REAL ESTATE Restaurant owners team up for Lobby Bar
by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record February 5, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – What are two restaurateurs to do next when almost everything both have touched along Western Avenue in Oklahoma City has turned to gold? The answer: Team up. Two owners of several restaurants along Western Avenue in Oklahoma City have teamed up for a new project called the Lobby Bar in the lobby of the Will Rogers Theater.

Kurt Fleischfresser and Carl Milam have both opened and operated successful restaurants, many on or near Western Avenue, and have now teamed up in a partnership called Western Concepts LLC and opened their first restaurant and bar together on Monday. Fleischfresser, considered by many to be one of the best chefs in the region, and Milam, who started Sushi Neko and Musashi’s on Western Avenue, have known one another for years and finally found the right project to combine their talents. Fortunately, Milam had the perfect venue to house their new project called the Lobby Bar.

Milam, who started Western Concepts, purchased the Will Rogers Theater, 4322 N. Western Ave., in 2000 after starting Sushi Neko in the connected space south of the theater in 1997 in leased space. The theater was built in 1946.
The theater also held a special place in Milam’s heart as he is the great-grandnephew of Will Rogers. With the success of Sushi Neko, Milam then purchased land across the street and built Musashi’s, a Japanese steak house, in 2001 and it opened in 2002. Will’s Cafe, a coffee shop, followed in the lobby of the theater in 2002. The old theater auditorium was converted and used for banquets and special events.

During those years, Fleischfresser was involved in his flagship restaurant, the Coach House, at 6437 Avondale Dr., as well as a handful of restaurants including the Metro Wine Bar & Bistro, Earl’s Rib Palace and five Ground Floor Café stores, among others. In the last few years Fleischfresser began doing consulting work for Milam and thinning out his own restaurant portfolio. “Carl and I have been friends for quite a while,” Fleischfresser said. “I came over and we started doing some fine tuning. We decided quite a while ago that we worked real well together and could be partners.”

The result was a new partnership and the Lobby Bar. The partnership also includes Jayne Fleischfresser and Anita Milam. Fleischfresser said he and Milam envisioned the Lobby Bar as a European-style establishment that offered a variety of fare throughout the day and into the night.“The place evolves,” Fleischfresser said. In the morning the front counter of Will’s is crowded with the early morning coffee crowd. As the day progresses people stop in for coffee, and will now have an option for evening drinks and food. With waiting times sometimes more than an hour for Sushi Neko and Musashi’s, Milam said he wanted a place where people could wait for their table, grab a bite and a gourmet snack, or sit down for a meal. The Lobby Bar seats about 75. “We wanted to find a place for people to land that’s comfortable and that complements what we’re doing,” Milam said. “Then Kurt came along and he took it from an additional waiting area to ‘let’s make the food great and make it a destination in-and-of itself.’” In addition to liquor, beer and wine housed in a wood and glass art deco bar, the menu features lighter fare from Panini sandwiches to artisan cheeses and house-smoked salmon and fresh pâté.

Both men now literally have their plates full as Fleischfresser owns and runs the Coach House, and is a partner in two Irma’s Burger Shack restaurants, as well as the Western Concepts restaurants.

Milam wants to continue to grow his businesses and turn the area around NW 43rd Street and N. Western Avenue into a destination and even a tourist spot.
The interior of the historic theater has pictures and sketches of Will Rogers, as well as a mural painted when the theater was built that shows different aspects of Rogers’ life, and a restored art deco interior with some modern touches.
“It’s nice when you can visit a tourist attraction and have a martini at the same time,” Milam said.

Another focus will be on catering for both events in the theater and external events and parties.

The Lobby Bar will be managed by Scott Stuckey and the chef is David Henry. It will open at 7 a.m. and stay open until 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Milam said more than anything the project is a chance to try a new concept and provide a fun atmosphere for staff and patrons alike. “If we’re having fun the customers are having fun and the staff is having fun,” he said.

Here's more info for thsoe interested:

http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-are...ight=lobby+bar

Can't wait to see what western ave will be in 5 years.