about $100,000 to renovate the property and, pending approval by the city of Norman, contractors would begin transforming its exterior in the next few weeks.
“This will not be that great of an expense. We already have a kitchen in place; we’re utilizing the same equipment. We’re just talking about painting and décor items, really,” he said.
“It’s going to be moderately priced. You’ll get a lot of food on your plate. We’ve got a couple of guys working on the menu, testing the food right now, and I’m very pleased with where we are right now.”
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Originally Posted by kmf563
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