The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Interesting development proposed in downtown Sand Springs on Main.  Can we get one of these in downtown Tulsa?   :)

Former Sand Springs Power and Water to become microbrewery and restaurant

SAND SPRINGS -- The former Sand Springs Power and Water building about 10 minutes away from midtown Tulsa is on its way to becoming a restaurant and microbrewery. Spring Loaded Brewing Company LLC has agreed to buy the 30,000-square-foot building at 227 N. Main St., and the Sand Springs City Council approved the agreement Monday, according to a news release from the city.

The building, known as the Powerhouse, was a Public Service Co. of Oklahoma electrical substation until the 1990s and was then given to the city.

The company will pay $250,000 for the buildings, and also plans to buy two adjacent buildings. One is vacant, the other houses an MET Recycling depot.

“This is a significant project that gives a unique building that’s a part of our community’s heritage a dynamic future that’s at the heart of our goals for the area,” Sand Springs Economic Development Director Terry Walters said in the release. “The plans for this building make it a destination restaurant and entertainment venue in itself, and lend themselves well to future development of the Keystone Corridor and areas adjacent to the Arkansas River.”

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=326&articleid=20100427_11_0_SANDSP378536 (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=326&articleid=20100427_11_0_SANDSP378536)

Unless the law has changed, one thing that hampers brewpubs is the requirement that the beer be 3.2. I believe this is the reason Marshalls has no on-premises sales. Brew the beer and let someone else sell it.

Calling the Sand Springs project a "microbrewery" rather than a brewpub probably doesn't change things.

The setting sounds like a great idea. Sand Springs will benefit from having a nice brewpub. Coach's is successful in Norman and OKC but failed out by Woodland Hills.

It means I will be booted and have to find some other location for my recycling center. I don't really occupy the building, The city of Sand Springs just built me a padsite behind the building that will become a good parking lot for the new venture.

It sounds exciting. The location is just a few blocks from the river and downtown and is the perfect place for Sand Springs to begin to connect the two. The buildings are beautiful old brick and have unique character.

I have been moved before. The Sand Springs M.e.t. recycling depot used to be in the lot that became the McDonalds on the highway.

Anyone know who the owners of Springloaded are?

Sure would be nice to see brewpubs exempt from the 3.2 nonsense.  A Marshall's brewpub downtown would be awesome.  Even if they couldn't operate as a brewpub a Marshall's brewery with tours would be cool downtown. 

The Coaches Brewpub in Norman does well and supplies several of the local bars there with decent beer.  I believe a similar venture will do well in Sand Springs if it's run well.  I'll probably give it a try.

Of course, you could have a microbrewery downtown, and strategically place a pub directly across the street :D

I believe any strong beer still has to go through the distributors.  You may not be able to "drop ship" it across the street.  The customers don't need to know that though.

Or on that empty lot next to McNellies, or the empty warehouse across the street... ;)

I'm not near as crazy about Coaches as I am Bricktown in OKC or River City in Wichita.  Bricktown has an amazing stout.

RM. I applaud your attitude about being moved. Some people would take it quite differently. You are to be commended.

Also Conan. I'm with you about the Bricktown Brewery. They have amazing beer and a lot of choices.

I guess I need to check out Bricktown Brewery next time I'm in OKC.  I last tried it about 4 or 5 years ago and was unimpressed.  At least Coaches had a decent IPA.  It had flavor even if it was only 3.2.

What specific BB brews did you like?

Moving a business is always hard and expensive. It also means my customers will have to find me.

But that center only exists because the citizens of Sand Springs want to have a recyling option. I am sure they will explain that to the new City Manager who starts next week. I just have to have faith that I will find a new location that will offer me free rent and put up with my ugly dumpsters.

I can fit a recycling center into many locations. That location is perfect for a new brewery and restaurant. It is what is best for Sand Springs.

I've been hearing the rumors about this place for a couple months. The rumor I heard also accompanied a possible 300 employees. At the time, I thought it was just a regular brewery, so 300 employees sounded like a lot (that puts it in the neighborhood of Boulevard Brewery). However, being a brewpub, the number doesn't sound as ridiculous as it once did. As a resident of SS, I'm excited about this development but very skeptical of the long term outlook.

Where exactly is this place?

Google maps shows an address north of the expressway, 227 N. Main, Sand Springs, OK (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=DaV&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=227+N.+Main+St.,+sand+springs,+ok&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=227+N+Main+St,+Sand+Springs,+OK+74063&gl=us&ei=92TYS-vNNsL38AaWnYi2BQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ8gEwAA)

But the MET location I've been using in Sand Springs is on Morrow east of Main. Is this new brewery going in at that Morrow/Main intersection?

I wish them luck, but I'm very skeptical about the placement of this brewpub. Sand Springs is more of a cheap low-quality beer town, it always seemed like to me. Seems like the last suburb in which you'd want to locate a brewpub.

Completely off-topic, but RM, you need a location closer to downtown Tulsa. I feel like I've been to every MET depot in the metro area because none are ideal for downtown residents. We've got ample parking downtown, decrepit lots on every corner. Let's make one of them a MET depot. Even somewhere in the greater Utica Square/Brookside areas would be fine, just somewhere that doesn't require driving.

The northeast corner of Main and Morrow.

Yes. I agree I need a location near downtown. I also need one in Brookside, Woodland Hills Mall and further north Tulsa.

I just need free rent and new money. Each center loses a little money and I beg from somebody like Sand Springs to stay afloat.

I don't think the highest volume restaurants in Tulsa employ anywhere close to 300 people, do they?  That figure sounds horribly skewed unless they aren't giving anyone more than 10 hours a week.

