The Collective

[Pete]

Went today about mid-afternoon and was busy, but not crazy.

They now have valet parking along Harvey but there is plenty of parking around if you don't mind walking a block.




Pretty much everything was open and I talked to most the proprietors. They are all learning and trying to figure out the optimum hours, etc.

Because it's been so hot, the rooftop doesn't open until 5PM. Their longer-term plan is to make the entire place 21+ after 10PM when the music will get turned up and the vibe will change.

Due to the heat, the biggest problem is having a place to sit for people once they get their food. Said they had to limit the number of people inside so this could level out but once it the weather is better there is tons of seating outside.

Also, there was one waitress going around taking drink orders on a tablet. But she said they won't be doing that much during the day, but there will have a whole team doing so in the evenings. And of course, you can always just go to the bar. They have a ton of great beers on draft and in bottles and a big cocktail menu with some wine.

And the coffee service is all done through one of the kitchens, not the main bar.

I had the BBQ chicken plate from Shaka. Absolutely delicious; chicken and pineapple were grilled over a flame and came with a bit of avacado, mac salad and mango (I think).




They are still tweaking things and the kitchens are all trying to find their rhythm, but it's a super cool place that is going to see tons of business all day long.


SHAKA


FLYING PIG


LOCALHOMA


FRIED TACO


PRESS WAFFLE CO.


CAFE


OH BABY!

[Plutonic Panda]

It wasn't meant as criticism, only as an observation. Was just afraid it would be taken wrong. There are a lot of sensitive people on this board.

#suburbanmallfoodcourtlivesmatter

[Johnb911]

A friend recently described this as a mall food court in skinny jeans. So there you go.

[Pete]

The bar program and its prominence makes that very different, though.

I look forward to going in the evening and I'm sure it will be much more of a social scene.

[aDark]

Yes, but will they hand out free samples like at the food court.

Asking the really important questions!!

[chuck5815]

A friend recently described this as a mall food court in skinny jeans. So there you go.

Is it okay if I show up in my Mom jeans?

[Jersey Boss]

I know I'll get roasted for this observation. Keep in mind, I think the Collective will be a huge success and I think it is great for the fabric of the inner city. I think they did a fabulous job on the building.

All that said, after going there, it struck me that this is a millennial's version of food courts at the malls they grew up with. Yes, more upscale food and trendy, but not unlike a food court. It seems like an Austin/Seattle food court.

You were accurate on all 3 opinions. Sage.

[Pete]

I drove by last night around 7PM and there was a line out the door.

[Anonymous.]

I have been twice now. The only thing I don't like is the seating is scarce even when people are outside. Also the upstairs seems very inefficient with the booth-style tables on the south, it also seems weird to even have those angled seats as the backside blocks any use of the railing that overlooks the seating down below. From downstairs, you can't even see people up there.

Also there is a section of sidewalk on Harvey that remains gravel, I am not sure why this is not finished like the rest of the sidewalk, but my fear is some sort of valet lane reasoning.

[jedicurt]

I have been twice now. The only thing I don't like is the seating is scarce even when people are outside. Also the upstairs seems very inefficient with the booth-style tables on the south, it also seems weird to even have those angled seats as the backside blocks any use of the railing that overlooks the seating down below. From downstairs, you can't even see people up there.

Also there is a section of sidewalk on Harvey that remains gravel, I am not sure why this is not finished like the rest of the sidewalk, but my fear is some sort of valet lane reasoning.

i agree with all of this... i was there last night (and might have been one of the people Pete saw in line around 7). and the only negative my group had was finding a place to sit. and that some of the seating was weirdly arranged, and made it a maze to navigate with so many people.

[turnpup]

Hopefully they'll address the gravel area where sidewalk should be. Between that, patrons of the food hall coming and going, people trying to power up their Lime rentals, and the valet stand, it was necessary for us as pedestrians last night to take a detour into the street to get past everything. In an area with that much congestion, and with the way people sometimes drive, I'm not too comfortable straying from the sidewalk, especially when I've got my kid with me. Of course we could've stayed on the other side of the street, but we wanted to get a look at the crowd.

[Thomas Vu]

+1 for seating issues. This is probably a general issue with food halls in general. I checked out mother road today, and goodness it was the most open area food hall I've been to. Granted I haven't been to many halls.

Collective, the one in plano, mother road, and foodhallen. Does 8th street market place count?

