When Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly approved State Question 792 in November 2016 – a ballot initiative commonly characterized as an opportunity to modernize the state’s oppressive liquor laws – it set in motion a chain of events that, among other things, has resulted in two dozen breweries and taprooms in Central Oklahoma, almost all having been […]
Peter Brzycki
Posted inArts & Culture
Holidays in the age of Covid-19
Happy holidays! We know our community is delicately trying to balance the holiday season while being responsible and therefore have come up with 12 holly-jolly happenings that also provide for social distancing and other safety measures. Have fun and be safe! Christmas at the Movies 7 PM Nov. 27 – Dec. 27 The Boom 2218 […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Up-Down Games
Starting with one humble location in Des Moines, Iowa, and then methodically expanding to Kansas City, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Milwaukee, Up-Down Arcade Bar went scouting for its next city. Joey Akers, who had helped pick several of those sites, was dispatched to Tulsa and Oklahoma City to determine if there was a good spot […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Analog flashback
John Lewis had always loved vintage audiovisual equipment and analog music formats. Five years ago, he finally gave in to his desire and bought a Pioneer 707 reel-to-reel tape player from Charlie’s Records in the Donnay Building on Classen Circle. He was hooked. “Uncompressed music on albums and tapes just sounds better than the digitized […]
Posted inNews
Crafty warehouse
Every weekday morning while most Oklahomans are still fast asleep, nearly 5,000 employees pass through the doors at the massive Hobby Lobby distribution complex in southwest Oklahoma City and scan the code on their badges, clocking in for work. The sun is yet to rise, but it’s a warm and humid July morning. And inside, […]
Posted inNews
Decades in the making, city set to realize Core to Shore vision
Almost a year after Oklahoma City formally opened sprawling Scissortail Park south of the central business district, three other big park projects that would fulfill the long-held vision of connecting downtown to the Oklahoma River and to the southside are in progress. When plans were drawn to relocate an obsolete and crumbling section of Interstate […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Local restaurant groups take different approaches to reopening
Cautious 84 Hospitality Group Empire Slice House, Revolución, Burger Punk, Gorō Ramen, Gun Izakaya, Little Market Taking one of the most cautious approaches among operators in Oklahoma City, 84 Hospitality has yet to reopen on-site dining to patrons at any of its locations; it closed all in mid-March. Founder and CEO Rachel Cope recently revealed […]
Posted inNews
Oklahoma Gazette pauses print publication
For over 40 years, Oklahoma Gazette has proudly focused on arts, entertainment, live music, and events. Due to the recent public health crisis, almost all public gatherings we cover and promote have come to a complete halt. Accordingly, we have made the difficult decision to pause our publication until the April 8th issue. In the […]
Posted inNews
To the future!
As we celebrate Oklahoma Gazette’s 40th anniversary, another milestone has recently passed that is of a more private nature. It has been just over one year since I purchased Tierra Media Group, the parent company of Oklahoma Gazette, from founder Bill Bleakley. And in many ways the journey to this place was personal and a parallel to […]
Posted inNews
Mounting woes
A new lawsuit has been filed by three bank shareholders claiming they were fraudulently induced into investing by former CEO Aaron Johnson, who had been elevated to that post in 2016 at age 34. After being the focus of expansive bank marketing efforts, Johnson was abruptly replaced as president in February, but prior to his […]