Will's renovation plans may add kick to its coffee

By Sara Ganus
Business Writer

Western Avenue neighborhood coffeeholics can breathe a sigh of roasted relief.
Although Will's, 4322 N Western Ave. — the local coffee shop at Oklahoma City's historic Will Rogers Theatre — boarded up its main entrance earlier this month, it isn't closing any time soon.

While still serving coffee out of the east side of the building, owner Carl Milam, who also has Sushi Neko and Musashi's, has closed the front entrance to renovate the local coffee joint into a European-inspired wine bar and bistro. He's also renamed the neighborhood establishment Will's Cafe and the Lobby Bar and hopes to reopen by the end of November.

"Really the best way to define it is it's going to be Starbucks with a kick,” said Milam, owner of Western Concepts LLC. "I think it's really going to help us differentiate ourselves.”

Milam opened Will's in 2002, but it never fully lived up to his expectations.

"We tried to keep things too much on a budget, and it didn't really come out the way I wanted it to,” he said.

Now, five years later, after relentless requests from longtime customers, Milam has decided to give the community on Western a new place to go that's hip and modern but still family friendly — complete with coffee, caviar and champagne.

"What we've noticed is since this has been walled off and we don't have the flow of customers through here, the restaurants haven't slowed down. But you can just kind of feel like something's missing,” he said. "This will go from where something's missing to something even more energetic.”

A few weeks ago, Milam and Kurt Fleischfresser, director of food and beverages for Western Concepts, came across a 70-year-old, art deco-inspired wood bar with a black granite countertop in St. Louis.

"It was almost divine intervention that that landed in our laps,” Milam said. "It is perfect — it couldn't be more perfect.”

They immediately had it shipped to Oklahoma and began refurbishing it to become the neighborhood bar's centerpiece. Inspired by its art deco appeal, Milam and Fleischfresser decided to incorporate similar whimsical elements to the rest of the cafe's interior.

On a budget between $70,000 and $80,000, Milam has gutted the coffee house lounge and plans to replace the former coffee bar with the art deco bar and stool seating. He then extended the front entrance and plans to convert the theater's historical fountain area into the new coffee bar with a walk-up window.

Not included in that budget is the building's outdoor Will Rogers Theatre marquee, which Milam hopes to revamp some day soon.

The original Will Rogers mural, which features the life of the Oklahoma legend — who happens to be Milam's great-great uncle — will remain intact.

"This building was built in 1946, so it's 61 years old,” Milam said. "It's not on the historical register, but we treat it with a little bit of respect. We're not going to change it completely. I just want to improve its functionality.”

Will's new menu will include late-night seasonal appetizers and finger foods, like artisanal cheeses, smoked salmon, caviar and paninis, Fleischfresser said.

"It's about as far away from an all-you-can-eat buffet as you can get,” he said. "It's going to be small things, like sandwiches, soups and salads, but very substantial. It's going to be hanging-out food that's healthy and light.”

As for drinks, Fleischfresser said the wine list will include a variety of red and white wines — all served by the glass — and the bar will have three beers on tap, including locally brewed Choc beer.

Fleischfresser said he hopes Will's will become another of Oklahoma City's hot spots, like its sister establishments.

"When you look at it, you've got Sushi Neko, one of the top sushi restaurants; you've got Musashi's, one of the top Japanese steakhouses; and then there's Will's,” he said. "Although we had a good little following and it was nice, it seemed like a weak link at the time; whereas now, it's going to fit the group more and be a lot more seamless.”

Will's Cafe and the Lobby Bar will keep its early opening time of 7 a.m. but extend its hours until about 11 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends.

Milam said he hopes the later hours will appeal to Sushi Neko and Musashi's customers on busy nights.

"Sushi Neko runs out of waiting room, and so a lot of people will start to wander and then we lose those customers, which makes it really inefficient,” he said. "If we have a bar adjacent to it where they can get a glass of wine, it's more likely to tie them over.”

If everything goes as planned and Will's is a success, Milam added that he also may open a private dining room to connect it with Sushi Neko and expand the theater.

"Western is doing great, but we really want 43rd and Western to be somewhere for people to just come and park and say, ‘Where do I want to go?'” he said. "They can even go from one venue to another. It will be great. I think it will add quite a bit to the community.”

http://static.newsok.biz/article/3156275/Will_Rogers.jpg_10-25-2007_NC52V71.jpg

Carl Milam, owner of Western Concepts, is converting Will's, 4322 N Western, into a European-inspired wine bar and bistro, expect to open in November. provided by architect Larry Brand