Taste of home
Uptown bar Ponyboy tells story of growing up in Oklahoma
Oklahoma native TaraLeigh Tuepker stops by Uptown’s new coffee and cocktail bar Ponyboy for a boilermaker and to show off photographs of her parents that hang among dozens of frames above the bar.
Tuepker points to a photo of her mom from the 1970s standing with a friend in a parking lot at a rodeo holding the reins of a horse. The faded color exudes a retro vibe. The women are sporting Western wear, and a Bud Light sits on the tailgate of a pickup in the background.
“It’s my favorite picture of my mom, and it’s such a good Oklahoma picture,” Tuepker, 37, said. “Women in Wranglers at a rodeo and beer and a horse, it just screamed Oklahoma to me.”
Locals submitted the photos of their families answering a call from owner Rachel Cope, who set out to create a neighborhood bar with a nod to her home state.
Cope, 33, is Oklahoma born and raised.
She grew up in south Tulsa, played softball at Jenks High School and received a degree in political science from Oklahoma City University. Cope is CEO of 84 Hospitality, the group behind Empire and Easy E pizza, Goro Ramen, Revolucion Taqueria and Cantina and now Ponyboy, which opened next to the Tower Theatre in December.
Ponyboy is not Oklahoma themed, Cope said. With the exception of a large, neon “Oklahoma” sign above the second floor bar and some University of Oklahoma memorabilia, the decor is subtle.
The NW 23 space is named for a character in “The Outsiders,” a novel and movie set and filmed in Oklahoma. A shelf just inside the front door features a sign that displays “Ada,” the name of the Oklahoma town where Cope was born.
Even more subtle are inside references to Cope’s childhood in Oklahoma adding to the bar’s mystique. Cope’s grandmother, Ma-maw, is featured in a photograph on the collage wall downstairs. A quote from the movie “Tombstone” hangs in neon letters above the booth near the entrance because Cope and her dad spent hours watching the Western when she was young. An inside joke between Cope and longtime friend and General Manager Micah Anderson led to the “Shawshank Redemption” saying that’s plastered across the wall across from the bar.
“I didn’t want to try too hard,” Cope said. “I was born and raised in Oklahoma. People here are really proud to be where they’re from, and my family feels that, too, and I’m running with that.”
‘No pretenses kind of place’
And it continues in the menu. Boilermakers are named for characters in “The Outsiders.” A gin cocktail is named for the state rock, The Rose Rock. And weekly drink specials are designed around “Okieisms” — common sayings that are most often used by Oklahoma’s older generations.
A green cocktail made with matcha called “fine as frog hair” was featured last month and a corn whiskey drink named “Her cornbread ain’t done,” was inspired by Cope’s mom.
“Apparently, it means someone who doesn’t have their wits about them,” Cope said. “I was like ‘What did you just say?’ I think we all have people in our lives who use these kind of funny sayings.”
Carissa Stevens, who was born in Oklahoma and returned to the state about 12 years ago, helped bring Cope’s quirky ideas to life.
From the black and white saloon-style wallpaper to the green tile inspired by the Verdigris River — named for the green patina that forms on copper — every detail has a story.
Customers can come in and enjoy a great cocktail and never know what Ponyboy is all about, Stevens said. But the care put into Ponyboy makes it a special place, especially for longtime residents, and the bar’s newly opened upstairs space is expanding on that, she said.
“I wouldn’t call it a dance party really,” Stevens said. “There is dancing, but it’s a freewheeling, no holds barred, everyone’s welcome kind of feeling. It’s a no pretenses kind of place, and to me that really says Oklahoma.”