Pachinko Parlor (Closed)

[BBatesokc]

Ate there probably 6 times. Never had a great meal, but did have a couple of okay meals - and even one or two terrible ones.

Loved the building, loved the location, loved the idea - just never took to the reality of the place. Not surprised to see it go, but its a shame as it was liked by some (but obviously not by 'enough').

Trying to say Oklahoman's weren't 'ready,' 'sophisticated' or 'cool' enough for it though is pretty laughable.

[jbkrems]

I plan on being at West tomorrow night, and try to get the scoop on why Pachinko really shut down, guys.

[OKCTalker]

The Johnnies guys keep trying different dining concepts but none have seemed to have worked so far except West (is it still doing OK?). Pachinko Parlor was the most recent failure, Charlie Newton's before that, and another I think before that. In the meantime, their core brand - Johnnies Burgers - is getting flanked by lots of newcomers: Smashburger, S&B, Tucker's, Irma's to name a few.

[jbkrems]

I personally know the the ownership/management at West (and Pachinko, etc.), and from what I've heard West is staying afloat. They always have a very busy holiday season, which is disproportionately busy, and that more than makes up for their slow times. West is doing very well, and so far as I know, will continue to be in business. I'm not sure what happened with Pachinko, but I'll be finding out more tomorrow.

[Drake]

It certainly wasn't for everybody.

We enjoyed the atmosphere & bar as much as the food. It wasn't for sushi purists.

I had always wondered if they had enough table tops to make it. Without the patio, they just didn't have a lot seating to even be busy

[Midtowner]

I'm really glad I wasn't blessed with a palate as discerning as a lot of folks in OKC. Apparently, I enjoy pretty crummy food. I ate here numerous times and never once thought my food was anything less than yummy. If they failed because of mediocre food quality then OKC needs hire a full-time recruiter to bringing 5 star restaurants because this city has some serious foodies.

Let me give you an example then. Their Bruce Lee roll, (eel on spicy tuna) was one of my favorite things ever. Trouble is, sometimes, the hotness would be just right and other times, depending on the day, it'd be absolutely overpowering. You don't order eel on spicy tuna just to taste an overwhelming amount of sriracha sauce, and to be told by the waiter that the cooks don't even eat sushi or like it, well, that explained everything, but was a less than satisfactory explanation.

I'll miss the place because I truly enjoyed some of their offerings, but can really understand why they failed.

[jbkrems]

I was at West tonight and the folks there are pretty "zipped" about why Pachinko Parlor was closed. But, I want to use this opportuinity to shoot down some rumors that have been floating around here because of this board. First, West, Pachinko Parlor, and Sara Sara Cupcakes have NOT had the same ownership. In fact, there was one partner of Pachinko who had 12 percent ownership, and he was not a part of West or Sara Sara. Sara Sara is also owned exclusively outside of Johnnie's or any of their other concepts. All is well at West (they are doing really good right now I was told); and Sara Sara is fine, too. I personally know the girl who was the Assistant Manager at Pachinko, and she does not know why it closed.... they are keeping it rather confidential from everyone at West. But, West and Sara Sara and Johnnie's are all doing very well.

[Steve]

Yep. And there's still more to this story.... this thread will likely be proven to have been pretty much full of holes, with the only accurate statement made being that Pachinko Parlor on Ninth Street did indeed close.

[jbkrems]

I'll add one other thing. I was originally supposed to have lunch at Pachinko on Friday, like usual. I had to go out of town for business and missed it. I found out they weren't even busy that day.

[soonerguru]

Too bad that it didn't work. As a fan of sushi, I was never overwhelmed by their fish. I think the "sushi for people who don't like raw fish" concept was a limited one. I do appreciate the effort and the atmosphere there was pretty cool.

Starting to worry we have too many sushi restaurants as it is. It's almost a cliche. Haven't been to Go-Go yet, but I've heard great things.

We need so much more variety than sushi, slightly above average Mexican, and hamburgers. Hopefully a creative operator will step in and utilize Pachinko's cozy space.

[IBLEEDRIMSON]

Trying to say Oklahoman's weren't 'ready,' 'sophisticated' or 'cool' enough for it though is pretty laughable.

Never said that. A very large % of people chose their restaurant by cuisine type first. Pachinko was adventuresome and people who were looking for traditional sushi where kind of taken back. The fact is that adventuresome isn't something that the average Joe blow wants to spend $60 for lunch on. The average diner wants to know that they are going to like everything they get if they spend a decent amount of money on it. The average diner is who you attract when you cross market to a burger customer or on The Sports Animal. They should have focused on people who aren't heart broke when they spend a decent amount of money on adventuresome food and it's not something that they love but they appreciate the creativity, atmosphere etc. and keep trying other items because there are other things that they'll like. The average Sports Animal listener is going to walk away pissed because they're not the type of person that appreciates a "Dining Experience".

I'm a born and bread Okie from a very small town so I'm the last to be a food snob. What I'm saying is that while there are very astute diners in OKC, there aren't enough. Especially when there is also a lot of bad word of mouth created by advertising to the less adventuresome diner. I apologize for over analyzing this particular situation but it is what I do for a living and I do think this particular case is interesting to me. For all I know their closing had nothing to do with sales but I always felt like this restaurant wasn't being marketed correctly.

[betts]

I consider myself a fairly adventuresome diner and the problem with Pachinko Parlor wasn't what was on the menu, but the fact that the food wasn't that great. I will miss the Doodle, their vegetarian roll that was very consistently good. Everything else was spotty, and spotty isn't good enough when there are as many restaurant options around as there are now. I think there are plenty of astute diners in Oklahoma City, and they were astute enough to realize that Pachinko Parlor wasn't a great restaurant. Good sometimes, but rarely great. I also think their beer selection wasn't very good compared to some of the other restaurants in the area, which didn't help. If they'd had a great chef, I believe they would be packed, however, without a menu or beer selection change.

