James E. McNellie’s Pub celebrates 20 years in downtown Tulsa

There wasn’t much happening in downtown Tulsa when Elliot Nelson decided to open an Irish Pub in the early 2000s.

He’d developed his first business plan as part of an entrepreneurship course in college and drew inspiration from trips to pubs in Ireland.

Nelson told KRMG the building at 1st and Elgin was not in the best shape when he first saw it.

“It was full of storage, all the walls were white, there was three feet of water in the basement and there was mold everywhere.” Nelson said sitting at one of the tables he purchased from overseas.

Not only did the building need a lot of attention, Nelson said there wasn’t much else around in terms of entertainment or restaurants.

Next door was a welding shop, next to that a machine shop, across the street was a book-binder and a cabinet maker... It was not where you’d build a restaurant.” Nelson said.

Construction started in 2002 when Nelson was 23-years-old. It wasn’t completed until he was 25 and McNellie’s finally opened in 2004. The first few years were lean, Nelson said, with alcohol sales keeping them afloat.

“Those early years, we were probably 65 to 70 percent alcohol sales.” Nelson said. “Today, we’re probably 55 or 60 percent food.”

But McNellie’s picked up steam and has been thriving for years. There are two other locations: South Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Even with the success of McNellie’s, Nelson’s entrepreneurial drive never slowed down. His McNellie’s Group now includes several other bars and restaurants, including Fassler Hall, Red Light Chicken, Jimmy’s Chophouse and more.

KRMG’s Full Access OK Podcast sat down with Nelson to discuss McNellie’s and his latest project, Santa Fe Square.

Click here to listen to the McNellie’s episode

Click here to listen to the Santa Fe Square episode