The Press

[Pete]

Proprietors of The Mule to open new restaurant and bar in The Plaza

Having achieved success with The Mule and Anchor Down, restaurateurs Joey Morris, Cody Rowan and John Harris have started construction on a third venture.

Dubbed 'The Press' as an homage to the previous Northside Printing operation at 1610 N. Gatewood, the trio will focus on a more traditional entree focused menu but with the same creativity and fun attitude they brought to the previously mundane grilled cheese and corn dog.

The menu is still in planning stages but inspiration will come from Oklahoma's intersection of Southwestern cuisine's love of chiles, sauces and fresh ingredients and the comfort food from the South.

The unique industrial space is being renovated and enhanced and the barrel and truss ceilings and concrete floors will feature prominently in the design, as will two existing overhead doors: one near the entrance on Gatewood and the other leading to a large patio to the south.

There will be three bar areas; two inside and one on the patio.

The trio bought the building for $305,000 in June of 2016. The building was constructed in 1948 and is almost 4,000 square feet plus the large outdoor space.

They hope to have The Press open this spring.

[warreng88]

Went to lunch at Anchor Down several months ago and talked to Joey about this project. They are all very excited about it and think it will one of the first establishments to really connect to that CTP neighborhood. I know Steve Mason is buying a bunch of stuff on 15th Street with the hopes of everything moving south. Should be interesting to watch over the next few years.

[Pete]

The building is super cool and kind of hidden down a one-way alley.

And the outdoor patio space should be something special and unlike anything else in the Plaza.

Really looking forward to this coming together.

[catch22]

Exciting to see the Plaza grow into a 2-dimensional area (North-South/East-West) where currently it is pretty much one dimensional (East/West).

[aDark]

Any update on this exciting project?

[Pete]

They are moving along inside.

Here are the plans for the large patio to the south, which should be pretty special:

[Bits_Of_Real_Panther]

this place was open to walk through yesterday, they had bartenders though I did not order anything, the restaurant side is open and spacious. Patio must be still in the works. I forgot to look for a menu.

[LFordD40]

The Press is open today.

[aDark]

Next time someone goes please take some photos. I'd love to see pics of this place since the last update was a drawing and the images before that seemed to be from the beginning of the build out. I'm super pumped for this project!

[Pete]

I can tell you that they haven't even touched the patio yet.

But I've peeked inside and it's super cool. High hopes for this place.

[PhiAlpha]

Tried it and liked it. The space is awesome and seems massive. Easily the coolest looking restaurant in the plaza and will be even cooler when they knock out the patio.

[sooner88]

I was looking for this place Tuesday when we ate at Empire, and was totally off on the location. Exciting to see things move south of 16th.

[Urbanized]

Tried it on a soft open day. Food was good but you could tell they were still fine-tuning (totally understandable), space was really cool and not nearly as hipster as I expected, and the standalone bar is something special (there is also a bar in the main dining room). I can see myself spending lots of time in that bar.

[Pete]

Tried it on a soft open day. Food was good but you could tell they were still fine-tuning (totally understandable), space was really cool and not nearly as hipster as I expected, and the standalone bar is something special (there is also a bar in the main dining room). I can see myself spending lots of time in that bar.

Almost texted you because I was there tonight! Agree the somewhat separate bar area is special and will be simply amazing once they finish the adjacent huge outdoor space.

Will post pix a bit later.

[Pete]

Went last night and sat in the bar area but the full menu is served there as well as the main dining room.

Second photo is the bar and you can see the big outdoor area to the right and they really haven't started on that quite yet.

I had the chili mac and it was okay but too bland for my tastes.

Really like the space and vibe and once they get the patio going this spot is going to be a huge bar scene.

[TheirTheir]

Ate here twice this past weekend. Saturday we went for brunch and were surprised by the lack of people there. By comparison, Aurora was slammed the first weekend it was open. We ordered the Chicken Fried Ribeye and the Quinoa Oatmeal. When a chicken fried steak is $15, your expectation is already decently high, but it was small, very bland and over-fried. The gravy was also flavorless. The smashed potatoes were very good, however. Quinoa Oatmeal was also good. Understanding that they are still working out kinks, and drooling over how incredibly awesome the build out is, we decided we would come back the next day.

