Last Updated on August 12, 2022, 7:31 AM | Published: August 12, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — Every city, if it wants to play at a national level, needs to have its very own flashy, welcoming downtown district designed for – and dedicated to – pleasing the out-of-town crowds that flood in for concerts and sports. It’s an understood requirement.
In OKC, that’s Bricktown.
It took a number of years and billions of dollars in development for Bricktown to finally fully explode as the tourism and entertainment hub of the city, spurred more than anything in recent years by the overwhelming success of the Thunder brand and the district’s proximity to the arena.
As the team enjoyed a long run of sell-out games and upward trajectory, more and more fans poured into town from all over, and the bars, restaurants, clubs, theaters, and venues were more than happy to focus on the most easily crowd-pleasing, mass appeal styles.
All of which, of course, made for an increasingly dwindling interest among locals, hipsters, and city tastemakers, all put off by the suburban crowds, family-friendly aesthetics, and the woeful lack of parking.
So is Bricktown destined to remain the city’s suburbanite destination, or can it develop a cultural character of its own enough to capture that elusive “cool” that makes for a city-folk favorite?
“I think both ideas are correct,” said Justin O’Neal, Bricktown District Manager for the Downtown Oklahoma Partnership. “I think along with the growth of OKC and the emerging culture of art, culinary, and entertainment that the city has, it is only natural that Bricktown reflects the same.”
With the Thunder now firmly in “rebuilding” mode (and selling far fewer tickets to out-of-towners, it would seem,) and with the district still finding its feet in the new pandemic era, Bricktown has been steadily expanding its scope and its appeal to locals with a range of additions and announcements that could help make the area a contributor to genuine city culture more than just tourism.
Renaissance Hotel & Culprits Steak and Sushi
OKC is starting to rack up a serious collection of fantastic hotel restaurants, and Culprits is an easy addition to that list.
Focusing simultaneously on both steak and sushi, the new concept inside the luxury-minded Marriott Renaissance Hotel is definitely keeping that tourist-friendly, mass appeal alive with their unequivocal declaration, “At Culprits, we have something for everyone.”
But “all things to all people” sentiments aside, Culprits represents another big step forward in OKC’s recent culinary revolution as Arizona-based, James Beard Award nominated Chef James Fox co-developed the concept and serves as the space’s “Culinary Creative.”
Any time that acclaimed out-of-state creatives like Chef Fox establish an interest and investment in our city, it’s a win.
The Joinery
The Community Through Beer Group is determined to spin the shockingly ongoing craft beer craze into community development, and they’ve certainly achieved that goal by helping to foster a craft culture in Edmond with The Patriarch and contributing to the Scissortail Park development with the hugely successful Social Capital.
Their newest Bricktown offering, The Joinery, is a multi-storied, multi-faceted endeavor focused on up-scaled bar food and the group’s trademark affinity for all things craft and local in the beer world.
Does the pseudo-sports bar aesthetic or the massive, included virtual golf space Good, Good? Do anything to change the perceived target demographic of Bricktown? Well, no, not at all, really. But the consistent focus on Oklahoman-owned breweries in a tourist-minded setting that’s guaranteed to bring attention from uninitiated, out-of-town drinkers is a big plus for the local industry.
The Criterion
Obviously no longer new, The Criterion has had a complicated history in its still short life.
Originally conceived to be exactly the major concert space that the city desperately needed to entice the best artists and performers, the venue has struggled for a number of years to find the right balance between music aficionados and the young, nightlife-hungry party crowd of Bricktown.
The result has long been a combination of inconsistent booking quality and sometimes frustrating audience dynamics (not to mention the still way too bright bar lighting.)
Those concerns have seen swift improvement over the past couple of years, however, as the talent buyers and organizers behind Tower Theatre and Beer City Music Hall have also begun helping to book and promote The Criterion, with an eye on building a legitimate and respectful music culture for the city.
Even just a few years ago, the concept of “growing” an artist through a series of respected, well-organized, music-oriented venues and into a world-class 4,000-capacity theater seemed unlikely. A decade ago, it seemed impossible.
Clearly, the existence of The Criterion has helped to change that.
Dave’s Hot Chicken
It’s hard for a nationwide chicken chain with hundreds of locations to ever be “cool,” but when it’s built and backed by the minds behind The Jones Assembly and Spark, its coolness rating definitely gets a bump.
The Nashville-spawned hot chicken craze has finally taken hold in OKC thanks to The Social Order Dining Collective, who also first brought Fuzzy’s into Oklahoma, and iron stomachs all across the city are rejoicing.
You probably wouldn’t think that the opening of another corporate-backed fast-casual restaurant would be such a boon to the city’s developing culture, but when we’ve been so badly behind the curve on the nation’s fastest growing eatery chain for so long, there’s admittedly an air of national legitimacy that we gain from its arrival.
JJ’s Alley
What’s new about JJ’s Alley? Nothing. That’s why it’s still the best.
The undisputed champion of Bricktown dives, JJ’s still features some of the best in small-scale live music and large-scale dank, surely helped along by remaining the OKC venue of choice for Norman’s underground overlord Hosty.
The bar’s continued popularity stands as a sign that there is still a local, underground culture alive and kicking in Bricktown, even if it’s not as easy to see as the suburban sports fans and lunching day traders.
If JJ’s ever goes under, that’s when it’ll be time to worry about Bricktown.
A LOT More to Come
Just when you thought they couldn’t possibly fit anything else into the area, there’s been a string of recent announcements about upcoming Bricktown additions.
The Texas-based beer garden concept The Truck Yard will be bringing open-air drinking and half-buried cars to the district, and the Dream Hotel Group is preparing to build two (!) more luxury hotels, sure to encourage even more tourism, but likely to also feature more opportunities for acclaimed, worthwhile drinking and dining.
So is Bricktown really changing to reflect the complex, emerging community of OKC and its many intersectional cultures and demographics?
It’s difficult to say, just as it’s difficult to know how the proposed new Thunder arena could dramatically change the area.
It’s a district in constant transition, which is exactly what can make it exciting.
And yes, parking is admittedly still a nightmare, but maybe pick an evening to jump on the streetcar, ride into Bricktown, and spend a night being a tourist in your own city. It could be more interesting than you expect.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
