Bricktown
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This morning the Bricktown Urban Design Committee meets - and again the Cotton Exchange project is on continuance. If you read my early reporting, I tried to provide all the hints I could not to get too excited about this proposed project. As a reporter, I can’t say, “don’t believe it, it’s not going to happen.” Nor would I have if I could have. That’s not for me to say. Over the years I’ve seen people who should have had all the means and ability to get a project going, and they didn’t. And I’ve been surprised to see newcomers with no experience, no apparent means to get a big project done, do just that.
But the odds were against Gary Cotton’s original plans for the Cotton Exchange. It was being unrolled just as the economy was going south. Cotton has money, but he’s not Aubrey McClendon. And he had no experience in development. He made up for it by assembling an impressive team for design, construction and marketing.
So we wait for what he has admitted will definitely be a smaller project.
On other items, it appears as if the latest downtown video posted here is rather unpopular. So, should I eliminate the post?
It certainly appears as if the American Banjo Museum is a certainty. Work has begun on the building and a banjo performance will be included at the annual “Taste of Bricktown” this fall.
One more week until we see the designs for the new Devon Energy Tower. Yes, I have every reason to believe it will be several stories higher than the 37 first mentioned by Larry Nichols.
That’s it friends. Gotta run.
Well, sort of. When asking about what once beloved restaurants should be brought back and reopened downtown, Shakey’s came up. I remember this old chain, and it was something special with its old time feel and jazz band music.
It just so happens that a year or so from now, we will be able to see the old Shakey’s Tiffany lamps and memorabilia when the American Banjo Museum opens up in Bricktown. But alas, no actual pizza. But … it just so happens that two doors down, the old Daiquiri Zone at 27 E Sheridan, is still empty. And it just so happens that place is still, as far as I know, equipped with pizza ovens from when it was Windy City. Now, a little history on this spot… it thrived as Windy City until the owners had the odd idea of taking what was a popular family-friendly pizza restaurant and making it a gay disco on Saturday nights.
Yes, it failed soon after.
Daiquiri Zone, meanwhile, seemed doomed from the start. Where do we begin? Bad name? Check. Inexperienced college football stars thinking they have what it takes to operate a successful restaurant? Check.
Really, this is a location that should work. It’s been successful before.
So maybe one of you out there are wondering, does Shakey’s still exist? Oh yes, and after a close call with franchise death, it seems to be coming back. And if you can first swing whatever rent is being asked for this spot, the next trick is to get a deal with Shakey’s. So here’s their q&a on this matter (note that there might be some difficulty on their prototype demands):
1. Where and when did the Shakey’s® name originate?
In 1954, Sherwood “Shakey” Johnson opened the first Shakey’s® restaurant in Sacramento, California.
2. Is Shakey’s® the oldest pizza restaurant franchise company?
In 1957, Shakey’s® was one of the first food service companies to begin franchising. Based on the success of the first Sacramento restaurant other locations were quickly snapped up and a standard building design was introduced. “Shakey” Johnson retired in 1967 his partner sold his interest in 1968.
3. What are the Shakey’s® signature menu items?
The original thin crust pizza with a crisp, crunchy taste and the classic pan pizza are the mainstays of our pizza restaurants. The new Shakey’s® Pizza Parlor restaurant continues tradition with our famous thin crust pizza, marinated deep-fried chicken, exclusive Mojo™ potatoes plus a wide spectrum of delicious items.
4. Who is the typical Shakey’ customer?
Our mission statement says it all:
For today’s families who love great pizza and want something special for the kids, Shakey’s is the gathering place where everyone has fun ™.
Shakey’s® hosts everyone that enjoys a fun family restaurant as a casual dining/entertainment destination. Shakey’s® guests are involved in their communities through team sports and school activities, and generally, live near their neighborhood location or in a school district within close proximity of a Shakey’s® restaurant location.
5. How many Shakey’s® Pizza restaurants are there and where are they located?
There are 15 company operated Shakey’s® Pizza Parlor’s in Southern California. There are another 39 franchised pizza parlor restaurants throughout California, Arizona, Washington, Wisconsin, Alabama and Georgia. There are currently over 200 Shakey’s® Pizza and Buffet restaurants worldwide!
6. What is the typical size and location for a new Shakey’s® Pizza Parlor today?
Our prototype Shakey’s® Pizza Parlor ranges from 5,500-6,500 square feet. The prototype, traditional sized restaurants are freestanding or end caps located in a neighborhood grocery anchored retail strip or “Power” shopping centers.7. What is the investment range necessary for a Shakey’s® Pizza Parlor?
