Hollie's in Moore closes to become second local Toby Keith I Love This Bar & Grill
MOORE — Hollie's Flatiron Grill closed about 10 days ago, giving country singer Toby Keith a place of his own to dine in his hometown.
It will also give folks who live in Keith's hometown a new Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in the newly vacant space in the parking lot of Moore's Regal Warren Theater.
Both concepts are under the Hal Smith Restaurant Group umbrella, which made the announcement via its website.
Corporate chef Brad Johnson said last Tuesday the company could've drawn a number of its concepts to replace Hollie's, but location and homage won the day.
"We just thought Toby needed a restaurant in his hometown," Johnson said in a phone interview. "We're going to have some fun with the menu, too."
Johnson said fans of Toby Keith I Love This Bar & Grill will not be disappointed, but he did say they would like to steer the Moore location menu "towards home-cooking." Big burgers and cold beer under a shower of country music will be the foundation, but family dining is what the new place ultimately represent.
Hollie's Flatiron Grill opened in 2012, featuring a mix of burgers and New Mexican fare. An odd blend that came together out of due diligence and happenstance. The concept was originally supposed to be an homage to Santa Fe; however, among Smith's partners in Louie's was Jerry Hiltenbrand, who owned all the branding loot from Hollie's Drive-In, including its iconic pig sign.
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Ed Hollie opened Hollie's Drive-In in 1947, but its jaunty pig in pinstriped overalls didn't arrive on the marquee for another eight years. That sign was rescued in 1982, and was last seen occupying a corner in Hollie's Flatiron Grill.
In its heyday, Hollie's Drive-In was the gathering hub for post-World War II youth. In those days, drive-ins routinely sold 3.2 beer and reputations ran hot and cold. Ed Hollie ran the restaurant with his wife, Evonne, who was known for using a rolled-up newspaper like a truncheon on those who acted out of order.
When Evonne fell ill in the early 1970s, Ed leased the restaurant to up-and-coming restaurateur Dick Stubbs (current owner of Cattlemen's Steakhouse), but returned in 1980. He sold out of bacon burgers for the last time on Dec. 9, 1981.
A McDonald's now stands at the corner of N Western Avenue and Sheridan where the pinstriped porker stood for almost 35 years.
Hollie's Flatiron Grill was developed by Ross Crain for Hal Smith Restaurant Group. Crain also had a hand in opening the original Toby Keith I Love This Bar & Grill in 2005. Shortly after the Bricktown debut, locations at the the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa and Winstar Casino in Thackerville opened. The Smith group sold many franchises outside of Oklahoma.
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The first was in Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas in 2005. By 2015, spots were open in Dallas, Denver, Cincinnati, Mesa, Arizona; St. Louis Park, Minnesota; Foxborough, Massachusetts; Peoria, Arizona; Newport News, Virginia; Rancho Cucamonga, California; Rosemont, Illinois, and Syracuse, New York.
In the summer of 2020, any remaining locations closed due to the pandemic. Since then, only the Bricktown and Winstar locations have reopened.
The new Moore location at 1199 S I-35 Service Rd. has a mid-September target date for opening.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Hollie's closes to become Toby Keith I Love This Bar & Grill
