3 Bricktown restaurants close
Is Bricktown slowing down?
Bricktown still solid, backers say
Three restaurants have closed recently
By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer
Three Bricktown restaurants closed in recent weeks, but the head of the merchants' association insists the entertainment district isn't losing any momentum.
All three eateries were located along the Bricktown Canal. Da'Boat, a seafood restaurant at Oklahoma Avenue, and Rio Del Fuego, a Mexican restaurant, both closed over the summer. The latest casualty, Daddy Hinkle's Steak House, also known as J. Frank's, closed earlier this month and is already being renovated into the new home of Othello's.
David Southard, owner of Daddy Hinkles, said his Bourbon Street Cafe on the canal level of the Kingman building is still thriving. He said the steakhouse was too "experimental" for Bricktown. The restaurant was a new concept, based on the instant meat marinades his father's company sells in supermarkets nationwide.
"Anytime a business comes in and isn't well developed, Bricktown is tough on it," Southard said. "I have a restaurant that is very successful in Bricktown and one that wasn't."
Another challenge, Southard said, was building up business to support the 10,000-square-foot space. In the past few months, he tried to separate the space, operating a steakhouse fronting Oklahoma Avenue and J. Frank's Bar and Grill facing the canal.
Southard said he may reopen the bar and grill in another smaller location, depending on the future of NBA basketball at the nearby Ford Center.
Charles Biehler, co-owner of Othellos in Norman, said he and his partners are relocating their Ed Noble Parkway location to Bricktown and will offer a different menu that will include steaks, seafood and Italian dishes. He's also contemplating opening a pizza shop in the Oklahoma Avenue storefront.
"This site is very good," Biehler said.
Randy Hogan, developer of Lower Bricktown, said he expects the Rio Del Fuego spot will reopen as a new eatery by Christmas. The restaurant's failure is the first in the new Lower Bricktown. Hogan said other eateries — Marble Slab Creamery, Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill and Earl's Rib Palace — are all exceeding expectations and thriving.
Brandon Bittle, who owned Rio Del Fuego, also tried changing concepts before closing his operation in Lower Bricktown. He originally opened a Nothing But Noodles, but changed it in January to a Mexican restaurant with no prior history with consumers.
"Mexican is safe," Bittle said at the time. "It's a good staple."
Bricktown visitors were skeptical at the start, questioning why an unproven Mexican restaurant would open in a district that already boasted two popular and well-known Mexican eateries — Chelinos and Abuelos.
Bittle wouldn't comment when contacted Friday. But Frank Sims, director of the Bricktown Association, thinks the visitors had the right gut instinct.
"A person needs to do due diligence when they enter an area," Sims said. "Two of our very successful restaurants are Abuelos and Chelinos, and a third Mexican restaurant was tough to pull off."
Sims said the restaurant closures do not indicate any slowing momentum in the downtown entertainment district. He said Da'Boat went through several owners, and a new restaurant announcement for the space is expected soon.
"I believe they were potentially under-capitalized, and that might have been the problem," Sims said.
Sims said the opening of The Melting Pot this winter along Sheridan Avenue in a previously undeveloped building shows Bricktown is thriving.
"That tells the story of what's going with Bricktown — we're catching national attention."
"There is a tremendous amount of interest in Bricktown. Not just restaurants, but also some retail opportunities. People are understanding that we are now a destination, no longer a place people drove through but a place they drive to. And the numbers continue to grow by leaps and bounds."
"A person needs to do due diligence when they enter an area."
Frank Sims, director of the Bricktown Association
Originally Posted by Spartan
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