I'm glad to see another Lower Bricktown project breaking ground. Lower Bricktown is starting to fill up nicely.

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"Toby Keith eatery start scheduled

Country music star and Oklahoma native Toby Keith will break ground Thursday on his 600-seat restaurant and music hall at 310 Johnny Bench Blvd. in Bricktown.
Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill is being built by Keith and the Hal Smith Restaurant Group.

After an announcement at 2 p.m., Keith, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, Smith and developer Randy Hogan will shovel the first mound of dirt to officially start construction. "

Just another article relating to this topic:

"Country music star Toby Keith breaks ground on downtown restaurant

Posted: Thursday, November 04, 2004
OKCBusiness NewsWire

Country music star Toby Keith breaks ground on downtown restaurant

Toby Keith, Oklahoma native and Country Music Entertainer of the year, joined business and civic leaders today for the groundbreaking ceremony of the singer’s restaurant, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.

The $4.7 million project is scheduled to open in Spring 2005 and is being built along the canal, south of Reno Avenue.

“The whole concept reflects my passion for Oklahoma and where everyone will feel comfortable,” Keith said.

The restaurant is named after a Keith’s “I Love This Bar” song from his 2003 Album of the Year SHOCK’N’ Y’ALL.

Hal Smith Restaurant Group is building the 12,000-square-foot venue.

“This is by far the most exciting restaurant I’ve been a part of,” said Hal Smith, principal of Hal Smith Restaurant Group.

Mayor Mick Cornett said the newly developed area in which the restaurant will be a spot hot spot for businesses.

“This has the potential to be the marquee spot in Oklahoma City,” Cornett said.

Keith said there was one main criterion for the restaurant.

“The food had to be great,” he said. “I’ve been in all the themed restaurants, and the food is terrible.” Keith said he was going to be sure to give hungry Oklahomans what they want.

“I don’t want somebody coming up to me at an OU game and say, ‘Hey, your steaks suck.’”

Keith said he believed his restaurant would bring synergy to the area. The restaurant is positioned in the newly developing area called Lower Bricktown, which is being developed by Bricktown Entertainment, LLC.

Randy Hogan, principal of Bricktown Entertainment, LLC, said the new restaurant will cause more people to come and experience Lower Bricktown’s attractions."

In a news story I heard, Keith said artists pass through our city all the time, on their way to concert venues. Most concerts are on the weekends, so most of the artists usually pass through during the week. In the past, we've had nothing to lure them off the highway. Now Keith hopes to lure them to his venue to perform during the week. This is awesome.
One can only hope that this will be so successful that other similar venues will move to the Bricktown area.

I just hope that he doesn't pull a Barry Switzer, and shut down his restaurant, just so that he can have a tax write off. Barry has a big influence on Toby (which is sad). I'm sure that Toby plans on having success, however, if he doesn't..what next?

The sad part is that Barry made everyone think he was losing money on his restaurants. He was actually making money, just not a killing like he probably first hoped for.

I don’t care for country music, but this sounds like a cool concept. I wish Garth Brooks or his girlfriend would open something like this in Tulsa, sadly I think they are too happy being retired. Even Roy Clark could do it.. Hopefully they will consider it if this does well there.

I heard Keith wants a sign like you see at places like MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

That would be great, however, would it violate the billboard ban on 40.

I've always said, it'd actually be really nice to have 'landmark' type billboards along I-40. I'm sure if you made enough demands on the billboards, that it would get rid of your 1800-DNA-TEST type ads.

Well, this won't really be right off the new I-40.....as you know the new I-40 will chart off from Bass Pro to the towards the south, so the new highway will actually be a ways from the Toby Keith restaurant. Actually though, from what I understood the projection screen will ne on the south wall of the building, and not a separate billboard. That's what they said on New 9.

I guess you are right, Patrick. I forgot about the reroute. I wish the sign was on a pole like Las Vegas. Some things were BORN to be copied, and it appears that this one just missed the cue.

You might be right about where the sign will be re-located. I'm not 100% sure it will be on the wall of the building, but that's just what I thought I remembered hearing. Anyways, in Branson several of the theaters have large video screens on the facades. I still think they're impressive.