Burger patrons have a SAINT IN NIC
Iconic burger joint expanding its brand
About 20 years ago, a kid from Grady County used monies he’d cobbled together running a lawn service and flipping small houses to purchase a unique property in the Ten-Penn corridor, putting into motion a dream come true.
Justin Nicholas spent years building relationships with craftsman and contractors, working shoulder to shoulder with them over the years in the world of homebuilding and maintenance—all the while harboring a dream.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I thought it would be cool to have my own restaurant,” Nicholas recalled.
He never shared the dream with anyone, but when he saw a property come available that had both a house he could refashion into a multiunit and a small lunch counter he pounced.
“I told everybody I was just gonna tear the little building down,” Nicholas said.
But that was a lie.
Instead, Nicholas took the tiny cafe once called Marsha’s Sister’s Restaurant because, as the name implied, Marsha handed the place over to her sibling, and turned it into Nic’s Grill. He started out serving breakfast and a burger the likes of which no one had ever tasted before.
Like the best things in life, that hasn’t changed.
Nic is a firm believer that the money is in the protein, so his standard-setting burger begins with a nine-ounce patty of ground beef made from a proprietary blend. From there, it’s pure execution. His burgers take a little longer to cook because of the size, so at Nic’s Grill, 1201 N Pennsylvania Ave., guests are asked whether they will be eating a burger or something else, like the occasional pork chop or chicken-fry, before they ever get in the door.
That allows Nicholas to sear the burger on both sides before he finishes them on a less intense part of the flat-top. Then comes the grilled onions and “ever’thin,” which include from charred jalapenos, cheese, lettuce, tomato and so on.
In the ensuing two decades, Nic’s Grill has been written up in French GQ and featured by practically every traveling food show on cable television on the brawny shoulders of its flat-top seared burgers served with a smile, a story and an invitation to join a community that routinely waits up to an hour for one of the 17 most coveted lunch seats in the city.
What has changed, and continues to evolve, is the Nic’s brand.
Nic’s Grill is still ground zero for the finest burger in Oklahoma, but a little more than a year ago Nic opened Nic’s Place Diner and Lounge, 1116 N Robinson Ave. There, Nicholas and his partner Jovon Bunkly can accommodate far more guests with a spacious dining room and cozy basement lounge.
“For a long time, I wondered if people would come if we give ‘em a little nicer place to sit, good service, a little more classy atmosphere but with my food. You know, just a nice, quiet atmosphere with comfort food, stuff people love. I wonder if they’d come.”
Since it opened, the new place has introduced thousands more to Nic’s burgers plus a menu of steaks, seafood and small plates to fit the more elegant setting. Nicholas has also made the new place a holiday destination. Thanksgiving and Christmas services were successful enough to encourage Nic to continue the tradition this year.
“We also had a lot of fun on the Fourth of July this year,” he said. “I guess we got a pretty good view of the fireworks from here.”
At Nic’s Place, burger options are broader with some compositions from Nic along with an option to build your own. You can even get a smaller version called the Little Nic. But before you ever get to burgers, choose from queso, deviled eggs or fried pickles to name a few.
Nic’s Place offers sandwiches, chicken strips, and terrific rib-eye tacos. Keep an eye on its Facebook page to see when he offers prime rib. It was such a hit for the holidaysthat Nic likes to put on special on weekends, and it’s worth hustling down there to get.
In the past few weeks, Nicholas has introduced a new bar menu in the subterranean tavern to entice guests to lounge a little longer.
“We usually close about 11,” Nicholas said. “But we would like it if we had people keep us open a little later in the bar, so I thought if we had a late-night menu it might give folks a reason to stay a little longer.”
On weekends after 11 p.m., Nic will bring out an array of $2 items in the bar, including shrimp shooters and scotch olives.
The addition of Nic’s Place has popped the cork on Nicholas’s entrepreneurship. Now, Nic’s Grill is open Saturdays and is the place to get his new brand of beef jerky, Crazee Jerky. Just like his burgers, Nic’s jerky is beefy, bold and addictive. For now, it’s only available at the Nic’s Grill location.
But that could change as Nic prepares to go mobile. That’s right, the mercurial Nicholas will soon unveil a new mobile kitchen from which he will serve something completely different. But he’s sworn me to secrecy on that— for now.
If you want to know, pop into Nic’s Grill for lunch or Nic’s Place for dinner and ask him yourself.Bet he’ll spill the beans sometime between asking if you want bacon on that burger and handing it over the counter on a bed of fries.