[BBatesokc]

Never said that. A very large % of people chose their restaurant by cuisine type first. Pachinko was adventuresome and people who were looking for traditional sushi where kind of taken back. The fact is that adventuresome isn't something that the average Joe blow wants to spend $60 for lunch on. The average diner wants to know that they are going to like everything they get if they spend a decent amount of money on it. The average diner is who you attract when you cross market to a burger customer or on The Sports Animal. They should have focused on people who aren't heart broke when they spend a decent amount of money on adventuresome food and it's not something that they love but they appreciate the creativity, atmosphere etc. and keep trying other items because there are other things that they'll like. The average Sports Animal listener is going to walk away pissed because they're not the type of person that appreciates a "Dining Experience".

I'm a born and bread Okie from a very small town so I'm the last to be a food snob. What I'm saying is that while there are very astute diners in OKC, there aren't enough. Especially when there is also a lot of bad word of mouth created by advertising to the less adventuresome diner. I apologize for over analyzing this particular situation but it is what I do for a living and I do think this particular case is interesting to me. For all I know their closing had nothing to do with sales but I always felt like this restaurant wasn't being marketed correctly.

Eaten there many times - never spent $60 for lunch - is that a requirement to 'get them'?

I also never listen to the Sports Animal. I am however an adventuresome diner and make it a point to try new places with new concepts.

What I liked was the fact they offered non-traditional sushi dishes. The problem wasn't my palette, it was there food. More often than not it was 'okay' - but on a few occasions is was down right bad. And the odd thing is the bad dishes were often ones I'd had before that were okay on that visit. Consistency is key. If you can't offer it, then people will go elsewhere.

Creativity and atmosphere are great, but you better back it up with consistently good to very good food. We have plenty of dinning options in OKC and if you don't have your A Game on then you're out.

[okieinindy]

Like to know who the people are who wouldn't be heartbroken if they spent $60 on lunch that was not any good. $60 for lunch is a very far stretch I think as well. As Brian said I think the inconsistency of the same item is as big a problem as anything. People too often try to turn a $5 bill into a $10 bill and think the paying public isn't going to notice. Once the hook is set they think no one will notice. Surprise!!! They do!

[IBLEEDRIMSON]

Eaten there many times - never spent $60 for lunch - is that a requirement to 'get them'?

I also never listen to the Sports Animal. I am however an adventuresome diner and make it a point to try new places with new concepts.

What I liked was the fact they offered non-traditional sushi dishes. The problem wasn't my palette, it was there food. More often than not it was 'okay' - but on a few occasions is was down right bad. And the odd thing is the bad dishes were often ones I'd had before that were okay on that visit. Consistency is key. If you can't offer it, then people will go elsewhere.

Creativity and atmosphere are great, but you better back it up with consistently good to very good food. We have plenty of dinning options in OKC and if you don't have your A Game on then you're out.

Eaten there many times - never spent $60 for lunch - is that a requirement to 'get them'?

I also never listen to the Sports Animal. I am however an adventuresome diner and make it a point to try new places with new concepts.

What I liked was the fact they offered non-traditional sushi dishes. The problem wasn't my palette, it was there food. More often than not it was 'okay' - but on a few occasions is was down right bad. And the odd thing is the bad dishes were often ones I'd had before that were okay on that visit. Consistency is key. If you can't offer it, then people will go elsewhere.

Creativity and atmosphere are great, but you better back it up with consistently good to very good food. We have plenty of dinning options in OKC and if you don't have your A Game on then you're out.

Can't say that I disagree with anything you said. Don't understand the dig about a $60 lunch. That's not hard to do with 2 or 3 grown men at lunch who are sampling things. I stand by my point that OKC has lost a great dining option and that their marketing was flawed. That's the only point I tried to make.

I'm pretty new to this board but I'm already getting the feeling that I'm going to have to apologize for having an opinion. A very qualified opinion but still just an opinion. I'm here to contribute.

[Bullbear]

I didn't care for Pachinko and ate there many times when invited by others. Loved the patio and location but the food just wasn't that good. I am a foodie and the concept was not a problem. there are many sushi places I have been to with a similar concept ( not in OKC but other cities) and they did it well. but I was never a fan of the food here. I found that eating the noodle bowls was a better choice than any of the sushi and learned to stay with those. But that wasn't good enough to make it on our regular rotation of places to eat. I am hopeful someone will move in to the space that will make that rotation. I love the location and frequent everything around it so would be nice to have another destination..

[PhiAlpha]

Heard that pachinko is reopening in level.

[betts]

Interesting if true. Well, they have one roll that I like better than almost any other roll in town, so I'll be happy if it happens. I was hoping for Old School Bagels, but they'll be just down the street regardless.

[Steve]

Old School Bagel is opening at Leadership Square. There will not be a return of the Pachinko Parlor at Level, though the restaurant that is planned for that spot may involve some of the same parties.

[BoulderSooner]

heard the other day that the new restaurant for this location has a target date of May 1st to open

it is a po-boy/ Cajun concept ..

[Pete]

heard the other day that the new restaurant for this location has a target date of May 1st to open

it is a po-boy/ Cajun concept ..

Interesting! Thanks for the info. -- you always have great sources.

[HangryHippo]

Oh, I love cajun food. I hope it's awesome (assuming you're right).

[metro]

Interesting concept for 9th street. I wonder how it will do, although it's got a great location.

[RadicalModerate]

Might even be nicer if they sort of lose that entire "Pachinko" idea when it comes down to fair-t'-middlin' cuisine . . . =)

[OkieDave]

Had friends that were servers there, got basically no notice, kinda uncool. Demand and want one thing and deliver another.