El Guapo Takes Dining To New Heights

Friday, July 27th 2007, 8:51 pm

By: News On 6

Downtown Dining has reached new heights, or should we say different heights with the opening of El Guapo Mexican Restaurant. News On 6 business reporter Steve Berg reports El Guapo combines a good view with some great food.

We asked El Guapo owner Elliott Nelson what the toughest part is about renovating a 100-year-old building.

"It was all pretty difficult. I think the theme of construction was round peg, square hole, y'know," he said.

But Nelson, who did the same thing a few years ago with McNellie's, says he never changed his mind about restoring these old buildings. And preservationists are glad he hasn't.

"Nah, nah, if you walk around and take a tour of the building, you can't build 'em like this," El Guapo owner Elliott Nelson said.

El Guapo is Spanish for the handsome one, and the transformation of the building, if you compare the before with the after, is pretty stunning. And customers are taking notice.

"The dÃ©cor, it's really different,â€ customer Donna Laughlin said. â€œIt's very cool, and it's got all the piÃ±atas hanging from the ceilings. It's really kind of fun."

What really sets El Guapo apart though is itâ€™s Tulsa's only rooftop dining, and Nelson says there's already a rush to the roof.

"People love it,â€ he said. "How many people can we fit up there, the Fire Marshal just left so I'm sure he'll be watching."

"We need something like that, and especially whenever the weather's a little bit cooler, I think it'll be utilized very well. But it's really neat," Laughlin said.

The Mayor's office is encouraging people to support the downtown restaurant scene because they'd like to have a solid entertainment core when the BOK Center opens. But the current crop of pubs and eateries is already proving to be a resilient bunch.

"We've got, there's a lot of stick-to-it-ness I guess you would say," said Nelson. "People come down, eat somewhere else, come have a drink or vice-versa. It makes it a lot easier when you've got power in numbers."

"To keep downtown revitalized, it's important to have more options," said Laughlin.

Nelson now has two restaurants and a nightclub at 1st & Elgin, and he is hinting there might be even more to come.

El Guapo is located at 332 East 1st Street in downtown Tulsa. For more information about El Guapo, visit their web site, www.elguaposcantina.net.

Watch the video: El Guapo Open For Business

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