If I understand the location correctly its right across from the big huge empty lot (I know future major development) so my guess is, who ever is behind this has major backing with financing for 5-10 years of operation or there plan is to produce lots of beer and and sell it in liquor stores as there main source of income. Either way they must (I hope or this will be short lived) long term backing. SS is a fairly short drive for me so I look forward to this being open.

cynical. The ones that I have tried there are.
1. Red Brick Ale
2. Copperhead Ale
3. 1 North Lager
4. Aught 7 IPA
And I like them in that order. Here is a link to their page and list.
http://www.bricktownbrewery.com/beer.html

Took some pictures of what I think (I hope) is the brewery. http://www.flickr.com/photos/majdan/sets/72157623959811656/

I don't know Sand Springs well but that looks really big for just a brewpub.  Are they creating a full-fledged brewery? 

Thanks, DolfanBob.  The names are interesting.  I would probably try the Aught 7 IPA to see if it has enough hops. 

Any update on this? I haven't seen much going on at the site. Still working its way through the Sand Springs government?

I've done some digging and I hate to cast dispersions, but I really don't see this coming to fruition.

What?  It was in the Tulsa World though...

Let's just say that starting with the wacky figure of the number of people this was supposedly going to employ, the developer doesn't know s hit from apple butter when it comes to restaurants and breweries.  Either that or he borrowed the Metro Chamber's calculator.

I've caught quite a bit more back-draft on this and don't want to compromise my sources, let's just say it won't happen.  I think the capital requirements are also grossly underestimated much like they were on the new Blue Rose.

Same thing I originally thought. I first heard 300 employees, but that a made a little bit more sense after the announcement it was going to be a brewpub. Still a high number off the bat nonetheless.

A Brewpub only employs 2 or 3 people more than what a standard restaurant would.  There's a brewmaster, an assistant and maybe one other person to lug bags of grain. Maybe.

A huge successful brewpub at best might have 120-130 employees. 75 employees would be my guess for the average largish brewpub.

That would be one big-azz brew pub.

Tulsa Brewing Company had well over 100 at it's height, if not even a little larger when it first opened. I don't think Cherry Street was ever that size, but then it didn't last at all either.

The TBC space wasn't all that large and at least when I've been there since it's been Lanna Thai, I don't think they've got nearly that many people on staff, maybe 20 at any given time which would lead me to think 50 to 60 total.

I'm curious how many employees a place like McNellie's has, anyone know?  It's been ages since I worked in the industry and Charlie Mitchell's was about the biggest I worked at and I considered that a small to medium restaurant and bar.

My wife heard from a SS cop today that this has already died. Not surprised at all. This town has no development activity of any kind beyond IHOP and Billy Sims.

That is too bad, this sounded cool.  What makes Owasso and Bixby so much more attractive than Sand Springs to new development?  Sand Springs is closer to downtown, close to Lake Keystone and Skiatook, and is surrounded by forested hills with the Arkansas River right next to it.  Many of the hilly neighborhoods have fantastic views.  It should have a lot more growth than it does.

I think a lot of those hills have rock just a bit under the dirt.  Not positive about that though.  Bixby is mostly river bottom dirt, easy to move around. Not sure about Owasso.

I think a lot of it has to do with the "leadership" in Sand Springs. They aren't exactly forward thinkers. In fact many of them still haven't embraced talkies.

I was surprised to see that SS showed up with a healthy growth of population in the last numbers published. I think they were third in % growth behind Jenks & Owasso. I would have guessed flat.

It is still a pretty small town in mindset and blue collar in demographics. Perhaps the closing of the foundry will change all that. No doubt the countryside is the most attractive in the area.

Without a doubt.  I love riding in the area.

The project is back on...

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=298&articleid=20101108_298_0_SANDSP56558

As I understand it:

If you brew beer, you cannot sell beer on site > 3.2

And all intoxicating beverages (= over 3.2) have to be sold from the manufacturer, to a wholesaler, to a distributer, and them to a retailer/license holder.  So to get the beer from a brewer to a brewpub next door they have to ship it off site, sell it to the wholesaler, then the distributer, then buy their own beer back at a mark up and have it shipped back to them.

For your safety (in no way because of blue laws or lobbiest for irrelevant industries).

Looks like it will be like Coach's brewery in Norman.  3.2 beer brewed and sold onsite. 

Wish Marshall's could be a brewpub, but wouldn't want to see it 3.2.  A larger brewery with tours would be cool though. 

Cool, there's such a shortage of event centers in the area...

Really need to change these damned laws about booze.

I will most likely skip this place out of principle.  If I can buy it in a QT then it's not really beer.

We should start a petition to get the liquor law changes on the ballot.  With SQ 750 passing, only a little over 80,000 signatures are required.

Will there be a committee involved? 

Not to be a negative Nelly but it seems anytime there's a committee, we get the 10" record where the sun don't shine.

Doesn't matter anyhow the mob er, I mean the liquor lobby won't let this happen with all their slush funds and contributions to law makers efforts to protect us from ourselves.

I say it's worth a shot.  If someone could draft the petition, I'm sure we could get the signatures.  At least this way there would be less of a chance of it getting killed because some legislater tacked on some other insane revision to it.

I signed a petition -- twice -- in the nineties for just this specific thing.

Guess where it went?

But then we will vote on it and there will be lawsuits and people will be upset with the "cost" of these lawsuits being defended by attornies already on state payroll.

Now now, that's for unreasonable SQ's.

I'm cool defending booze.

Too many hood rats in that area......Spent alot of time there growing up....