When news broke in January that Chris and LaVeryl Lower sold The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro, concerns were raised over what would happen to the Nichols Hills-adjacent restaurant that has been a local icon for nearly 40 years. They were immediately alleviated, though, when word went around that the buyers were Phil and Cathy Busey, long-time supporters and investors, as well as entrepreneurs with deep roots in Oklahoma City.
Their first decision after assuming controlling interest in the popular, wine-centric bistro was to invite Chef Kurt Fleischfresser to come aboard and help with the transition. “We love Kurt,” Phil Busey said. “He was at The Metro in the beginning, and he’s the best choice to help make this new team super successful.”
That new team includes Chef Sara Howard, who will be the chef de cuisine to Fleischfresser’s consulting executive chef role. Fleischfresser said the team’s focus is on building for the next generation.
“We’ll take it back to the beginning in some ways — keeping a toe in France, for example — and we want to be sensitive, but we know you have to change things and update things to be ready for a next generation,” Fleischfresser said. “We’re looking at being a combination of comfort and cutting edge. We’ve added some work stations, we’ll run some specials, and we’re developing shareable appetizers right now. A year from now the change will look dramatic, but it’s a slow process to get there, not a rush to change.”
The Buseys had increased their stake in The Metro to 34 percent prior to the sale, partly by purchasing the late Aubrey McClendon’s shares. They also have smaller shares in other locally owned restaurants around the city.
“We like to invest in people more than institutions,” Phil Busey said.
The Buseys are both native Oklahomans; he is from OKC, and she is from Tulsa. They met at Oklahoma City University, where Phil was studying law and Cathy music. She was a private music tutor and church organist at Church of the Servant and Southwest Christian Church. She also worked in banking,like her father, after graduation. Phil Busey was raised by his uncle, who worked at OCU in maintenance, which is how Phil ended up attending there. He also played collegiate baseball while at OCU.
“I was holding up a wall at a Lambda Chi party — I was an Alpha Phi — when we met,” she said. “We both worked during college.Phil had a good job in aircraft insurance, and that’s how we were first able to start eating at nicer restaurants around the city.”
Phil would eventually work for the now infamous Penn Square Bank, a job he started at 30. While he had nothing to do with the circumstances that led to the collapse, he learned lessons that would help him and Cathy when they decided to start the company for which they are now known, Delaware Resource Group. That company came about as a result of a relationship with Boeing that began in 2001, and was solidified as a possibility when a Boeing project manager called Phil in September 2002 to confirm a large contract on the AWACS fleet. DRG grew to 1,400 employees in more than 20 countries by the time Phil and Cathy sold controlling interest to their sons.
The Buseys raised three children, the two sons now operate DRG (their parents are still on the board) and their daughter is the president of Cardinal Point, a woman-owned subsidiary of DRG.
“We started DRG with the idea of ‘profit with a purpose,’” Phil said. “Investing in people is part of that, but we also invest in organizations. Cathy founded Oklahoma City’s El Sistema orchestra and the Busey Chair of Music at OCU.”
In 2013, the family weathered a health crisis that helped define their legacy and their way forward. It was the day of the F5 tornado that devastated Moore. Phil was having substantial leg pain, but the hospitals were all on code black, so getting help was difficult. The pain eventually led to paralysis, and the family had to rally around him for the next two years.
“I was diagnosed with Coricobasal Syndrome,” he said. “Cathy took care of my day-to-day for two years, and the boys ran the company,” he said. “It was our daughter Emily who came to see me and said the line that helped me see my way forward, though. She said, ‘Don’t let this define you; define yourself through it.’”
As for The Metro, the Buseys intend to bring the same ethos they’ve applied in their own business, their charitable endeavors, and in their children’s lives. “People are our most important resource,” Phil said. “We take care of them, offering benefits, care, affirmation, empowerment, and appreciation. When you do that, they take care of you too.”
This article appears in Celebrating 60 years of the Festival of Arts!.