Bricktown Coney & Pub opening soon!

[metro]

Well, I remember a few months ago someone on this site talking about they wanted to open a coney stand in Bricktown. A few of us mentioned the never finished site next to club Halo in Bricktown on Sheridan. It originally was supposed to be a NYC style coney stand but never opened as planned. While driving by today, I noticed a lot of improvements to the building and the facade had a finished look (didn't before). After driving by and parking, I got out and noticed a new sign Bricktown Coney & Pub and an new open sign (not lit up yet) and a sign in the window saying "opening soon". This will be a much welcomed walk-up cheap fast food addition to Bricktown!

I posted pics of the new place in my gallery:

http://www.okctalk.com/gallery/showg...500/ppuser/204

[BailJumper]

Fun idea but I doubt it lasts long unless they got a real break on the rent. If I remember correctly there is already a walk up coney place only a block away. Also, in the summer are there not a few mobile rolling carts. Not to mention the ball park dogs in the stadium.

And beer? Where do I start with that list of competitors....

I know many will blast me, but I'm just a realist.

[kk19115]

yeah, i agree as far as the coney is concerned. as far as a pub, it might be a slow start but you never know.

the place looks so tiny. i never really paid much attention to it. is it as small as it looks on the inside?

[BailJumper]

Yep, that used to be an alley! If they can develop a novelty (other than, "hey guys look at the tiny coney and beer place") made they can last for awhile. Personally, I give it a year.

[MadMonk]

Reminds me of all the little shops crowded into the spaces between buildings in Manhattan - very narrow, but surprisingly deep. Hope it works out for them.

[Doug Loudenback]

This sounds good to me! I'd enjoy buying some chili dogs (if they're good) in Bricktown!

[metro]

Actually there isn't really a true walk-up coney place in downtown period. Directly across the street Nonna's try's to operate a little one but it's a joke at best. The hours are rarely followed and have the time they are out of stuff. If they didn't already have a successful gift shop and super high end restaurant, the hot dog stand wouldn't be there. On the bright side though, they do serve Nathan's hot dogs. There is also an excellent hot dog shop on the west side of downtown in the Arts District. It's called Coney Island and has been there for decades they are very cheap and also serve spaghetti. Look for the reveiw of that restaurant in the food court if you're interested. I hope this place makes it as the ballpark is seasonal and not everybody wants to go to a ballgame to get walk-up to go food. Hopefully they will serve more than coney's and beer. There is ONE cart guy that sells hot dogs, usually during good weather or on weekends when everyone's out. Nothing that is dependable day in and day out. Hopefully this guy will fill that void.

[Doug Loudenback]

Actually there isn't really a true walk-up coney place in downtown period. Directly across the street Nonna's try's to operate a little one but it's a joke at best. The hours are rarely followed and have the time they are out of stuff. If they didn't already have a successful gift shop and super high end restaurant, the hot dog stand wouldn't be there. On the bright side though, they do serve Nathan's hot dogs. There is also an excellent hot dog shop on the west side of downtown in the Arts District. It's called Coney Island and has been there for decades they are very cheap and also serve spaghetti. Look for the reveiw of that restaurant in the food court if you're interested. I hope this place makes it as the ballpark is seasonal and not everybody wants to go to a ballgame to get walk-up to go food. Hopefully they will serve more than coney's and beer. There is ONE cart guy that sells hot dogs, usually during good weather or on weekends when everyone's out. Nothing that is dependable day in and day out. Hopefully this guy will fill that void.

Yep, altogether agree with what you said about Coney Island on Main east of the Montgomery. Great dogs, been there forever, and cheap, to boot! If one likes dogs, that's a good place to find 'em! It's not much for looks, but it's good for dogs!

[OKCNDN]

I am of the opinion that Bricktown may have reached the limit as far as restaurants/eating places until they get a year-round attraction that will attract people who aren't already coming to the Bricktown area.

The Native American Center, the arts museum or the Oklahoma history center, at least one of them and probably all three should have been built along the canal or in Bricktown area.

[metro]

Bricktown is not saturated with restaurants, its just lacking diversity, there are basically 3 types of restaurants in Bricktown as it stands now. American, Italian and Mexican, each serving a few varities of something else.

[TStheThird]

I think Bricktown will change quite a bit when the downtown population triples overnight. It will be amazing to watch all the change in downton and midtown over the next two years. We are on the verge...

[jbrown84]

All of those museums work best in their current locations. Bricktown just isn't right for museums. We need year-round entertainment venues, as well as retail.

[johnnyboyokc]

forget musems i agree more people more diversity

[metro]

Hot Dog!
Bricktown cafe tames design fuss to allow opening

By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer


Bricktown's newest restaurateurs have spent the last six months trying to "tame” a storefront that was the ire of fellow property owners and yet carry on an inside design that they admit is decidedly "eccentric.”

Spanning only 1,150 square feet, the future Bricktown Coney and Pub at 212 E Sheridan is one of the smallest structures in Bricktown, but its construction lasted four years — almost twice as long as the time spent building the 20,000-seat Ford Center.

"We hear all the time — ‘when are you going to open?'” said Dena Shackelford, who along with fiance Thomas Lindley is hoping to end the suspense later this month. "If the door is open or even unlocked, people come in here just to see what's inside.”

And what's inside may be unlike anything else in Oklahoma City — at least not since the days of Molly Murphey's. Visitors entering the doors are stunned by what they see — Christmas trees and toys on the walls, rocking horses and Red Baron planes hanging from the ceiling, and an assortment of signs, mementos and carvings that could fill a football field of garage and estate sales.

