The post-Bell's fairgrounds era

[Townsend]

Get a nice buzz and choose between Siegfried and Roy or Blazing Saddles...that's a good day.

I'm for it as well.

Huge Blazing Saddles fan..."Dang, that was lucky. Doggone near lost a four hundred dollar handcart.'

[Chicken Little]

A garden of beer...sounds like heaven.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

Get a nice buzz and choose between Siegfried and Roy or Blazing Saddles...that's a good day.

I'm for it as well.

Huge Blazing Saddles fan..."Dang, that was lucky. Doggone near lost a four hundred dollar handcart.'

Anything by Mel Brooks is hillarious.  

The name on my boat is "Abby Normal".

[pmcalk]

I am not real sure about the tiger show (not even very sure what that means), but I like the idea of the beer garden & wild west show.  Provided, of course, that the beer garden has decent beer (not just Coors & Bud).  It would be nice if there were a local brewery to provide beer (and if we could change those stupid 3.2 laws).

[RecycleMichael]

Speaking of local breweries...

I was in Kansas City last night and we had this reception at the Boulevard Brewery. We got private tours, then had this incredible party on their balcony patio overlooking the downtown Kansas City skyline.

Sure wish Tulsa had such a place...

Nice beer too.

[sgrizzle]

Hopefully a tiger show is nothing like a donkey show. Not sure from the vague descriptions if these are worthwhile projects or wild wastes of money.

[brunoflipper]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

Speaking of local breweries...

I was in Kansas City last night and we had this reception at the Boulevard Brewery. We got private tours, then had this incredible party on their balcony patio overlooking the downtown Kansas City skyline.

Sure wish Tulsa had such a place...

Nice beer too.

threadjack:i agree... been there many times... great brewery... that is a great place for a private party...

recently, rumor had it that the prodigal son of a local "old money" family had gone off and gotten trained as a brewmaster in europe and spent some time back east... reportedly he was in the process of relo'ing to tulsa... he was to be opening a local brewery, NOT a brew-pub... the tale went that he had the funding and had even looked at some potential sites... it was far enough that they had even gone so far as to bring in some bavarian consultants... the end...

i have no idea what happened...

i had been sworn not to spill the details so as to not queer the deal... the source for this info was rock-solid...

[cannon_fodder]

Bruno, please don't get our hopes up.  How a city the size of Tulsa exists without a brew pub (I'm not even asking for a brewery) is beyond me.

[Conan71]

What ever happened to T. Pauls brewery? FYI- That was councilor Eagleton's brother.

RM- similar story about Boulevard.  I discovered the brand when I went to a wedding up in KC around '89 or '90, I think.  The brewery wasn't near as big back then but they were serving it at the reception which was at the Kansas City Club.  We brought a few cases back since you couldn't get it in Tulsa at the time(uh, oh call the beer patrol).  Their wheat is my favorite.

[brunoflipper]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Bruno, please don't get our hopes up.  How a city the size of Tulsa exists without a brew pub (I'm not even asking for a brewery) is beyond me.

brew pubs are incredibly difficult to sustain... insane equipment costs, massive overhead and then you still have to make good food or it dies... regardless of how good the beer is... we've seen it here... hell, KC saw large numbers come and go (i was there from 92-00)...

but, i'd be happier than **** to see a plain old local t-town microbrew...

kansas city club is cool old place, been there many times as well... we had ours at the carriage club (a great venue and next to the plaza) and my wife insisted upon kegs of boulevard unfiltered wheat, which is why i married her...

[Shadow6]

I don't think I will ever understand the incredible rush to get rid of Bell's.  That place was a Tulsa jewel.  It provided many, many kids their first job, and it was locally owned.  

On the other hand, I do not understand the tremendous effort on behalf of the Arabian Horse show.  This is a out-of town group with no real long-term commitment to Tulsa.

I hope the kids that cannot go to Bell's this summer remember the names of the people who were responsible for the loss of Bell's when they start voting.

