Norman residents attended a meeting Thursday to discuss the development of a new restaurant at the northeast corner of Lindsey Street and Berry Road with project representatives.
Sean Rieger, of Rieger Law Group, presented the site plan for a 4,200 square foot restaurant. He said the project will eventually go to Norman City Council for two votes, one with discussion and one without. This item will appear before the planning commission before being placed on the council’s agenda.
Rick McKinney Jr., president of the McKinney Partnership Architects, works on the project. He spoke about the different iterations of the building in the last few years.
The property has appeared before council twice, both attempts to rezone for commercial development. In 2015, the company pitched a strip mall to council, though that faced backlash from surrounding neighbors. In 2022, council denied another commercial development on the property.
McKinney said Hal Smith Restaurants had “verbally” committed to the project when an attendee asked if Smith agreed to the proposal in writing. McKinney also said they haven’t decided on what cuisine the restaurant will serve, or if it would be another location of a pre-existing establishment.
McKinney said the parking lot will have 83 parking spaces. A residential developer to the east of the site requested there not be a wall between the residential area and the restaurant, McKinney said.
McKinney said sidewalks will be added on the borders of the parking lot for walkability.
For comparison, McKinney said the restaurant aims to be like The Mont on the corner of Classen Boulevard and Boyd Street with a patio next to the street.
Several residents voiced their opinions about the project during the meeting. One attendee asked for clarification on if something else could be built on the property if the site plan is approved. Rieger said they are restricted to what council approves, which would be only the restaurant and parking lot.
Another attendee said a new traffic study should be conducted for the site plan as the last one was conducted before there was a Starbucks on the southwest corner of Lindsey Street and Berry Road.
Most residents' complaints focused on traffic struggles on Berry Road because it is a two-lane residential street and an emergency service road.
According to Rieger, the project would appear before the planning commission in September at the earliest.
This article was edited by Peggy Dodd.