The total investment for a Shakey’s® Pizza Parlor varies depending upon many factors including the location, whether the building is new construction or existing, freestanding or inline, land owned or leased, landlord contributions, etc. The range of the total investment for the 2000-6500 sq. ft. concept restaurant will be approximately $461,500 to $1,684,500. To obtain local Bank financing, you generally need 20-30% of the total investment as your liquid equity contribution.8. What are key characteristics for a new Shakey’s® restaurant location?
As part of our ongoing marketing efforts and development strategy, we are currently undertaking a comprehensive consumer research study to further define our customer’s demographic profile. Markets with minimums of 150,000 populations are preferred, together with a prevalence of middle-income families with median household incomes in the range of $45,000 to $75,000. Median Household sizes of 2.6 to 4 are desired. Shakey’s USA, Inc. must approve your restaurant location.9. What types of Shakey’s® franchise development are available to qualified candidates?
We offer two types of franchise development opportunities: Single restaurants OR multiple Area Developments with protected territories tied to a specific Shakey’s® restaurant development schedules.
10. What are the areas of targeted growth for Shakey’s®?
We are currently focused on developing the West and mid-western portions of the US and considering areas where Shakey’s® enjoyed a strong Brand recognition identity.
11. How profitable or how much money will I make as a Shakey’s® franchise?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) restricts franchisors from answering this question; although we do disclose an earnings claim in our UFOC, it represents seventeen locations, which derive their revenue from Bunch of Lunch™ and pizza. We encourage you to contact existing franchisee’s to obtain the answers to these types of questions. A list of our franchisees is provided in our Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC), which will be presented to you following the initial meeting.
12. What is the next step if I’m interested and qualify for a Shakey’s® franchise?Complete the inquiry form, press submit and it will automatically be forwarded to a franchise representative, which will call you to discuss the next steps in becoming part of the Shakey’s family!
The first story about ”problems” parking in Bricktown was reported in 1990. That’s a fact.
So this discussion isn’t new. I’m not sure that I saw a lot of new ideas in the consultant’s report on Bricktown parking, though as one person told me, it might take an outside consultant repeating solutions mentioned by others to get people’s attention. But there is some intriguing discussion going on at Blair Humphreys’ Imaginative America. In he past few days I’ve also heard ideas posted here and at OKC Talk that include parking meters that let you choose how long to park (and the prices go up for the longer periods) and a garage in Atlanta that lets people park for two hours free, and then charges them there after.
I did some thinking last night and read through the 70 pages again. And it occurred to me - no where in that study did the report try to delve into “what are we trying to accomplish?” By that I mean, what’s the intent here?
The folks who invented the parking meter (right here in OKC) knew what they were trying to accomplish - a way to ensure parking spaces rotated throughout the day to accomodate shoppers and other downtown visitors and discourage workers from parking curbside.
And seems to be part of the intent expressed by the study consultants from Dezman Associates. But hold on just a minute - parking meters were created for the Central Business District, where it’s assumed visitors won’t need more than an hour (most Bricktown parking meters assume two hours).
I’m also a bit uncertain of the authors’ logic of saying that those who used parking meters for more than four hours were likely employees of area business and not visitors. Oh really?
Don’t we want visitors to spend more time in Bricktown? How might one spend their time currently?
OK, they park. They stroll down Sheridan Avenue and the canal, looking around, considering where to eat. Let’s say they’re out for a really nice evening, and they choose Mickey Mantle Steakhouse. We’re easily talking about 90 minutes just doing this.
Now our couple out for a night on the town decides to check out the Painted Door gift shop, and they proceed to Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Emporium. They look at the statues and murals outside the ballpark. Add another 45 minutes.
Oh, look honey, there’s the canal boats … Add another 45 minutes, usually… BUT WAIT! Guy sees the Bass Pro Shops and asks the boat driver to let them off. They spend 30 minutes at Bass Pro. They get back on another boat and head back for the Mickey Mantle plaza drop off. All together, the boat ride and detour at Bass Pro Shops lasts 90 minutes (they had to wait about 10 minutes for another boat to come by, and they did do some strolling as well).
We are now at 3 hours and 45 minutes.
Our couple arrived in Bricktown at 5 p.m., so it’s still pretty early - not even 9 p.m. How do they cap off their evening? Do they spend a couple hours at CityWalk, SkkyBar or Lit? Do they enjoy a horse-driven carriage ride? Do they go bowling at Red Pin? Or do they catch some live music at the Purple Bar at Nonna’s or at Toby Keiths? Or do they go play pool at the Brewery?
