Corner Bakery

[Pete]

9/22/14 Update: Opening date set for December 8, 2014.
Next location will be in Norman; 3 to 4 total of OKC area.
Franchisees have rights for entire state; will go to Tulsa when OKC operations are finalized.

3/28/14: Building permit today for a 4,000 square foot Corner Bakery to be located on Penn just North of Memorial.

Will be new construction in the parking lot in front of Target, just south of the Chick-fil-A.

This will be the first Corner Bakery in Oklahoma.

http://www.cornerbakerycafe.com/

[Mississippi Blues]

I was in this area yesterday and the Italian restaurant (can't recall the name) directly south of where this is to be located has a remarkable resemblance to the usual Corner Bakery building design. I noticed that yesterday and then this comes about today. Twilight Zone if you ask me. Excited for this.

[shawnw]

What a great alternative to downtown, I'd love to hang out on the patio and feel the vibe of that corner. (said no one ever)


But I am glad they are still coming to the market, as maybe they'll pay closer attention to downtown and figure out that it can work.

[Pete]

I'm sure they'll do more locations in OKC.

Hopefully they'll take another pass at something in the central core, after the Century Center deal fell apart.

[Mississippi Blues]

What a great alternative to downtown, I'd love to hang out on the patio and feel the vibe of that corner. (said no one ever)


But I am glad they are still coming to the market, as maybe they'll pay closer attention to downtown and figure out that it can work.

I just noticed this the other day, but that little area in the parking lot of both Dick's and Target has some really great views of Oklahoma City looking south. Doesn't compare to actually being downtown, but still a nice view.

[Plutonic Panda]

Great place and great location! Glad to see some of that huge surface go as well. This will be great for an already booming area.

[Dustin]

Interesting location choice.

Parking at Target is going to be a disaster when Black Friday rolls around.

[Plutonic Panda]

Interesting location choice.

Parking at Target is going to be a disaster when Black Friday rolls around.

Like I said... I like parking problems. Not to the point when it starts negatively affecting the economy and I don't think OKC is in the position that Paris, NYC, or SF is in where they can say.... no parking? Tough..... those are cities that will be alright no matter the case, but OKC needs take any employer we can get and if they are turning away because of lack of parking, that is not good. However, I don't think it will be bad here where the Target is. Makes people walk a little more

[Spartan]

Strange choice for their first location.

[progressiveboy]

Strange choice for their first location.

Not really. In the DFW area, they are situated on high traffic corridors and usually on high profile corners at major intersections. This should do well for OKC.

[Mississippi Blues]

Not really. In the DFW area, they are situated on high traffic corridors and usually on high profile corners at major intersections. This should do well for OKC.

The first Corner Bakery I ever went to was in the parking lot of a strip mall that contained Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, etc., in Addison (assuming you know where that is as you're a Dallasite).

[Rover]

Strange choice for their first location.

This is actually fairly typical for them.

[betts]

Corner Bakery is a chain. Where are most of the chains? The location is no surprise at all and I'm happy it won't be competing with our downtown and midtown local businesses personally.

[soonerliberal]

I don't know if I have ever seen a freestanding Corner Bakery... Even in the suburbs, they are generally in shopping centers.

[Spartan]

Corner Bakery is a chain. Where are most of the chains? The location is no surprise at all and I'm happy it won't be competing with our downtown and midtown local businesses personally.

What downtown and midtown local businesses? Prairie Thunder?

I'm just saying that it is strange after the lead-up that Corner Bakery and Panera were competing to enter the downtown market. Guess not.

[Pete]

^

I think both Corner and Panera were squashed by their corporate; franchisees wanted to be downtown.


Besides Prairie Thunder there is also Kitchen no. 324 and Brown's Bakery.

[Spartan]

I thought Panera was almost completely franchise-driven?

[Pete]

Franchisees always have to get final corporate approval of any location.

[Urbanized]

I'm afraid the rooftop/demographics numbers are still too thin for national, non-destination places to feel comfortable with downtown. Locals and Oklahoma-based franchisees "get it" and want to be here, but for those who make decisions by spreadsheet 500 or 1500 miles away from here it makes no sense. That will change at some point; hopefully soon. There is a place for established national brands in the ecosystem, and I actually think they are needed to a point, but I'm glad that locals are presently able to establish a strong beachhead and loyal audiences before nationals arrive.

[Spartan]

This isn't just OKC suffering from the same trends that get other cities. Those other cities have chains. OKC attracted chains in the 90s with Abuelo's, Hooters (one of my fonder memories of Bricktown growing up), and Spaghetti Warehouse. Panera has urban locations. So does Corner Bakery. So does Applebee's even.

They just aren't being successfully sold on our downtown. It's that simple.

[bchris02]

This isn't just OKC suffering from the same trends that get other cities. Those other cities have chains. OKC attracted chains in the 90s with Abuelo's, Hooters (one of my fonder memories of Bricktown growing up), and Spaghetti Warehouse. Panera has urban locations. So does Corner Bakery. So does Applebee's even.

They just aren't being successfully sold on our downtown. It's that simple.

Chains live and die by the spreadsheet. They don't care about momentum, how far people will drive, etc. There are simply not enough rooftops within their preferred radius. It's that simple. I don't think anything can convince them otherwise with the exception of incentives and I don't think Corner Bakery is important enough to give them incentives to locate downtown.

For every residential development that is announced in downtown OKC that gets us a little bit closer to the possibility of chain retail/restaurants taking an interest in downtown.

[Rover]

Most established and successful food chains don't make money by speculating. They have formulae that help insure success for them and the franchisees. Why some of you try to present that as a negative or evil is beyond me. That is like being angry at an oil company that develops fields vs. wildcatting. The good news is that when they do locate downtown it will signal that downtown OKC is a strong place to do business and will encourage much more investment.

[bchris02]

Most established and successful food chains don't make money by speculating. They have formulae that help insure success for them and the franchisees. Why some of you try to present that as a negative or evil is beyond me. That is like being angry at an oil company that develops fields vs. wildcatting. The good news is that when they do locate downtown it will signal that downtown OKC is a strong place to do business and will encourage much more investment.

True. With the big corporations, the people who decide on locations don't want to risk their jobs departing from their proven formula. Local businesses who understand the market are more likely to take a chance, but for corporations its pretty black and white. An area either meets their criteria or it doesn't, and if it doesn't it's not happening without incentives.

[betts]

What downtown and midtown local businesses? Prairie Thunder?

I'm just saying that it is strange after the lead-up that Corner Bakery and Panera were competing to enter the downtown market. Guess not.

Prairie Thunder, Kitchen 324, Waffle Champion and really Elemental and Coffe Slingers would likely lose some business to Corner Bakery. Lunch places would as well. I'm happy with our options and if I want some particular Corner Bakery items I can always drive up there. I'm fine with the location.

[bchris02]

For those wanting more chains downtown, you need to be careful what you wish for. Like betts said above, chains entering the downtown market would steal significant business away from the locally owned establishments there now. The fact downtown is primarily local makes it unique and gives it more character.