"When people come in, they're like kids again,” Lindley said. "Everybody can relate to something in here.”

That same eclectic design, once applied to the building's 11-foot-wide storefront, led to a months-long stand-off with a Bricktown Urban Design Committee that became fed up with the previous developer's work. In 2005, they even contemplated declaring the unfinished building dilapidated so it could be demolished by the city.

Marsh Pitman, a member of the committee that regulates designs for facade renovations and construction, said the building's previous developer, Scott Millington, repeatedly failed to follow design guidelines for the historic entertainment district.

"He proved to be incapable of finishing the project,” Pitman said.

Millington, an architect and assistant professor at OSU-Oklahoma City, concedes he might not have been a good fit for Bricktown. He said he didn't realize the area had design controls when he bought the private alley next to the Power Alley Parking Garage, and thought he had the freedom to complete the building on his own timetable.

Millington said he started buying doors and mirrors simply to make the inside of the small building appear bigger than it is. But after a few trips to antique stores, his imagination soared. He even rescued liquor bottles from the trash bins to incorporate into mirrors on the building's second floor.

"I kept on going and going,” Millington said. "I thought about Molly Murphey's, and this was the same kind of idea ... I had gotten to be so much a part of this.”

Millington said he tried to "please City Hall” when the Planning Department, representing the design committee, questioned his building's facade.

"My mistake was not finishing the front, leaving it halfway done,” Millington said. "It got pretty ratty.”

After repeated confrontations with the design committee, Millington said he is "ready to get out” and is prepared to sell the property to Lindley and Shackelford after they successfully open for business.

Lindley and Shackelford say they weren't aware of the building's past controversies until they were almost ready to open.

Lindley was a respiratory therapist, Shackelford worked in information technology and both were burned out on their jobs. Now they are pursuing their dream of opening a restaurant. They consulted with friends Rod and Randy Meyer, who operate The Mantle, 201 E Sheridan. The brothers showed the couple several Bricktown properties, but the two would-be buyers didn't like anything they saw until they gazed at the incomplete building across the street. The interior excited Lindley, but Shackelford, a self-described "minimalist,” wondered how they could keep track of the hundreds of collectables spread throughout the restaurant. Lindley added to the clutter, displaying childhood toys and wooden carvings bought in Branson during his youth.

He even tried to continue Millington's work in the second floor bar area, building a 4-foot-deep brown shag-rug covered couch area they call "Sasquatch.”

"If this thing shows up in our home, there might be some issues,” Shackelford joked as Lindley showed off his creation.

The couple said they were told by Millington the city was requiring exterior changes. Only after completing an agreement and spending several months finishing the kitchen, dining area and second floor bar, and obtaining all licensing did they learn of the ill will between Millington and the design committee.

The pair went to John Calhoun, an assistant city planner who oversees design applications and spent hours going through all aspects of the building's exterior designs. Wednesday, they met with the committee and agreed to final changes to open for business.

The committee's objections, which had once included rear gates, front brick designs, windows and roof design, were addressed and whittled down to an 1880s-style door frame, the color of front light fixtures and the addition of a rear second-story railing. And they also have to eliminate a "cherub” unanimously derided by the design committee.

As they finalize their menu, which will range from hot dogs to fried pickles and stuffed olives, the couple hopes curious onlookers will continue to stroll through the front door and out the back.

"This will be a fun, family atmosphere,” Lindley said. "I'm sure it's something people will remember.”

[jbrown84]

Sounds like this could definitely add some "unique" to Bricktown.

[johnnyboyokc]

congrats dena!!! im excited for you..........

[fsusurfer]

Im not really sure I understand..is this place a bar? Do they sevrve drinks? Will they be opened to the late night crowd?

[bcp]

Hello OKC Talk! I am eager to read all that is associated with the subject of Bricktown Coney and Pub (BCP). I wanted to interject and say Thank You, on behalf of my partner and I at BCP, to "Metro" for your written enthusiasm!

We are very excited to be a part of the Bricktown area, as well as its evolving culture!

We are, of course, looking forward to serving coneys, as well as other menu items. However, than that, we want to be a destination in Bricktown! A place that a "first time customer" wants to, not only refer a friend, but also wants to return! I encourage you all... come in... look around... meet us!

We are in this to have fun! We want our customers to have fun, enjoy themselves, have a quaility coney, that isn't too pricey, and look forward to seeing us again!

We are officially opening Thursday, February 1st! Come see us!!!!

- Dena and Thomas

[bcp]

Thank you JohnnyBoy... do I know you?

[Easy180]

Will definitely give you guys a shot in February...All about a good coney

Good luck with the restaurant!

[ksearls]

Hey Dena!

Send me all of your info (address, hours, phone number and description) and I will add you to the restaurant listing on the downtownokc.com site and put something in the better-late-than-never Skyline Snapshot that will be released tomorrow.

kim@downtownokc.com

[jbrown84]

Glad to see Bricktown owners continuing to get involved on the site. I hope this does become a destinaton.

[scotplum]

bcp, I wish you guys were opening tonight. I will say, it will be a perfect option for me to get a bite prior to the Hornets games. I park in the garage next door to you and a coney would more than likely hit the spot on the walk over. I may try to get over there Friday evening to say hello and wish you guys luck.

[BailJumper]

I am planning on taking my wife within the 1st week. She's the only gal I ever dated that actually liked a chili dog.

Ever since I bought her a Flint, MI. dog though, she says nothing as ever come close to as good. Completely different flavor.

[metro]

If you're ever in the South Beach (SOBE) , FL area bailjumper, you need to check out Rocky's. By far the best coney and cheese fries I've ever had!