Nic's Diner + Lounge

[soonerguru]

WTF is happening with this? (just using contemporary lingo)

[Pete]

Moving along, just very slowly.

Should be open in about a month.

[Teo9969]

Moving along, just very slowly.

Should be open in about a month.

I feel like Sunnyside was announced like 6 months ago and opened this week, and Hatch and Nic's announced 2 years ago and are still outstanding.

[catcherinthewry]

WTF is happening with this? (just using contemporary lingo)

In the parlance of our times.

[Head]

WTF is happening with this? (just using contemporary lingo)

Thanks, soonerguru. I've been been biting my lip, to keep from sounding like a whiner.
Or, maybe it's because I'm hungry...

[jackirons]

I went to Nic's last Friday. I asked how long it would be until they opened the midtown location and he said 2 to 3 months.

[OkiePoke]

They have a sign up indicating they are hiring positions.

It said the hours were mon-fri 5-7pm. I guess they are taking walk ins?

I will get a picture later.

[Uptowner]

I think you have to appreciate that Nic's got a steady income already and if I'm not mistaken, still mans the griddle daily. If there's no ball busting GC on the job it can take a long time to whip crack the sub contractors and work the schedule.

[OkiePoke]

[Uptowner]

Every time I see that paint job. And the awnings now covering the paint that held the previous awnings that convinced the city to let Larry paint. Grrr!

[2Lanez]

Every time I see that paint job. And the awnings now covering the paint that held the previous awnings that convinced the city to let Larry paint. Grrr!

Was the city convinced to let him paint? I was still under the impression it was done outside of city approval.

[Head]

Was the city convinced to let him paint? I was still under the impression it was done outside of city approval.

If this was Eureka Springs, or Marthas's Vineyard, this would be an issue. Nobody gives a rat's petooty about a one story building that's ALMOST in the trendy part of a midwestern city. If we're gonna stick with originality, kick out the tenants of those lofts on Automobile Alley, and make the building's owners sell cars. The ends certainly outweigh the means. So glad that there's a "concern" with antiquity, but it's not always the best policy.

[ljbab728]

If this was Eureka Springs, or Marthas's Vineyard, this would be an issue. Nobody gives a rat's petooty about a one story building that's ALMOST in the trendy part of a midwestern city. If we're gonna stick with originality, kick out the tenants of those lofts on Automobile Alley, and make the building's owners sell cars. The ends certainly outweigh the means. So glad that there's a "concern" with antiquity, but it's not always the best policy.

Obviously you're wrong about nobody caring. The rest of your statement about Automobile Alley is apples and oranges. Nobody here is complaining about the use of the building. Buildings are repurposed for new uses all of the time. That doesn't have to involve unacceptable remodeling.

[Teo9969]

If this was Eureka Springs, or Marthas's Vineyard, this would be an issue. Nobody gives a rat's petooty about a one story building that's ALMOST in the trendy part of a midwestern city. If we're gonna stick with originality, kick out the tenants of those lofts on Automobile Alley, and make the building's owners sell cars. The ends certainly outweigh the means. So glad that there's a "concern" with antiquity, but it's not always the best policy.

This seems a *bit* irreverant, but honestly completely reasonable. I think I agree.

Let's be real, if Midtown is going to be what we want it to be, this building won't be standing in 20 years...

[Head]

Obviously you're wrong about nobody caring. The rest of your statement about Automobile Alley is apples and oranges. Nobody here is complaining about the use of the building. Buildings are repurposed for new uses all of the time. That doesn't have to involve unacceptable remodeling.

True. The Auto Alley analogy is a reach. But this place is hardly an example of "unacceptable remodeling". It looks fabulous, in the photos that I've seen. Look at the top of that "Loft". Is that congruous with Bricktown architecture? Is the Devon tower a complement to the Colcord?

[Uptowner]

I'm the last person who would argue that every single structure needs to be saved or "historically correct." But this was a step in the wrong direction.

There was paint under the old awnings. Probably signage at some point. They were permitted to paint the red brick on the sides. Not the blond brick facia. The builder went ahead and painted the whole thing citing the paint on the front behind the old awnings. It's injury to insult now because they just put awnings where the paint was in the first place.

There's been a few discussions about paint removal from brick. But it can be done. The tower theater is a great example.

I'm not crying for anyone to be made an example of or punished here. But if planning says you can paint the sided but not the front. Then you do WTF you want. The city should cite them until they remove the paint.

[dankrutka]

Sign is up... https://twitter.com/DowntownOKC/stat...94772040708096

[wsucougz]

The sign is a nice touch, I will admit.

[AP]

The building looks good, I just wish they would have left the blonde brick.

[PhiAlpha]

The building looks good, I just wish they would have left the blonde brick.

From a preservation perspective, I agree, but I don't think the paint scheme looks bad either.

[Urbanized]

As one of the first people here to grumble about the painting of the brick, I agree that it looks great; and in fact I ALWAYS thought it would probably LOOK fine. If the building had been previously painted and this was an overpainting I would be an unqualified fan. People still get stuck on the idea that discouraging paint on raw brick is a taste or design thing. That has nothing to do with it. The reason it is discouraged in HP is because it creates new long-term maintenance issues that never existed before, and because freeze/thaw can damage the underlying brick.

In the case of this building the blonde brick was in great shape after what...80 years?

Again, it looks great. The question is what it will look like 5, 10 or 25 years from now. Will it be maintained? The answer is almost certainly yes, as long as Nic owns it. What happens to the building in the future is now much more murky. The simple act of painting raw brick - which, left unmolested, is capable of lasting hundreds of years with only occasional, minimal maintenance - has inadvertently destroyed many a historic facade or even building over the long term. Rule of unintended consequences.

Beyond that, careless REMOVAL of the paint in the future can also cause damage if sandblasting is used. It degrades the baked-on glaze finish and exposes the softer clay underneath. It's just a set of future problems that didn't NEED to happen.

That said, what is done is done, the building indeed looks sharp, and I can't wait for the place to open. A little paint won't prevent me from being an enthusiastic customer.

[AP]

^+1

[Pete]

We're getting close!

All the waiting has just made me want it more.

[sooner88]

Based on the sign, it'll be called Nic's Place?

I live across the street, this could be dangerous.

[OkiePoke]

Based on the sign, it'll be called Nic's Place?

I live across the street, this could be dangerous.

I work across the street. May become my breakfast place.