Okie Tonk Cafe- Reborn Tradition

If you’re old enough to remember the rowdy honky tonk bars where loud, country music was played, full of drunken hillbillies having a good ole’ time, then you’ll understand where the name Okie Tonk Café came from.

Owner Jim Fields says it’s always been a local music kind of place, exactly what a honky tonk is all about. Based on that idea, Okie Tonk is a modern version of a “made in Oklahoma” honky tonk but with a twist. That twist is great food.

“We have a cool little concept going that not only is a lot of fun but is also a restaurant with quality food.”

Fields learned the restaurant business in Memphis before moving back to Oklahoma.

“I was a manager for a progressive owner who opened seven restaurants by the time I left.”

The owner thought it was time to set me up in Oklahoma, Fields said, so they came and picked out property for an Irish pub concept, and they opened Dan McGuiness.

Growing up in the Putnam City area, Fields remembers looking at property “all over” until his sister suggested 19th Street in Moore.

“We found this little piece of property when it was just dirt, and the rest is history,” Fields said. Dan McGuiness opened Thanksgiving in 2006 and was very successful until the May 20, 2013 tornado.

Fields had been working on plans to open a new restaurant with the Okie Tonk concept in Oklahoma City, along Meridian Avenue, near the Will Rogers World Airport. After the tornado damaged the Dan McGuiness establishment, insurance negotiations and discussions led to the decision to start fresh with a “made in Oklahoma” concept.

As a 56-year-old, Fields said the Okie Tonk concept is really about what he remembers growing up in Oklahoma.

“The menu is based on what everybody remembers growing up here,” Fields said. “The Indian Taco at the fair, the onion burger that was invented in El Reno or Chickasha depending on who you believe.”

The menu is filled with many other popular “pub grub” items, he said.

Everything at Dan McGuiness survived the storm except a couple of air conditioners. With the structure and everything inside saved, they decided to rebuild.

He said they wanted to use everything from before. They added extra square footage, and developed a horseshoe Okie Tonk Café Rises from Relics of 2013 Tornado

bar, Fields said. The bar needed a centerpiece, so they found a big I-beam that had been twisted by the storm into the perfect shape.

“Our centerpiece was actually made by the tornado.”

There’s a tremendous history with items in Okie Tonk. The nonsmoking dining room is almost exactly the way it was before the tornado, and it resembles a Viking Great Hall, complete with stained glass windows, wood booths and beer steins hanging from the walls.

There’s a feature table known as the Kellogg Room because the woodwork is from the Kellogg Mansion in Battle Creek, Mich. The mansion burned in the early 1970s, but the game room portion of the mansion was saved, and Field’s mentor bought it.

“It has a lot of history,” Fields said. “Mr. Kellogg’s poker room from 1920 is set up here at our location. It was part of our restaurants in Memphis for six years and was part of Dan McGuiness.”

Okie Tonk caters to a wide range of patrons, Fields said.

“We do a little bit of everything for most everybody.”

Starting with a homemade lunch menu designed for the working crowd. Daily specials are featured with meat and two veggies. Happy hour is a place to join friends after work and relax after a long day. The restaurant is also a popular dinner location for everyone from newlyweds and families to late night party crowds.

“The later it gets, the younger it gets,” Fields laughs.

Covering every genre of music, house music at Okie Tonk ranges from classic rock to everyday country, modern rock, popular dance bands and country bands.

“Red dirt is what most of our country is, and we hire local red dirt musicians,” Fields said.

With aggressive food and drink specials, Okie Tonk is a great location for game days from OU and OSU to Thunder and everything else. It’s definitely a great place to make your “home away from the stadium” headquarters.–19SM