Good news and bad this weekend from the 405 diningscape

Ma Der family announces growth; Alma appears to have gone dark after just three months

We start your Sunday with good news: The Plaza District’s Ma Der Lao Kitchen is having a baby sister next door.

Chef/owner Jeff Chanchaleune has long had his eye on the space next door to his nationally renowned Lao cuisine restaurant and at last he’s got it in his clutches. With a new lease in hand, Chanchaleune will open Bar Sen as soon as possible.

Sen is the Laotian word for noodles, which Chanchaleune told me long ago would be at the center of the menu for this 20-seater. After The Mule vacated its original home in late 2022, Chanchaleune told me he had an idea for  noodle bowl concept he hoped to install in the space. However, when Norman’s Sideline Sports Bar & Grill jumped in to sign a lease to expand its brand, Chanchaleune was left to wait.

Sideline closed that second location earlier this year, and on Saturday, Chanchaleune announced via social media that his noodle bowl concept was coming soon. Janae Williams of The Oklahoman wrote a nice short item on the announcement.

Now for a real gut-punch: Alma appears to have closed barely three months after opening. One of 2024’s most anticipated new restaurants, an announcement was posted to its social media account Friday night that read:

“We have decided to close our doors at Alma. We would like to thank our bar manager, bartenders, servers, sous chef, line cooks and last but not least our dishwasher Glenda for making this place a success. It is just time to move on to what is important in our mission in life and what we are called to do. Non-profits, helping the homeless and helping women and children that need help in our community. We wish everyone the best and THANKS to all our customers that came and enjoyed some delicious food at our place! Never stop supporting local farms and local restaurants they all need your help in this community. We love you and thanks!”

But Sunday morning, that post was gone with no update in its place. Nevertheless, no brunch was served on Sunday.

Despite chef Zach Hutton and his wife/general manager Kayla pouring themselves into the venture with local business developer Trent Ward, warning signs flashed from the start. On the night a storm blew threw downtown leaving Alma without power, I had dinner at the restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t even a week old, and Hutton was already embroiled in staff drama. Kitchen walkouts on the eve of opening weekend followed by wage disputes played out online ultimately foreshadowed an abbreviated shelf-life for Alma.

Never had anything in the vicinity of a bad meal in three visits to Alma, but whatever tumult was boiling under the surface kept this unpolished gem from finding its shine.

There’s no explanation for the post’s disappearance today. Ward did oversee a protracted closing of GHST. He cycled through several chefs, including Hutton, before closing down the spot at Hudson and NW 7^th Street. Stay tuned.

Michelin stars retained

Id Est Hospitality, the umbrella restaurant group that purchased Nonesuch in June, learned this weekend that its restaurants with Michelin stars have retained them in the 2024 Michelin Guide. Besides Nonesuch, Id Est owns six restaurants in Colorado. Bruto and The Wolf’s Tailor have Michelin stars. Congratulations to owners Kelly and Erika Whitaker.

Better late than never? Nah

The Pappas family gained approval from the Oklahoma City Planning Commission to construct a multimillion-dollar mixed-use retail development that would include a Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen last week, and I really have a tough time caring.

Like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse before it, Pappadeaux has flirted with this market for decades. When the flirtation started back in the early 2000s, it might’ve meant something to have a Pappadeaux in Oklahoma City. Now the Pappas family owns more than 90 restaurants, and frankly they ain’t what they used to be.

This latest deal appears more promising than previously signed letters of intent around the 405 because the Pappas family bought the real estate. That’s also why Pappadeaux ain’t what it used to be.

Corporate restaurants are a façade for commercial real estate ventures. Pappadeaux’s expansion is based on a reputation built in restaurants from the 1990s, but the company’s focus has been real estate development for at least a decade and a half.

Sure, it’s easy to see why a bank or city commission would buy the brand’s pitch. It will draw crowds. For a while. Pretty soon, folks will recognize Pappadeaux for what it’s become: A churched-up Red Lobster with Cajun accoutrements.

But folks around here have just about champed right through the bit waiting for a Pappadeaux, and the 405 packed out the restaurant with Gordon Ramsay’s name on it when it arrived. Same for the one Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss opened here about a decade ago.

Ramsay’s place continues, but reservations aren’t near as hard to get as they used to be, but the boys from Kiss had to break up the band awhile back. This one will be interesting to track.

The Food Dood Feed has plenty on its way this week. Look for a news dispatch on Monday, Pizzabout on Wednesday, and an introduction to Jared Gleaton on Sunday.