Kevin Durant Restaurant Receives Setback

There is a minor setback on plans to create a Kevin Durant theme restaurant in Bricktown.

The Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority is asking the developer of the restaurant to send the design back to the drawing board. The much anticipated restaurant is set to be built on an empty pad of land between Toby Keith's restaurant and Earl's Rib Palace in Lower Bricktown.

Currently, the concern is access to the future restaurant. Leaders want to ensure there is equal access from the parking lot on the south side of the property and the canal on the north side.

It's been more than five months since word broke that Thunder basketball forward Kevin Durant was preparing to lend his name to a restaurant.

"That space doesn't even look like they've started at all," Bricktown visitor Paige Scheuerman said as she glanced at the restaurant's future site.

Scheuerman's observation is correct because the design still needs to be finished. The current design of local developer Randy Hogan was struck down by the Urban Renewal Authority on Wednesday.

"These buildings will be there for a long time, and we want them to be of a style and character that will outlast my career," Cathy O'Connor of the Alliance for Economic Development said.

The alliance, which is under the direction of the mayor and city council, wants the building to have more of a face on the canal side and suggests adding a patio to the restaurant. The second concern is the building's height.

"The building [needs] to be taller and have more of a presence along the canal," O'Connor said.

Hogan could not go on camera Wednesday but says he appreciates the feedback and is anxious to find a compromise. In the meantime, Thunder fans will need to be patient.

"That's pretty exciting," Bricktown employee Savannah Decker said. "We're going to get a lot of Thunder traffic through there."

A new design will be presented in October. Both sides say they expect the project to move forward at that time.