Tampa-based restaurant chain announces plans to expand to Oklahoma City metro

A Florida-based chain has announced plans to bring their brand to the metro, beginning with a Yukon location of their craft beer-centered restaurant.

Tampa-based The Brass Tap has already expanded its Florida operations to include restaurants in numerous other states including Texas. Company CEO Chris Elliott said Oklahoma was a natural next move for the brand.

"There's currently 50 locations in about 15 states. We're not in Oklahoma, but we'd love to be there," Elliott said. "I would love to see Oklahoma City develop like Dallas has, and it really takes getting the first one or two in the vicinity for people to experience it and for entrepreneurs to see what it's capable of producing in terms of returns."

Where and when will the first Oklahoma location of The Brass Tap open?

Elliot and his team have signed an agreement to bring Oklahoma's first location to Yukon, meaning The Brass Tap is now actively seeking out franchise operating partners in the area and scouting potential locations.

"First thing is a potential franchise owner coming in, meeting with us face-to-face, and then deciding they want to do it, and then signing up, and then we start looking for territory, and off we go," Elliott said.

More: OKC restaurants are taking drastic measures to survive. 'There's no going back'

That means Oklahoma's first location could still come a bit into the future, according to Elliott.

"What takes the longest is finding an appropriate location and negotiating the lease and all that. Sometimes that takes a year, but after that, things happen pretty quickly," he said. "I don't think it's bubbled up to open next year. It may be [2026] before that happens."

What is The Brass Tap?

The Brass Tap is a craft-beer-centered franchised restaurant that brings beer and elevated bar foods to the public in an accessible way with 60 taps, a full bar experience and a menu including burgers, wings, appetizers and more in each location.

The Brass Tap's model allows local breweries and franchisees in its markets to work together.

"The first thing we do is go to all the local craft brewers and make sure that there's a strong representation of the craft brewers in the vicinity. Then we put on popular domestics, popular imported beers, and then the sort of nation and worldwide popular craft beers that people expect when they come to a place like The Brass Tap," Elliott said.

The restaurant is "an experiential brand," according to Elliot, offering a place for people to watch sports, participate in karaoke and trivia and more.

"You've got all these varieties of beer to choose from. We've got a great liquor program. If you want to watch sports, you can do that. If you want to come after work or after school for happy hour, we have a great happy hour and the food is really good," he said.

Elliott said Oklahoma locations will get the benefit of opening after The Brass Tap's work this summer to revamp its menu and beverage offerings.

"You walk in, and behind the bar, there are 60 taps, and historically, they've all been just pretty much craft beer. Now, we're going to add more domestics and more imported beers, plus craft cocktails on tap, and probably sangria and wine. So, good changes based on research and consumer feedback to keep the brand fresh and to keep it on the cutting edge."

The new menu is set to add appetizers like pot stickers and chicken and waffles to the restaurant's already popular pizza, boom boom shrimp, mac and cheese bites, cheese curds and more.

"If you're selling burgers and wings, most people associate that with bar food," Elliott said. "We're sort of upping the game on the food side."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: The Brass Tap plans to bring Florida-based brand to Yukon, Oklahoma