[shawnw]

Kinda sorta maybe.

Also Parlor OKC

[Pete]

The seating situation has a lot to do with repurposing those old structures but that is also part of the strong charm.

I know they are really working hard to learn and adjust but at least for now, all of this is completely new to everyone and they are being overwhelmed with business.

[Heysloth]

A friend recently described this as a mall food court in skinny jeans. So there you go.

This is correct but not a bad thing. Most of the "improvements" we are seeing is just the relocation of small stores from large central locations surrounded by parking lots to smaller more organic locations that fit in the surrounding neighborhood. I dont think the ideas of the past were bad, just designed for cars. That works for some people but some prefer something else and this is a great opportunity for smaller places to get a start whole sharing expenses and customers.

[Teo9969]

A couple of other things to consider:

1. In a more dense Midtown, this is laid out really well for a quick walk through to pick up some food on your way to another destination.

2. If seating is truly an issue, the restaurants will not have the performance everyone within the collective is looking for, in that case, they can just remove a restaurant space and re-purpose it for seating. I don't know enough about the layout behind each restaurant "portal" but even recapturing just the front of house portion of any of those could yield minimum of 15 additional seats and help the competitive balance.

[TheTravellers]

Had brunch at the new Ludivine location (first time we've had brunch there - don't bother, go for dinner instead, we've been there many times for dinner, way better than brunch ), and decided to walk over and see what kind of donuts Theo's had that we could take home. Walked in around 2:00 and they're the first kitchen there, but they had *nothing* out. So we walked around just to look and it seems pretty cool and weekend nights are going to be hellacious, but they could use more signage (telling where the bar and patio is, where specific kitchens are, etc.) since it's laid out with cubbyholes, stairs, and dead-ends and places might get missed just because they're sort of hidden. When we were leaving, Theo's had put out a tray with 4 plain donuts on it, but we just left.

[cappa]

Went by Sunday around 3 and Theo's only had the chocolate with sprinkles and the brown butter vanilla glaze. We tried both on the way out and they were very good - nothing crazy but still good. The brioche donut is such a significantly different donut than the standard yeast at every other donut shop. Definitely would recommend giving it a whirl just to try something different.

[amocore]

Went on Tuesday at noon last week.
It is hassle. After you find the food you want to eat (cafe de l asie which was good), find a seat, then go get your drink... It take 25 minutes just to get settled... and you can eat with your disposable silverware while 50 people are cruising right by you.
Not really how i want to spend my lunch break.

[CloudDeckMedia]

Asking because I don't know: If placing an order Uber Eats or Postmates order at a very busy restaurant such as one in the Collective, does the driver skip the line, know when the order is ready, etc? Or does it just not work for a place like this?

[kukblue1]

So what are the hours. Would like to try it tomorrow Wednesday or Thursday will they be open? Where is a good place to park for free

[Thomas Vu]

Wednesday they'll be open. I want to say at 10, but I'm stopping by at 11 or so. Parking is free just about anywhere in the area.

[Pete]

They were closed Monday and Tuesday to regroup a bit. They have been completely overrun.

They are open at 7AM, at least some of the kitchens. All are open by 11AM and the place stays open until midnight but the kitchens close earlier than that.

The best place to park is in the lot one block to the east, on the southwest corner of 10th & Robinson. Large, free lot. If that is full, there is a bunch of gravel parking north of 10th near Blue Garten.

[BG918]

2. If seating is truly an issue, the restaurants will not have the performance everyone within the collective is looking for, in that case, they can just remove a restaurant space and re-purpose it for seating. I don't know enough about the layout behind each restaurant "portal" but even recapturing just the front of house portion of any of those could yield minimum of 15 additional seats and help the competitive balance.

I doubt they would want to lose rentable square footage to add seating. This is a problem in a lot of food halls for this reason. The developer needs to pack in so many concepts (rentable sq ft) that they neglect the seating and "common" areas. Or, as is the case here, you have additional seating outside but it's too hot to sit there this time of year.

[Teo9969]

I doubt they would want to lose rentable square footage to add seating. This is a problem in a lot of food halls for this reason. The developer needs to pack in so many concepts (rentable sq ft) that they neglect the seating and "common" areas. Or, as is the case here, you have additional seating outside but it's too hot to sit there this time of year.

What you want to do and what you have to do for maximum success may not always be the same thing. I'm good with whatever is best for the long-term viability. OKC could use some places that are overcrowded.