Brown's Bakery property

[Spartan]

I saw the windows the other day, and it looks alright, although I was kind of hoping for a little more. Should we be praising Brown's for finally doing routine maintenance that they've neglected for years while raking in the dough (literally)? That's what I consider replacing broken windows. And I'm not one that has piled onto Brown's in this thread, and I would normally defend them, and I do find their stuff to be very yummy, even though their business model is too one-dimensional IMO and hindered by their crappy store (that makes you want to get out asap). What I do however take issue with is saying, "Well just wait a while, we have something exciting coming up," and for that exciting surprise to be...routine maintenance for a change.

[Garin]

Has anyone else noticed how far down hill Browns has gotten over the last few years? THis place has the potential to be THE place in midtown but its almost as if they just don't care anymore which is sad because they use to have the best donuts, cakes and breads around.

[FRISKY]

Are you talking about the food or the building?

[CuatrodeMayo]

Yea. I've quit going in there. If they don't bother to even change light bulbs, I can't imagine them taking great care with the food. The place is becoming quite a dump.

[Spartan]

Apparently they have just let the building rot in the last two years since metro devoted his life to getting code enforcement to crack down on Brown's. I thought he was successful?

[Garin]

The building, the food, the employee's everything is just bad.

[RadicalModerate]

The first time I ever enjoyed a REAL croissant, it came from Brown's Bakery. I had to be downtown for some work-related reason, and after parking my car in the basement of the old Federal Building, I strolled over to Brown's Bakery to grab a morning snack and a cup of coffee while waiting for my appointment with one of the architectual/ADA approval guys in the Murrah Building. Now, I had had "croissants" before, but they were only a pale shadow of the real thing. It was like a little crescent of heaven on a small plate. So I had another. It is a shame that an establishment of this quality has been allowed to move in the direction that it has as everything else in OKC has improved about 1000%. I wonder if someone shouldn't do a serious study about the circumstances and decisions that have lead to this apparent anomoly. I'm not kidding here: How could a place like this that was SO good for so many years "allow itself" to slide so far down the quality scale?

And, please, one word answers like "Panera" . . . "Big Sky" . . . "Etc." don't really address "The Issue". =)

[BoulderSooner]

prairie thunder is so much better it is not close

[RadicalModerate]

Yup.
Yer rite.
Doh.

[mcca7596]

I wonder if they are the sort of people that would have become disenchanted with the profile of the new clientele that Midtown's Renaissance has brought. Or maybe they're just getting old and can't do it like they used to.

[RadicalModerate]

your mcca "wonderment" is understandable. maybe that "survey" i mentioned could provide a real, rather than conjectural, answer to the question: 1) "how did the shifting demographic of the neighborhood and progress in general affect the baking skills of and associated with this establishment. and why. true or false."

[Stan Silliman]

I once dated a gal who was a baker at Brown's. She quit in 1963. Blame me if you want but I believe they've been all downhill since then.

[Larry OKC]

Now that we know who to blame...

[Plutonic Panda]

Does anyone else think that Brown's Bakery is due for an update?

It would be cool to see it extended right up against the street and have that surface lot in the bottom middle of the picture turned into a small 2-3 level parking garage with a park on the roof.

[ljbab728]

Does anyone else think that Brown's Bakery is due for an update?

It would be cool to see it extended right up against the street and have that surface lot in the bottom middle of the picture turned into a small 2-3 level parking garage with a park on the roof.

Don't expect any changes at Brown's anytime soon.

[Plutonic Panda]

Don't expect any changes at Brown's anytime soon.

Why is that? Is Brown(or whoever owns it) notorious for not giving a crap or something?

[ljbab728]

Why is that? Is Brown(or whoever owns it) notorious for not giving a crap or something?

I don't have any inside information but that's basically what I've gathered from previous posts here about them.

[metro]

why is that? Is brown(or whoever owns it) notorious for not giving a crap or something?

i don't have any inside information but that's basically what i've gathered from previous posts here about them.

this

[soonerguru]

Sounds like Brown is old school OKC, where mediocrity reigned. Perhaps he should pay attention to what's happening around him and get with the times.

[Steve]

A couple of years ago Michael Brown shared his dream of renovating the building, opening up a coffee shop in the south half that was used for storage. He knew the building's appearance needed improvement. He faced a daunting task of emptying out asbestos from the building, however. Those plans ground to a halt when he was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in September.

[soonerguru]

A couple of years ago Michael Brown shared his dream of renovating the building, opening up a coffee shop in the south half that was used for storage. He knew the building's appearance needed improvement. He faced a daunting task of emptying out asbestos from the building, however. Those plans ground to a halt when he was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in September.

That is very sad. Who owns the business now?

[ljbab728]

A couple of years ago Michael Brown shared his dream of renovating the building, opening up a coffee shop in the south half that was used for storage. He knew the building's appearance needed improvement. He faced a daunting task of emptying out asbestos from the building, however. Those plans ground to a halt when he was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in September.

That is terrible news, Steve. I'm so sorry to hear that.

Do you think that will have any significant impact on their future?

[Urbanized]

Brown's is likely to remain active as a brand and bakery, to be operated (and remodeled) by a well-known and respected local developer.

[HangryHippo]

Brown's is likely to remain active as a brand and bakery, to be operated (and remodeled) by a well-known and respected local developer.

Sounds like you may know something we don't...

[LakeEffect]

Brown's is likely to remain active as a brand and bakery, to be operated (and remodeled) by a well-known and respected local developer.

A special local architect stops there nearly every morning... He's a big deal. Is he involved?