Any way you choose, we’re looking at five hours or more. And, according to the study’s authors, these folks must be employees because visitors won’t spend this sort of time in Bricktown.
So, here’s the first question when it comes to parking meters - what is the intent of having them in Bricktown?
Now, let’s move onto the parking lots. Again, what is the intent here? Are the owners and operators motivated to balance making money with also making sure they don’t charge so much that they discourage people from visiting? I suspect that there isn’t just one answer that applies here. For people like Don Karchmer, Jeff Moore and Marsh Pitman, it seems as if they’ve kept their parking rates comparably low; they are invested in the district in a way that involves far more than parking.
Then the question moves to parking operators like Virgil Haymon, who last week was arrested on complaints of charging people to park on a lot he didn’t control and in city right of way. He’s the first to admit he has no investment in the district and isn’t a member of the Bricktown Association. He’s just out there charging people to park and sharing the proceeds with property owners like Bob Meinders and Bricktown Burgers. He only operates when Bricktown is at its busiest - weekend nights, special events - and he is often hit with complaints of price gouging, using “boots” to lock tires of cars where visitors don’t pay him. So what is his intent?
We have the Cummings lot at Mickey Mantle and Walnut. Nobody seems to even know who this guy is, and he was the only owner/operator not present at a meeting last week. Most in Bricktown agree this corner is prime for development - yet the owner has seemed content the past decade charging $5 to $10 to park, sometimes more, depending on how busy the area is. He has as many spaces cramed onto the corner as is possible. What is his intent?
Then there’s Jim Brewer, whose family controls a majority of the surface parking lots in Bricktown. Brewer is a self made man who deserves a lot of credit for Bricktown’s early development. He was a talented promoter who made what was slim pickings for entertainment in the district’s early days seem like a lot. He owns several undeveloped buildings, however, and his lots have been among those charging people upwards of $20 to park when huge crowds hit the district. And yet he was also among those agreeing last week to a parking cap of $10 for special events and $5 during non-event days. What is his intent?
Then there’s the city. The folks at City Hall didn’t spend much time discussing the inequities in parking in Lower Bricktown versus old Bricktown when they agreed to take the money Randy Hogan paid them to develop Lower Bricktown and reinvested it in canal improvements and creating free parking for the area’s visitors.
The city did not say “let the free market dictate parking, Randy, and if it can’t be done without charging visitors to park, well then, charge them.”
Yet the city has done just that in old Bricktown, and even signed away control of lots it did own to private operators. So what’s the intent here?
Now, onto the visitors. I’ve been in Bricktown at its busiest and I’ve always found a place to park. I might have had to walk a couple of blocks. But guess what - that walk is no different than what you face when you decide to catch a blockbuster movie at Quail Springs Mall or go shopping at Penn Square Mall on the weekend before Christmas. If you’re willing to walk that much in suburbia when you know it’s going to busy, why the sudden laziness when it comes to enjoying downtown? What’s the intent here?
Finally, enough with comparing Bricktown parking rates to other cities. For whatever reason, the cost of living is lower here, but so is per capita income. The consultants themselves agreed that $10 parking here is not the same as $10 parking in Denver or Dallas.
Well, not really. Seems like everytime I write about parking in Bricktown, someone’s blood pressure starts to rise. Opposing sides of this debate are both less than pleased with today’s coverage.
Some say I was too easy on the parking operators and portrayed Jim Cowan in too flatering a light. I’ve had others say I spent too much time airing complaints against the parking operators and didn’t delve enough into what the parking operators and property owners are doing to improve the situation.
Ah yes, we’ve hit a balance.
Of course, there’s more to report on all this. It’s pretty much impossible to sum up a 70-page report in a 15-inch news story. Stick with me the next couple days and I’ll share more both here at OKC Central and possibly in Tuesday’s Main Street column.
So here’s the first of what represents an FAQ (frequently asked questions) of day one:
Q: Is the city really going to buy the Bricktown garage and north parking and make them free to visitors?
A: My crystal ball is broken today. Mayor Mick Cornett is clearly interested in doing just that. But city staff will have to find money to make it happen, and the mayor will need at least four council votes on his side to make it happen. And then there’s the question of whether the owners will sell…
Q: A $10 parking cap? Are you kidding me? Is this really progress?
