The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

is going to be re-born down-town...... ;D

While always pleased to hear of something else new DT my experience with S&J is a whelmed "meh".

Oyster bars in this part of the country just scare me.  I'll give it a try after the first thousand come away without anything writhing in their stomachs.

And there again, it will have to compete with the memory of what it used to be.  I'm with Gaspar on that one, the second incarnation never seems to win in the restaurant and bar business.  Been  back to Bull & Bear?

This will be the third S&J.

I've not been back to B & B.  I wasn't a fan of the redo.  Too bad.

Third?  They had the one on Brookside and a second one on Yale at the same time at one point.  When/where was the second incarnation?

At least with two previous, people might say: "Hey this doesn't suck quite as bad as the second incarnation"

They moved South on Brookside in the building where Terry Turner had a come-apart.  Aleoli's or something like that.  I think it's Hibiscus now.

Ahh, that's where Flying Burrito just crashed and burned.

OK, there.  On the corner with the stonework?

Yep.  Hibiscus is around the corner to the north of Mecca Coffee.  I really don't see how that place stays in business unless they are laundering ganja money through there.  Service is some of the worst in Tulsa and the food is really meh.  I suspect the ganja is great though as I think the whole staff is sampling it.

I wonder how s and j will like being a saver tenant...

They had two on Brookside....Originally where Leons is now....Then on the corner of 36th pl. and Peoria.....If they get the food right...This will be very good...!!!

Do they have a location yet?

Hibiscus packs them in later than you would expect. Is there that much Ganja $ to launder in Tulsa? Ive been in there on sparse occasion and the bands sometimes are snappy and rocking. The food is too hot for me tho! Was at a party last night and a large contingent left to go Latin dancing at Hibiscus for Latin Night.

310 E 1st St.
Pretty exciting multi-use development with loft apartments upstairs...  according to the developer this will be completed next year.

Well so far that's working out great.  Nothing but positive press for that development.

Google maps points me at Sager's building.  Can that be that right . . . ? 


Oh wait.  I see what you did there.

Yes....I didnt want to spoil it with that info...... ;D

This building:

(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5304/5870566432_d4ca31b402_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/oilerfan/5870566432/)

It certainly looks better than it did.

It might behoove him to remove the Sager tramp stamp on it though.

Yeah, I noticed that just after I posted it.  Blech.  Talk about self-promotion.

EDIT: This picture was taken in June, so it may look a little different now.

The picture shows a grey bench on the sidewalk in front of the white building that I installed back in 1997. I didn't get any permission, I just wanted to show off this new bench I bought that was made from recycled soap bottles.

I think that was two years before Sager bought the brick building next door. 

So, since the story broke about the PI looking into Sager the doors of this building have been open every day and a bunch of work has been going on.  Sager may (may!) have gotten the point.  I may just be all for show until people stop looking, but sincE has a potential tenant it might be for real.  If nothing else, he's cleaning it up for The people who reposess it.  ;)

I heard that some of the money for first street lofts was diverted to make that little patio garden in the parking lot to the east of first street lofts. Not sure if it is true, but it sure sounds like it fits the modis operandi.

Post by Tulsa Deco District on FB:

(http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s320x320/395132_237910356284116_100001954601141_544143_1159150676_n.jpg)

That post is incorrect.  S&J closed in 2003 or 2004.

Now, the original may have closed in 1999, but the most recent iteration closed later.

It is talking about the 1st one.

The second one shouldn't count anyway.

Anyone know if Howard Smith is involved in this one or is it a knock-off?

yes, the original closed in 1999 or 2000, if my memory serves correctly.  Did a New Years Eve party there in 1996.  What a party...

Last I heard they were consulting.  Don't know how involved they actually are.

I sure hope they have changed their recipes from the Brookside restaurant.  I grew up on the Gulf coast and lived in New Orleans for several years.  S&J gumbo was not gumbo.  It was aweful.  I realize that this is the Midwest but your much better off eating at Heberts down on 71st.  Ed's brother Jim Richard made the best gumbo I have ever tasted at his restaurant in south Walton County in the panhandle of Florida  Stinky's Fish Camp is the name. 