Yesterday we got there around noon, expecting so see more people that the previous day, but to our surprise there were fewer. This time we ordered the Biscuits and Gravy with pork belly and the burger. Unlike the previous day, our food took a very long time to come out. Around 45 minutes. We liked the biscuits and gravy, but they came out luke warm. The burger was pretty bad, unfortunately. Patty had no flavor, was over-cooked and also luke warm. Waffle fries looked great, but were disappointing as well. I've had several friends share similar feedback.

I'm rooting for this place because it is just so cool looking, but I really hope they fix whatever is going on soon. The lack of people there leads me to believe my experiences this past weekend were not isolated.

[PhiAlpha]

I'm rooting for this place because it is just so cool looking, but I really hope they fix whatever is going on soon. The lack of people there leads me to believe my experiences this past weekend were not isolated.

You realize that they opened 4 days ago, right? I pretty sure that’s 99% of “whatever is going on.” I think they intentionally had a quiet opening to work out issues like the ones you mention before it gets slammed like every other restaurant in the Plaza.

[TheirTheir]

You realize that they opened 4 days ago, right? I pretty sure that’s 99% of “whatever is going on.” I think they intentionally had a pretty quiet opening to work out issues like the ones you mention before it gets slammed like every other restaurant in the Plaza.

I stated that I realized they are working out kinks. What makes you 99% sure that it is the staff and not the actual recipes? Have you eaten there yet? I for one am not sure of either, but I have heard the same complaints about the same menu items by multiple people, not including wait times and food temp. I genuinely hope it's the first week jitters and not the recipes for the reason you quoted.

[Pete]

They have intentionally kept things low-key... People here know everything as early as possible but that is not the case with everyone else.

Just not many people know they are open and almost nobody would just be walking by due to the alley location.

Those guys are very good operators. When that patio is done next year this is likely going to be the biggest bar scene in the Plaza.

[PhiAlpha]

I stated that I realized they are working out kinks. What makes you 99% sure that it is the staff and not the actual recipes? Have you eaten there yet? I for one am not sure of either, but I have heard the same complaints about the same menu items by multiple people, not including wait times and food temp. I genuinely hope it's the first week jitters and not the recipes for the reason you quoted.

Yes, I have eaten there as I stated up the thread. I ate there about 45 minutes after it opened. I didn’t experience any of those issues other than the crowd being light because no one knew it was open yet. The food was good and the service was fast.

On the recipes, it’s a new restaurant, not everything is going to be perfect on the first menu. Creating a menu takes time and trial and error, which can’t all be done prior to opening. Similar to other local restaurants that recently opened, I’m sure they’ll use customer feedback to refine the menu over time. If many people complain about the same menu items, I’m sure they’ll be refined or discontinued.

[Dr Beard Face]

I went there last Friday and enjoyed it a lot.
I had the smothered tots (giant tots covered in bacon, cheese, and white gravy) and the chicken strips. The waffle fries were super plain and almost cold when I got them, but that's my only complaint.
The service was quick and the waiter was very personable. The tots were giant and tasted more like latkes, than tots. I kind of want them to just smash em and call them latkes instead of tots, I'm pretty sure no one in OKC serves latkes, so it could be a nice thing to feel more different. I have to say the chicken was some of the best chicken strips I have ever had, and the honey they serve for dipping was great on the chicken. I look forward to trying more of their menu.

[BridgeBurner]

So is this place fully open all the time now or did it just have a limited soft opening the other weekend?

[Pete]

So is this place fully open all the time now or did it just have a limited soft opening the other weekend?

Fully open.

[HOT ROD]

Love that OKC is (finally) getting late night offerings THURSDAY through Saturday!!!!

[bucktalk]

Ate at The Press yesterday late afternoon. The place had a good vibe to it. Service was excellent. The food was very tasty and reasonably priced. It will be on my restaurant rotation list.