Toby Keith To Open Bar And Grill In Area Casino

Fans flocked to the Cherokee Casino in Catoosa Tuesday to get a look at country music star Toby Keith. The casino announced it will open the fourth Toby Keith I Love this Bar & Grill restaurant. It's

Tuesday, June 5th 2007, 9:40 am

By: News On 6

Fans flocked to the Cherokee Casino in Catoosa Tuesday to get a look at country music star Toby Keith. The casino announced it will open the fourth Toby Keith I Love this Bar & Grill restaurant. It's part of a $125 million expansion at the hotel-casino resort. Nobody loves this bar and grill more than the Cherokee Nation. News On 6 business reporter Steve Berg reports it gives them star power for what is already a successful enterprise.

They love those bars and grills, but they really love the man behind them. Cheers and applause greeted Toby Keith in Catoosa, where the western Oklahoma native will open the fourth bar and grill with his name.

The first in Oklahoma City's Bricktown was a runaway hit, but two others away from his home turf in Las Vegas and Kansas City have done well too.

"Harrah's came to me about three years ago and made me an offer I couldn't understand, and they said put one of these in, and I did, and it's been blowing up ever since,â€ said Toby Keith. â€œThe thing tracks in the top five in gross every year, for all the restaurants in Vegas."

With those two other casino settings, the Cherokee Casino seems like a natural fit. The casino now has a huge draw for a big expansion including a 21-story hotel that dwarfs the existing one.

"Lot of due diligence, he checked us out, and he liked us," said David Stewart of
Cherokee Nation Enterprises.

â€œUsually menus that try to offer country, southern type cuisine, they miss the mark so bad you know, and we try to stay true to those Oklahoma, Arkansas, like the chicken-fry steak, like an Oklahoma chicken-fry steak. You can't get one of those anywhere," Keith said.

Restauranteur Hal Smith, who co-owns Keith's Bricktown restaurant, has opened more than a thousand restaurants in his career, and says the Tulsa area is a hotbed for restaurants.

"It's probably the best market in our chain,â€ said Smith. â€œIf you look at seat-by-seat sales, none compares really."

Fans will have to wait a while though. The restaurant here will not open until late 2008.

To see the "I Love This Bar And Grill" Oklahoma City restaurant website, click here.

Related story:

6/4/2007 - Toby Keith To Open 4th Restaurant At Cherokee Casino Resort

Watch the video:

Toby Keith Makes A Stop In Green Country To Announce Restaurant Plans

Web Extra: Extended Interview With Toby Keith