A: Yes, it may really be an improvement. Some of these parking operators have been known to hit $15 and even $20 on a rare occassion. It’s important to note that some operators have routinely capped their rates at $5 whether or not there is a major event going on. They say they will continue to do so.
Q: I can never find a parking spot. What are they going to do about that?
A: Let me help you. First, get a parking map from www.downtownokc.com. Then, the next time you hit Bricktown, be sure to check out the north lots, the Bricktown garage and the Santa Fe garage. I’ve surveyed parking at some of the busiest moments - including the Big 12 basketball tournaments - and always found open parking spots. Sorry, but this question (or complaint) sounds like my kid telling me I “never” let him have any fun. Yeah, go tell it to the Marines.
More to come….
It’s hot out there. But downtown is still moving forward at a fast clip, and I guess, so must I. As I’ve reported before, more hotels are likley to be announced, most of them in Bricktown.
More housing is coming too - and much of it will be targeted to the pent-up demand for downtown homes priced at less than $200,000.
I’m also beginning to see signs that the folks in Bricktown may be awakening to reality - let’s wait and see of course - but surely a decade of demanding $20 a square foot and not getting it should be a loud and clear answer from the market about what is and isn’t realistic.
Had a nice visit with the owner of Lit Clothing, which opened up in The Centennial. Overall, Lower Bricktown still isn’t hitting the retail mix I know some leaders hoped for several years ago, but it’s getting closer to offering the sort of diversity that’s been missing from Bricktown since day one.
I talked with Chuck Ainsworth, and yes, that is construction you can see starting up in what will the American Banjo Museum. Now, if only someone could close a deal to have the Mickey Mantle Museum. Then we would really have a regional tourism destination.
Automobile Alley is still humming along. I visited with Steve Mason yesterday and I’ll have a story on that soon. I also visited with Marva Ellard, and things are going nicely with her redevelopment of the Sieber Hotel. The Sieber family is still very emotionally attached to that old building and it’s not unusual to find one of them driving by … veeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy sssssssssssllllllllllllloooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwlllllllllllyyyyyyyy.
Marva is definitely one of those folks I’d call a “building hugger.” I asked her what she thought about Bert Belanger tearing down the old sex offender houses and plans to tear down the boarded up nursing home on Broadway Drive. Her response was ho-hum at best… I’m not hearing from any people who really consider these properties a big loss.
That’s it for now. Sorry for the dearth of posts this week.
Last year the Oklahoma Film Commission hosted the cast of “Saving Grace” hoping to drum up funding to allow the show to do some actual filming in OKC. No such deal has been struck for the series’ second season, but I’m told some locals are wanting to see if the show will present a more modern view of the city instead of the more rural, outdated portrayal seen during the first season.
So my question is as follows …
Will Bricktown recover is the question. The incident started with a dangerous dude - serial killer apparently - spotted by an off-duty OCPD detective in the state’s premier urban entertainment district. Gunfire ensued, then a chase - and now the entire city is on edge because a police dog chased the suspect off the bridge; the bad guy died, but the dog is in critical condition.
The detective in question is being hailed as a hero, but some folks are claiming she’s got a drinking problem and might have been spending the day getting drunk at one of Bricktown’s bars when this fuss started.
Weird thing is, Bricktown Association Director Jim Cowan is actually pretty happy about how many times the district is getting mentioned with all this. Who knows how many got to hear about Bricktown as this was being shown on national television this week….
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the officer in question is named “Grace,” and she’s played by a still hot Holly Hunter on the fictional television show “Saving Grace” on TNT.
Gotchya.
A couple of weeks ago I was privledged to bring you the story of Jim Brewer. No, not the latest controversy over parking or whether development is going too slow, but rather, the story behind the man himself.
It’s provoked an interesting discussion on the story comment section, and one part of it is rather intriguing:
I built houses for 15 years in South Oklahoma City. I went in halves on the Haunted House with Jim and Patsy Brewer. We flew on his Jet to different football games together. Checked out other cities that had haunted houses and I even went to a concert in Dallas with Patsy and our kids Brent and my oldest son Cheyenne to see “The Boss”. I spent time with them in Las Vegas when Jim Brewer was judging a Hawaiian Tropic Beauty Pageant. He screwed alot of people!!! I still, have the corporation commission papers on the Haunted House… My ex-husband was listed as the President! Jim, I’m sure you remember!
