The Fox & Hound

[Pete]

I organized an informal class reunion event there this Friday and they did a fantastic job for us.

The place is divided into three large spaces. The middle section has the long, big bar and tons of tables and dozens of TV's. To either side are large rooms that are somewhat separate and the one to the right (the Green Room) is where we had our event.

Amazingly, the manager agreed to block off that entire space for us and only charged us for the three pool tables and shuffle board. That was $50/hour. They didn't require us to buy a food buffet or anything like that, which is quite different than most places. They were happy to allow separate tabs for food & drink.

I told them we might not have over 30 and they were still fine with that. And it turned out we had about 150! Still, they had plenty of servers (I think 4-5 dedicated just to us) and all the orders came out promptly. It was pretty amazing given the chaos of 100+ constantly moving people (very few were sitting down).

And even more surprisingly, that place was absolutely heaving by 8 or 9PM! The other areas were packed and there was still a good crowd when I left well after midnight.

And even though they serve pub food, the pizza I had was quite good. And they had a good beer selection as well.


I'm not big on the Memorial Road restaurants and bars but the Fox & Hound really impressed me. Our event was a blast and far exceeded my expectations.

[John]

The Fox is always on top of things like that.

Glad you had a successful event, Pete.

[Pete]

They seem to really be tailored towards these types of gatherings, as they make it really easy. I only reserved that room about 2 weeks in advance, and for a Friday night.

Just thought I'd share my experience for others that might be looking for an event location.

[Pete]

They closed their OKC location today:




The whole place felt like it was frozen in the 80's and there is just too much good competition these days.

[Bill Robertson]

We used to play pool there two or three times a week. The beer selection wasn't bad or too expensive. The food was good. But business really slowed down the last few years. I really think this was one place that for not much effort or expense could have been made competitive again.

[Pete]

Yes, they did have a bunch of pool tables but that seems to be something where popularity has waned.

[Bill Robertson]

Popularity waned because the tables went up to $10 an hour. But that wasn't my point. I could be way wrong but I've believed for some time that a non-smoking, non-breastaraunt, real sports bar & grill with good service and good food could do well on Memorial if done right. No one has tried and I think the Fox could VERY easily be made into such a place.

[bradh]

did they ever go non-smoking? we used to go there 6 years ago but when other options came around where i didn't need to wash my clothes when I got home we pivoted.

[Bill Robertson]

No they didn't. Some F&Hs around the country did but ours didn't. There was rumor at F&H that the success of Baker Street going non-smoking meant that F&H would follow but it never happened.

[bradh]

Yeah the one in Wichita is non-smoking and always busy. I liked the venue and different game options at Fox & Hound, just couldn't stand the stench.

[jbkrems]

Wow, I remember having dinner there back when their family dining room was non-smoking. This was 12 years ago. Then they changed their policies, made it all smoking, and changed their family dining room to a pool hall. Thus they lost my business.

[onthestrip]

A sports bar with 90's era TVs and having them placed out of sight lines, along with staying smoking. Cant believe they made it this long.

[Easy180]

Think the last time I went I was watching OU football play for a National Championship if that tells you anything.

[jerrywall]

Not to mention the gap of time when they lost their liquor license.... that can't be easy to recover from.

[Richard at Remax]

A bartender friend of mine said the parent company went bankrupt and all locations were closing. Doing a google search pretty much confirms that

[bradh]

Boy that's a shame in Wichita, the Fox & Hound there was always hopping and in a prime real estate spot (Waterfront on 13th and Webb)

[icecold]

Boy that's a shame in Wichita, the Fox & Hound there was always hopping and in a prime real estate spot (Waterfront on 13th and Webb)

Family lives in College Station and would always hit up the Fox when down there. Always hoppin, night and day difference to the one in OKC.

[progressiveboy]

Saw this article in the DMN. Gives a little bit of insight.


http://www.dallasnews.com/business/r...e-proceeds.ece

[White Peacock]

I spent a good bit of time (and money) at Fox & Hound; my wife worked there for a while back when we were dating, and I was a smoker, drinker, and ate anything that was in front of me back then, so it was a good hangout spot. But when you quit smoking, smoky places like that are removed from the menu, so I can see why it didn't have as big of an appeal as it would have had years prior. They had great pub food and a fantastic drink menu, but alternatives have been popping up too rapidly for them to keep up lately. I saw their parking lot empty pretty often once Twin Peaks opened.

[Bill Robertson]

I spent a good bit of time (and money) at Fox & Hound; my wife worked there for a while back when we were dating, and I was a smoker, drinker, and ate anything that was in front of me back then, so it was a good hangout spot. But when you quit smoking, smoky places like that are removed from the menu, so I can see why it didn't have as big of an appeal as it would have had years prior. They had great pub food and a fantastic drink menu, but alternatives have been popping up too rapidly for them to keep up lately. I saw their parking lot empty pretty often once Twin Peaks opened.

What I would like to see is someone try a "clothed Twin Peaks". A place with tons of TVs that they'll put on any sport you want. Decent food, service and atmosphere. No smoking. And somewhere I can tell coworkers, family and such that I'm a regular at without them looking at me funny and telling me I'm a pervert. I'd be there daily. Until that happens I'm a regular at Twin Peaks no matter what anyone thinks.

[Pete]

What I would like to see is someone try a "clothed Twin Peaks". A place with tons of TVs that they'll put on any sport you want. Decent food, service and atmosphere. No smoking. And somewhere I can tell coworkers, family and such that I'm a regular at without them looking at me funny and telling me I'm a pervert. I'd be there daily. Until that happens I'm a regular at Twin Peaks no matter what anyone thinks.

I was just talking about this to several people...

How OKC -- despite the scores and scores of new restaurants and bars and the huge local appetite for sports -- really doesn't have many/any pure sports bars.

[bradh]

I really like Pub W for that. Republic is that on the high end.

[Bill Robertson]

I really like Pub W for that. Republic is that on the high end.

I'm a very simple, non-highclass guy. We go to Pub W some but it's A: A higher level food than true sports bar food and B: You can't sit at the bar and see 6 TVs on different things right there in front of you. It's not really a sports bar.

[bradh]

BJ's is not a sports bar, but sitting at the bar you can typically see a lot of screens, especially if they have the big one split up

[Bill Robertson]

No it isn't. It fits with Pub W. That's the point. The desire to have something that's not just a bunch of TVs that can be put on sports but an actual "clothed" sports bar.