DAMAGE CREATES DISTRACTION
Damage to local restaurants compounds the confounding times, the Food Dude writes
Apparently, a 1918 reenactment wasn't a big enough stress test for our fledgling democracy, so fate beckoned 1968 late last week. In the wake of weekend protests over the senseless death of George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota, a few local restaurants incurred damage.
Revolucion, the Hospitality 84 concept specializing in Mexican cuisine in downtown Oklahoma City, was closed Sunday for repairs after windows were broken Saturday night.
The dining room at Revolucion, 916 NW 6 St., has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic spread caused a shelter in place order and the company's Burger Punk food truck has been parked in the adjacent lot. Windows were shattered and the truck was damaged during the protest.
Rachel Cope, Hospitality 84 chief operating officer, had a simple message on social media early Sunday morning: “Thanks to so many of
you for reaching out about broken windows at Revolución and the Burger Punk food truck. Glass can be replaced, racism needs to be addressed NOW. We are with you.” A banner with the last sentence was draped across the face of the restaurant.
Damage to a wouldbe restaurant was left in the wake of the protest not far from where it began. “Why destroy our property and dream of a brick-and-mortar while you protest?” asked Gannon Mendez, coowner of The Saucee Sicilian food truck on Saturday night on social media. “The hurt and the feeling of being violated I can't describe. But please pray for the lost souls that shattered all of our windows and looted our building.”
About a year ago Mendez and his wife Angie signed a lease intended to give their popular food truck a home base of operations.The space at NW 16 Street and Classen Boulevard was previously occupied by Trolley Stop Records and the original home to Automobile Alley favorite Joey's Pizzeria.
On Saturday night, the windows, long covered in paper, were shattered during the protest.
Mendez and his family spent Sunday cleaning up, but in good spirits. “Everyone is healthy and safe so we are just fine here.” Once clean up is over and insurance covers any damage, the Mendez family can look forward to their appearance on Food Network's “Diner's, Drive-ins & Dives.” The national spotlight is scheduled to fall on The Saucee Sicilian on June 19.
A couple of windows were broken out at Cafe do Brasil, too. Chef Ana Davis deserves better, but so do people like chef Corey Harris, and Lee Bennett. Legends like Florence Kemp. Pillars of the community like Delbert Briggs. People who face stiffer odds of survival in a world proving harder and harder to endure for no other reason than the color of the skin suit their souls happened into on the way out of the womb.
Perhaps this pandemic paralysis is precisely what is needed for a nation long in denial about its record about race relations. Time to reflect is bountiful, but whether we've got the will to accept our failures and use them to fuel our progress remains to be seen.
We desperately need that to happen, but every time a local business loses a window it creates another distraction that keeps us from taking our medicine. Hard times call for a mature response, and that starts with us.
Nic's reopens
When Mayor David Holt made his shelter in place order a couple of months ago, one of Oklahoma City's true restaurant icons shut down and headed for home. Talking about Justin Nicholas, whom most folks know better as the namesake behind Nic's Grill, who grew up in Verden. ”I get a little antsy about stuff like this (the coronavirus pandemic), so I shut it down and holed-up out on on the farm in Verden.”
He said spending time in rural Oklahoma during a pandemic was eyeopening for Nicholas, who said he attended a horse show in Grady County. “Must've been about 200 people there, and I was the only one wearing a mask,” he said. “Folks were making fun of me, but I didn't care. I made fun right back.”
Nicholas reopened the larger of his two restaurants, Nic's Place Diner and Lounge, 1116 N Robinson Ave., last week and the original spot at 1201 N Pennsylvania Ave., this week. Nicholas said his first and main concern was his health and the health of his staff. “You gotta take care of your people first,” Nicholas said. “And I got some health issues; I can't be messin' around with this stuff so I said screw it, let's shut it all down.”
With that in mind, Nicholas closed Nic's Grill and Nic's Place, choosing not to offer even take-out. Nic's Place served about 30 people through lunch on day one using paper menus and a scan code on available tables that brings the menu up on mobile devices. Nic said dining room and lounge seating is limited for now, as is the menu and the basement lounge is open.
News from the dining scape
The Oklahoma Restaurant Association launched its Hospitality Employee Relief Program at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and to date has raised over $500,000 and awarded 625 grants to unemployed restaurant workers thanks to generous donations from the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation in Tulsa and the Cresap Family Foundation in Oklahoma City. ...
The Study opened Saturday. The new wine bar from couples Ian and Elaine Bennett and John and Megan Allen was scheduled to open just as the pandemic was beginning to wreak havoc. Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday with closing time extended on the weekends. Sundays it will open noon to 6 p.m. Reservations are encouraged for social distancing. Call 724-7514 or email reservations@ thestudyokc.com to find a seat. ...
Frenzy Brewing Co. opened last week for curbside and to-go orders. Frenzy's home is in the historic E.A. Bender Building, 15 S Broadway. Today it will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. Grand opening week for the taproom begins June 15. Brewery co-owners Matt Conner and Jeremy Estle initially targeted a March opening for the taproom, but plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand launched last year and has been producing and selling beer through a collaboration with Oklahoma City's Angry Scotsman Brewing Co. ...
As mentioned earlier, Saucee Sicilian will appear on Food Network later this month. Look for Leo's Barbecue to be featured on June 12. This will be the second time on tripleD for Charles Smith at Leo's as part of a series of updates for the long-running show. Nic's Grill will appear later this summer along with a number of others.