Is the Britton District on track to be Oklahoma City's next Plaza or Paseo?

On any given weekday, walking through the Paseo or Plaza districts in Oklahoma City can inspire a love for the city and its growth over the last three decades. Weekends bring even larger crowds as people flock to the districts to enjoy food, art, fun and more.

Now, business owners, restaurateurs and entrepreneurs have set their sights on turning another historic Oklahoma City neighborhood into the next big entertainment district.

Where is the Britton District located?

The Britton District, sometimes called Old Town Britton, is an area of about three square miles bound on the north by Hefner Road, south by Wilshire Boulevard, east by Broadway and west by Western Avenue.

Originally established as its own town after the Land Run, during its height, downtown Britton, was home to two theaters, an appliance store, bakery, grocery, multiple gas stations, hardware store, a drug store and soda fountain, and even had its own newspaper.

The town fell on hard times after World War II, and as budget woes caused infrastructure issues to begin, residents voted to be annexed by Oklahoma City in 1950. Infrastructure issues continued until as recently as two years ago, when driving down Britton Road between Western Avenue and Classen Boulevard could inspire cringing at the perceived risk for potential damage to your car.

How did Britton District revitalization begin?

Local businesses began investing in the Britton District, with a Variety Care community health center opening in 2018 and steam really picking up in 2019. Renovations of The Owl Court and Ritz Theater led the way, followed by additions of businesses like Hideout Art. Zero Tolerance Coffee came on later that year.

And then the pandemic hit.

Hope for the future, despite hard times

Even in the midst of the pandemic, slow growth continued in the Britton District as restaurateurs like Jonathon Stranger began buildouts.

"I've always liked kind of rebirthing places and neighborhoods and creating in this kind of cool, small, just local culture. Nothing big and crazy, but the thing that I like about Britton District so much is that it's really difficult for anybody — besides like buying all the buildings and tearing them down — to change it," Stranger said.

"Britton District is one of the very, very few areas of Oklahoma City that the majority of ownership of the real estate wants it to be what it is. They want it to be this unique place. It's not these guys looking to try to tear everything down and only care about ROI. They care about what they're doing for the neighborhood, about bringing it back. They live nearby, and that all matters."

Britton also has more recently added a brewery, MadHopper Brewing, in the former Britton Theater, where you can order food from nearby restaurants while enjoying a brew, and Woodworks Distilling Co. in the former Ritz Theater, where guests can sample small-batch craft spirits.

Stranger's El Coyote New Mexican Grill & Cantina is now in its second year of business, and he announced plans to move his Italian restaurant to Britton, as well, when he decided to adjust the concept. He hopes to open Osteria Italian-American Diner in early summer.

More: This Nichols Hills restaurant will move to Britton District, rebrand in 2024

"If your goal is to bring someone like me or another hospitality operator in there to increase traffic and increase rents and then eventually try to push us out to bring in bigger rents, like you're seeing in Midtown, I'm not interested in that because you're not creating any sense of neighborhood, a sense of place or a sense of culture, even if it's even on two blocks of streets, and everyone involved with Britton District really wants that to be the case," Stranger said. "There's a nostalgic effect to the Britton District and Route 66 and all that stuff in Oklahoma, and we just want to bring that back."

Today the roads recently have been repaved as part of the city's 2017 Better Streets Safer City bond package. The area also is scheduled to receive bike lanes, new sidewalks and more, thanks to the millions of dollars in taxpayer investments.

That bond package, along with the overall growth of the area, are part of what gave Stranger the confidence to say yes to El Coyote and to moving Osteria.

The same is true of Rachel Cope's opening of a second Burger Punk location with her brand 84 Hospitality on Britton last year.

"We've lived through this before. We lived through the Plaza's revitalization once or twice when the city did the same thing with sidewalks and parking and all those things over the past 10 years. The Paseo is going through it right now, and the city is really good at communicating those things," Cope said. "When they are happening, we know they are for the greater good and they're for the longevity of those areas and ultimately they benefit us."

More: Updates are coming to Paseo. See the changes, and how they'll preserve the quirky vibe

For Cope, community is an unintentional, but beautiful, common denominator of the areas she's ended up placing her restaurants.

"Most of our stores are in a district somewhere. They're in places where we can collaborate with our other retail vendors and experience-driven places," she said. "I love that tenant mix. It's what makes a district successful. And for us, I'm like a rising tide lifts all ships type person, too, and so I want them to succeed. I don't want to see turnover in the district. It doesn't look good when we see a lot of that sometimes, and also I want people to win."

What else is growing in the Britton District?

But it's not just business owners investing in Britton District and hoping to see the community flourish. Local students are involved, too.

Carlie Little, whose father owns Paul Little Construction, saw a need in the area and inspired by interactions with the unhoused and those battling hunger, decided to create something that could belong to everyone in the community from the unused flower beds at her father's company property.

Little decided to create a community garden, figuring that with 1 in 7 people and 1 in 5 children in Oklahoma suffering from food insecurity and the Britton District considered a food desert by many, it could be of use.

"We're trying to make an impact with our garden for those in need," Little said. "What and how much we eat makes an extreme impact on everything we do."

With everything that is happening in the district, there's also been the addition of public art through murals, including those painted at the inaugural Sunny Dayz Mural Festival. Plus, recent changes to the city's sign code to relax requirements for permitting for public art opens the doors for even more art.

More: Sunny Dayz Mural festival in Oklahoma City aims to empower women and non binary artists artists

Business owners are hopeful that the slow, steady growth is a sign of something lasting being built, and that provides extra motivation and excitement beyond just the day to day of running a business.

"Don't get me wrong, we love serving customers every day, but there's always something else extra kind of keeping you motivated to make it better, and to push forward, and to tighten yourself up so that as more people show up and the place gets prettier, that you're keeping on par with the neighborhood," Stranger said. "I think in the coming years, this area's going to be really, really cool."

Contributing: Steve Lackmeyer, The Oklahoman

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Britton District OKC growth creates draw for business owners