The Aggressive Approach – Provision Concepts
(By Peter Brzycki the Oklahoma Gazette) Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse, Hatch Early Mood Food, Sidecar Barley & Wine Bar, Birra Birra, Bibi’s Ice Cream, Chicken Foot
Five years ago, Hal Smith Restaurants alumni Jeff Dixon came out of the gate swinging with very ambitious Broadway 10, closely followed by tiny but stylish Sidecar Barley & Wine Bar, both in Automobile Alley.
The group now has seven locations operating and five more in progress, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, regardless of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a recent interview, Dixon recognized the responsibility to the community but also to the group’s employees and patrons, choosing “fight” rather than “flight” as a strategy.
Provision never laid off any of its 300 employees and kept its salaried managers and chefs on full pay, even making good on bonuses when revenue slipped after being forced into a pure carryout model by the city and state.
All Provision restaurants offered 50 percent off their menu prices during the closures and did all they could to remain relevant to their patrons and, as a result, experienced steady business.
At every turn in the phased reopening, Dixon said they have done as much as the laws allowed while taking serious precautions, even hiring a tailor to create hundreds of masks when none were available.
“We knew we weren’t going to be able to please everyone, but from day one, we decided to buckle down, cut our menu prices, take care of our employees and their families and work every day to keep our customers,” said Dixon.
In fact, the group sees a very bright future and has recently doubled the rooftop bar of Sidecar Chisholm Creek and will be opening Chicken Foot, a new fried chicken and cinnamon roll concept, in the Chisholm space recently vacated by Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
In addition to Broadway 10, there are now two Sidecar and two Hatch locations in Oklahoma City as well as Birra Birra and Bibi’s Ice Cream.
Provision hopes to open Chicken Foot in September as well as a Hatch and Sidecar on Cherry Street in Tulsa this fall, followed by another Hatch and Sidecar in 2021. And Dixon said there are more locations in the works. Read more on The Oklahoma Gazette.