Candace, Lakeland - Jul 6, 2008 7:39 AMI never saw a dime from the “Haunted House”. That money would have come in handy cause my kids are all going to college… Jim could still help alot of people if he would make one of those old buildings a place for homeless people to find shelter and to get back on their feet! Life is not all about making money. Everyone is put here on earth for a purpose…
Candace, Lakeland - Jul 6, 2008 10:54 AM
I don’t know Candace. I’m not taking sides on whether she’s right or wrong. But there is some more history on Jim that I wasn’t able to include in the story, due to space limitations, that may be relevant here.The Haunted Warehouse, as I mention in the story, was Jim’s big break in Bricktown. It was when he realized Bricktown could be branded and turned into a destination.
What I wasn’t able to get into was that he wasn’t alone in that venture. The whole idea began when he and Craig Brown (who in some ways was to the revival of Deep Deuce what Jim was to Bricktown) toured the old Pittsburgh Plate Glass Building and saw all the antique furniture left behind by original Bricktown developer Neal Horton. They began talking about how the place reminded them of a haunted house, and it was then that Craig commented that he had a friend in Kansas City who operated a haunted house. Brewer, who liked to fly out to OU games, suggested he fly Craig and some others out to the OU game in Manhattan, Kansas, and then check out the haunted house nearby.
All of this story is retold in the book Jack Money and I wrote about the history of downtown, “OKC Second Time Around,” and it was interesting to hear Brown and Brewer tell almost identical accounts of this because their partnership ended badly.
To get things started, they teamed up with two other people - home builder Rick Garrett and real estate investor Bruce Thompson (Thompson would later run into trouble over controversial purchases of inner-city properties).
The partnership among the four ended up falling apart with lawsuits filed and quite a bit of unhappiness.
I don’t know Candace. I don’t know if she was related to one of these men. But the timeline of events she recalls seem to fit into the overall history of a very complex man.
During my last visit with Jim Brewer, I asked him about Craig Brown - does he harbor any bitterness against him? By all accounts, it’s doubtful the men have even spoken a word to each other in some 20 years. No, he said - he actually admires what Craig has accomplished in Deep Deuce and has no annomosity at all toward his former partner and friend.
Truth be told, Jim and Craig are not perfect human beings. They’re the first to admit so these days. Over the years I’ve been greeted with genuine praise from Jim Brewer for my writing and reporting on Bricktown. He’s also yelled and cursed at me to an extent pretty much unrivaled by anyone else that I’ve dealt with when my stories weren’t to his liking. It’s fair to say there’s a bit of craziness with these men - and it’s that very quality that led them to take risks and get things done. Did they offend some people while getting things done? Oh yeah. Would I have done everything they did? No.
But isn’t that how history is made?
I’ve covered Jim Brewer for more than a dozen years. During those times and I’ve seen the bad and the good. I’ve seen him promote the district and fight against those who disaparaged it. When consultants wanted to go with just one single walkway along the Bricktown Canal (gotta love those consultants - they’re always right, right?), Brewer cursed, yelled and threw a fit insisting that the design go with the two-level design that is so popular today.
Brewer did much to make Bricktown the destination it is today. But he’s also leaving behind so many unfinished buildings - properties with broken windows, even wads of used chewing gum on the brick of one of the most prominent structures on the canal. And not eveyone agrees that he’s simply benefiting from a free market when rates at his parking lots hit $20 on special event days (in past years he’s been quick to point out his lunch rates have stayed at a low $3).
Brewer is leaving Bricktown. Most or all of his properties are up for sale. He’s in declining health. So what’s his legacy? The original developer of Bricktown, Neal Horton, has been honored quite a bit in the past few years (he died in 1992). But the downtown community has been more conflicted about what honor is due to Jim Brewer.
His legacy, it appears, is a bit confusing. Brewer isn’t someone who hides his thoughts and feelings about what’s going on the district. I believe he truly loves Bricktown, even if not everyone likes what he has and hasn’t done.
To understand Jim Brewer’s legacy, it’s helpful to understand who Jim really is. He finally agreed to share with me details of his early years. Hopefully it will help you in understanding the man as much as it helped me.
A decade ago, I met Jesse Jackson. Shaking his hand, it felt like I was grasping a bit of history. That’s not to say I agree or like everything Jackson says or does. But you’ve got to appreciate that this is a historic figure. And that’s how it might end up being with Jim Brewer - some might not always agree with his methods, his actions or outcome, but it’s difficult to deny this man truly changed the course of downtown Oklahoma City and the city itself.
I hope you enjoy today’s stories. Start reading here.
