Deep Deuce update
Brothers decide jazz adds spice to Deep Deuce Grill
By Sara Ganus
Business Writer
It's got the sights. It's got the smells. Now Deep Deuce Grill is offering some sound.
Owners and brothers Lane and Tyler Peyton recently launched a Wednesday night jazz series, which features local jazz and blues musicians, at their neighborhood bar-restaurant to return the historic area to some of its jazz roots — something they say most people don't know about.
"No one is aware of the jazz history down here,” Lane Peyton said.
History of eatery
After doing some research back in 2004, when the Peytons first invested in Deep Deuce Grill, and then this March, when they became its sole owners, both decided they wanted to incorporate some of Deep Deuce's early history into their eatery.
Each time, they learned about the likes of Dr. W.L. Haywood, who founded the city's first black hospital in the Deep Deuce Grill building, and jazz artists Charlie Christian, the "father of bebop” and Jimmy Rushing, also known as "Mister Five by Five,” who spent time in the area.
"This was a place where musicians would stop from Denver to Dallas or maybe Dallas to Kansas City,” Lane Peyton said. "They wouldn't play live gigs here, but they would hang out, retune their instruments, write songs and share music.”
Inspired, the Peytons started with the menu — adding Cajun-infused items like grilled shrimp kabobs and crab cakes, Tyler Peyton said.
And all that jazz
But the food wasn't enough. They decided that the best way to capture the Deep Deuce jazz era was — naturally — to add live jazz. Although previous owners had brought in acoustic guitar players and other singer-songwriters, the restaurant had never showed any signs of the jazz culture.
"There's never really been a jazz or blues or eclectic theme to the music here,” Lane Peyton said. "We've long wanted to do that just for virtue of the history and look of the place, but it's never been fully developed until recently.”
The series began July 18 and will continue until at least Aug. 29, featuring artists like Aaron Newman, Jay Wilkinson Trio and Gabe Marshall.
The Peytons said if successful, their ultimate goal is to continue the series each spring or early summer and cap it off in the fall with a jazz music festival as early as this year.
They also plan to eventually double the restaurant's seating capacity of 90 by expanding its patio and opening an additional outdoor seating area upstairs.
The Peyton brothers, who also own Lit in Bricktown, said bringing the jazz tradition back to Deep Deuce is another way they are trying to fill a social and cultural void in the downtown Oklahoma City community.
"There's nothing easy or extremely profitable about this business whatsoever,” Lane Peyton said. "But we really feel like we're doing something for the community by doing the work that we do.”
Jazz performances begin at 7 p.m. every Wednesday at 307 NE 2 St. Parking is free, and there is no cover
Tyler and Lane Peyton, owners of Deep Deuce Grill, recently launched a Wednesday Jazz series to revive some of the traditions of the area. They are shown outside their business. BY JACONNA AGUIRRE, THE OKLAHOMAN
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