Huh?

Never went to the first,  still exciting to have yet another local eatery open.

I had lunch with a friend today who told me some of the delay on S & J as well as getting the rest of the project moving is Sager apparently is having a hard time finding any contractors to work with him who will touch the project without cash up front.  I can't say I blame them.  His reputation is notorious.  Too bad the city and V-2025 didn't vet him a whole lot better.

FWIW, there is a new "S&J" sign in the windows. There has also been some work going on in Whiskey Business and it appears to be close to opening.

And going in next door to S&J is some Yoga type place... Saw signs in the windows during lunch... have forgotten the name.
Good to see new businesses filling up the area (and this building)

Word from someone involved with the project: (re)opening date is October 1st.

Any progress pics on this project available?

NM:

(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/392427_525028224179999_88725494_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/253453_525028274179994_1977228530_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/431216_525028307513324_2083040293_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/421687_525028337513321_888539526_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/427912_525028357513319_1083885604_n.jpg)

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/390540_525028387513316_2105259508_n.jpg)

Nice!

Thanks!

Any more pics of the giant fish that's peeking into that last photo?

Love it; glass blocks, black and white tile and school house lighting. Great touches.

I lifted those pics from their FB page.

Who are the owners?

Per FB - Owners Michael Denson and Bill Parkey

Cool pics.

I love that they used the same black and white tile design that was in the Brookside place.

Looking good.... 2 to 3 weeks out..... ;D

Scheduled to open Oct 2 according to a sign in their windows.

Soft opening is underway.


S&J Seafood Cafe and Oyster Bar stages soft opening at new downtown site
 
Customers sit at the new marble bar at S&J Seafood Cafe & Oyster Bar. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
By SCOTT CHERRY World Restaurant Critic
Published: 10/4/2012  1:48 AM
Last Modified: 10/4/2012  4:10 AM

The revival of S&J Seafood Cafe and Oyster Bar nearly is complete.

The restaurant, founded 30 years ago in Brookside by Michelle and Howard Smith and closed in 2004, has reopened under new ownership at 308 E. First St.

The new S&J is staging a "soft" opening. It is receiving customers after 3 p.m., has no set closing time and is offering a limited menu. The grand opening is Tuesday, when the restaurant will begin its regular hours, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. all week.

"We technically are still in a training period for our staff - both our kitchen staff and our waitstaff," said co-owner Bill Parkey. "If anyone comes before Tuesday and has a long wait for a table or if something isn't right, I hope they will be patient with us."

Parkey, whose father was a former business partner of the Smiths', and Michael Denson, a former S&J general manager, are the new owners. Chris Stevens, a former 10-year employee, is the new general manager.

"We have about a dozen former employees - in the kitchen, servers and at the bar - working for us," Parkey said. "That says a lot about Howard and the restaurant."

Smith, who has been serving as a consultant, came out of the kitchen Tuesday night wearing an apron covered in flour.

"I'm just watching over things, making sure everything is how it is supposed to be," Smith said.

The menu has been somewhat updated, but it also contains many old favorites.

Some of the items include New England fried clams, oysters on the half shell, shrimp Louie salad, oyster stew, broiled salmon, crawfish tails, fish and chips, red beans and rice, etouffee, and gumbo.

Prices range from about $7 to $20, with most entrees in the teens.

S&J also offers full bar service.

The ground-floor dining room features wall hangings and clocks from the original S&J, a marble bar, glass block and black tile, giving the room an art deco look. A second-floor dining area will open next week.

"It has been a lengthy process and a challenge to get it all dialed in right," Parkey said. "But it also has been exciting."

S&J Oyster is located on the south side of First Street (a one-way street going west) between Detroit and Elgin avenues.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=274&articleid=20121004_39_WK16_CUTLIN957612