Bricktown anchor closing
The Oklahoman's Steve Lackmeyer visits with readers online about concerns and questions on Oklahoma City-related matters from readers every Friday at 9:30 a.m. The following is an abridged transcript of Friday's chat:
Is the loss of Tap W er ks in Brick town indicative of a downward trend for the entertainment district? Or is this
a pandemic-related closure that doesn't reflect a broader downturn?
Tap Werks is one of the oldest anchors in Bricktown, having opened 20 years ago. This follows the closing a few weeks ago of Henry Hudson's Public House, and before that, Chelino's, West and Spaghetti Warehouse.
TapWerks owner Jeremy Witzke was hit hard by the pandemic. This time last year he had about 40 employees and it was a popular stop for both locals and a lot of out-of-towners. TapWerks offered dozens of beers on tap, and was located in the heart of Bricktown in a great vintage building.
“We love Brick town, we love this building for all its quirkiness ,” Witzke said. “COVID has changed a lot of business models for a lot of people and we're trying to figure out the post C OVID world.”
Witzke is hoping to re open elsewhere, but nothing is set yet. TapWerks was the place that didn't close during severe weather. When streets were imp assable due to snow and ice, Witzke arranged rides for employees to keep it open so that people staying in nearby hotels had a place to still grab a meal and a drink.
Pandemic assistance and rent forbearance weren't enough to keep it open. TapWerks' last day is Saturday. Join them if you can for one last beer.
Bricktown is very reliant on tourism, concerts, sports, special events
and conventions. I don't believe this pandemic is with us forever. We will survive and Bricktown will find a way to keep moving forward.
When will we see movement on the Thunder Alley just south of the arena?
Thunder Alley is on hold until the situation with the pandemic and the NBA is figured out. It's common sense that there's no rush to create an outdoor entertainment venue for Thunder fans when the NBA may be facing another season in the “bubble” at Walt Disney World. The project isn't dead, but it is delayed until we get back to some sort of normalcy.
Am I mistaken, wasn't there supposed to be a signature art piece included at the northeast corner of Scissortail Park?
The 20-ton orb called “Taking Flight” was originally set to be completed and on display by now. The sculpture was designed as a gateway to Scissortail Park. Standing at 19 feet tall it was to suspend a sphere from angled
columns that stretch from the ground up and around t he sphere, which will be made from 643,648 highly polished discs sized to Oklahoma City's population and colored to echo the coppery hue of Oklahoma's soil.
But then there was a complication. The Thunder's plan to build an entertainment center south of Chesapeake Arena also included a landmark sculpture consisting of a sphere — a giant basketball.
So the artist was sent back to the drawing board. A committee was formed from the city's Art Commission and by December we should know what the revised sculpture should look like. I'm told by Robbie Kienzle, the city's arts coordinator, that the concept is still inspired by the idea of the city “taking flight.” But the sphere, which some claimed reminded them of the Sputnik satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, is no longer part of the plan.
What do you see happening to the SandRidge tower now that they l ook to be moving out completely and into a smaller space?
More than 1,200 state employees are starting to move into the tower, bringing more life to that building than we've seen in 30 years. The Oklahoma Commissioners of t he Land Office entered into a deal earlier this year to buy the building from SandRidge Energy when the company's workforce dropped to a level of staff needed for a food truck.
Several agencies, including the Department of Tourism, the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Oklahoma Department of Health are moving in over the next few months.
The name of the building is not set, though the legal name is Oklahoma Commons. Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell is working with branding experts to come up with a name that best represents our state' s ambitions and who we are as a people. I can almost guarantee the new logo will be a part of that.