[cannon_fodder]

I can't say I know the econmics of it very well Bruno, but I know towns like OKC, Omaha, and Des Moines each support a couple and that I enjoy going to them from time to time.  I made the mistake of buying drink$ for everyone at a downtown brewpub in Des Moines on the occasion of a friends wedding.  It seemed like a really cool thing to do to shout "drinks for everyone!"  [8D]

[Shadow6]

quote:Originally posted by The Shadow

Your kids might miss Bell's, but kids don't always understand what is bad for them.

Patrick Kurek was killed on a Bell ride in 1997.

I have it on pretty good authority that the County officials offered to buy Bell's out as early as the year 2000, but Bell's wouldn't sell. So, the County had no choice but to let the lease run out and not renew it.

Not only that, but the County did not want to be a co-defendant (as a deep-pocket landlord) in a future wrongful death suit for an amusement park it doesn't own or operate.

I understand exactly the rush to get rid of Bell's.  I wouldn't let anyone I love ride one of their rides if it was up to me.

Good grief, I can't believe you are bringing that tragedy up.

A six year old girl drowned at Big Splash in 1986, and an 8 year old girl drowned at Big Splash in 1998:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=980530_Ne_a14girld

a five year old almost drowned in 1997:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=970831_Ne_a19woman

...and A two year old girl nearly drowned at Big Splash in 2002,

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=010803_Ne_a19pare

but there has been no hue and cry to turn Big Splash into a parking lot.

People die on Tulsa roads, but we don't stop driving. People are shot by criminals here, but we don't stop living here.  

No charges were ever filed in that case,either against  Bell's Amusement Park OR the Oklahoma Department of Labor ride inspectors.  The family reached a settlement with Bell's. The material that was found to be the problem in the Wildcat accident was used for 15 YEARS before there was a problem, and after this accident, the federal government issued a warning to all amusement parks, presumably because they were also using the stuff.  

As an interesting aside, the family was represented in the case by Clark Brewster.
 

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=050717_Ne_A13_Parks50371
..and the Murphy Brother and Big Splash insurance mess was not a problem?

Bell's was a good place for kids, and families.     We will be diminished by losing Bells, and the people that made it happen should be ashamed of themselves.

If county officials had ANY concern about safety, I never saw any indication of it, and county officials have not been in the habit of being quiet about Bell's. The right thing to do, if there had been safety concerns, was to find a way to help Bell's.  

By the way, should you walk by the Zipper on the midway at the 2007 Fair, and see bolts flying off, remember your concerns about Bell's.  

[brunoflipper]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I can't say I know the econmics of it very well Bruno, but I know towns like OKC, Omaha, and Des Moines each support a couple and that I enjoy going to them from time to time.  I made the mistake of buying drink$ for everyone at a downtown brewpub in Des Moines on the occasion of a friends wedding.  It seemed like a really cool thing to do to shout "drinks for everyone!"  [8D]

and at one point we had three at once... and now we have none...

late last year, i sat down with a group of interested parties to try and get one but the numbers did not play out...

there are many books and discussions on this very topic... i've read that good brewpubs are good pubs and happen to brew good beer... it is a tough business to maintain...

i knew one of the cherry street owners and 3$ pints with 15$ entrees were hard to move in tulsa...

it is another symptom of our lost youth... get me 20,000 college kids and more young pros and you'd be able to get it rolling...

that all being said, i gotta give him props, i'd bet good money elliot nelson could do it...

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by brunoflipper



that all being said, i gotta give him props, i'd bet good money elliot nelson could do it...

Bingo- has access to the funds, doesn't appear to be afraid of risk, and so far everything he's done has worked.

Tulsa's restaurant/bar market has always seemed pretty fickle to me.  Concepts that work elsewhere just fall on their face here.

Wichita's micro-brewery has been going strong for at least 10 years now.

Cherry St. Brewery was pretty well-executed, had the location, atmosphere, food was good, beer was good, clever marketing idea using the IPO concept for ownership (though I could write a long dissertation on the disadvantages), etc.  However, that was almost doomed from the git-go.  I don't remember all the reasons, I just remember that there was bickering amongst the shareholders and Tom Ackley who spear-headed the project.

I was real surprised Tulsa Brewing Co. didn't last.  It didn't have near the charm that CSB had, but the owners were very competent and successful owners of other restaurant/bar concepts.