The company acquired a small house next to the HiLo Club, Drunken Fry and Classen Grill in 2015.
They have filed to rezone .48 acres which is all the properties bound by Classen, NW 50th and Military Avenue and documents show plans to raze all existing buildings and construct a new Braum's.
Red Oak Properties LLC of Oklahoma City has owned all the real estate in this triangle since the mid 1990's except the one house Braum's recently purchased.
In a document submitted to the city, Red Oak authorizes Braum's to act on their behalf, an indication they intend to sell or lease their properties to the dairy chain. Braum's tends to own the properties where they operate.
A representative from Braum's real estate department told OKCTalk that although the project is in its infancy, the company does have the property under contract to purchase and that the filed plans that show a new Braum's speak for themselves.
The structure housing the HiLo Club and the Drunken Fry was built in 1948 as the Donnay Building and was once home to the old Sidecar Lounge and The Patio restaurant which operated from the mid 50's to the early 1990's. HiLo's website indicates they have been in operation from 1956. Charlie's Jazz-Rhythm & Blues Records is also a tenant in the building.
Along with nearby Edna's and the 51st Street Speakeasy, the Drunken Fry and HiLo comprise a popular bar district with patrons often moving freely between the popular watering holes.
The Classen Grill building was constructed in 1929 and the restaurant has operated there since 1980.
Rezoning must be approved by the Oklahoma City Planning Commission.
This area is outside any of the city's design review or historic preservation districts and therefore the historic nature of the the existing structures will not be taken into account, only zoning matters.
