Walking just 'Two Doors Down,' Symmetry owners launch second OKC restaurant

The owners of the fine dining restaurant Symmetry, 9203 N Pennsylvania Ave., are embracing the spirit of the Big Apple with Two Doors Down Wine + Bistro, 9207 N Pennsylvania Ave., their second concept to launch in less than a year.

Jason Pool, Dave Osborn and chef Glenn Thomas launched Symmetry just 10 months ago and have been riding the wave of bringing their first concept to life after years of working for other restaurant groups. Now, the trio are at it again with a new concept, with a totally different vibe.

Two Doors Down is a New York City-themed wine bar and bistro meant to evoke connections to the City That Never Sleeps, both real and fictional. The walls feature custom wraps of the city skyline and seating areas include one modeled after Central Perk, from "Friends," and another meant to mimic Harvey Specter's office in "Suits."

"We really felt that New York was a good vibe that would work well in this spot because of the shotgun style of it," Pool said. "You see a lot of these shaped bars in New York and on the East Coast. And we just came up with the TV show themed settings and it just kind of came together over a couple of months."

Osborn said they were careful when approaching the menu and concept not to cross into Symmetry's territory. The team wanted something that would work alongside, and as an addition to, what Symmetry already brings to the area.

"[It's] good for The Village because we hit all demographic incomes, kind of where we're at and still providing a pretty cool space to hang out in," Osborn said.

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Sip on wine and peruse the record collection at Two Doors Down

The wine bar is fitted with an argon gas system and wine bottle chiller, so that all wines are served at the temperature they're meant to be. The space also features a couple of wines in kegs that the team can choose to rotate out.

Wines can be purchased by the glass or bottle, and if a customer chooses to take a bottle of wine home rather than enjoying it on site, they'll pay retail prices instead of restaurant prices.

"Any of the wines that you enjoy minus the keg wine, we actually have a retail license. So we are a wine store, as well. So when you buy that wine, you get it at what the wine store prices would be," Osborn said. "You have to ring it in on a separate check and everything because of the taxes and all that."

Being New York City-themed and more specifically having an area reminiscent of Harvey Specter's office meant the team knew music, including vinyl records, would play a role in the space. They've amassed a fairly extensive collection of records, mainly through donations from the community, that guests can play on the turntable.

"We got records dating back to the 20s. We got some 78s that obviously we can't use because they're not a current format, but, everything. There's all kinds of genres over there from big band all the way up to popular hits," Pool said. "If someone wants to play something, everything we have over there is very appropriate. You just put a record on and it will duck over the house music, and then as soon as the record stops, the house music will come back on."

What's on the menu at Two Doors Down Wine + Bistro?

Food at Two Doors Down embraces some of New York City's well known standards — the deli and pizza — while approaching them with the tools available to Thomas and his team.

"There's all sorts of cuisines in New York, but the deli is like the heart of New York culture if you really think about it. So naturally, we had to go with a bunch of different sandwiches," Thomas said. "I did a bit of research. I did a bit of time in Brooklyn and so there were a few key ones that we have to do."

The menu features sandwiches named for classic television characters chosen by the team as the options they thought those characters would eat. For dessert, the team is making in-house cannoli and sourcing Carnegie Deli cheesecake straight from New York through their vendors.

In addition to great cheesecake and sandwiches like the Ross and its counterpart the Rachel, the Andy Sipowicz and the Tony Soprano, you'll find salads, apps, and bistro-style pizzas — an option the team chose because the small kitchen in the space couldn't accommodate bringing in a full sized pizza oven. Thomas doesn't think the menu lacks due to space limitations, or anything else, though.

"Good food is good food. It doesn't necessarily have to be fine dining. It doesn't have to be sparkly and covered in glitter and brought to you on a silver plate," Thomas said. "Sometimes it's good in a basket with a nice piece of checkered paper."

For more information on Two Doors Down Wine + Bistro, visit https://twodoorsdown.biz/.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Symmetry launches second OKC restaurant in 10 months