Every neighborhood needs a pub. In Tulsa, that pub is James E. McNellie’s Public House (known by the locals simply as McNellie’s). Styled after the Irish pubs that our founder Elliot Nelson fell in love with while studying abroad, McNellie’s debuted on St. Patricks’ Day 2004. It quickly became the center of the downtown Tulsa community.
Every pub needs a neighborhood. McNellie’s needed neighboring bars and restaurants to really bring the Tulsa community together, so in 2007 the group launched the Tex-Mex sensation El Guapo’s across the street. The Blue Dome district exploded over the next few years with the addition of Dilly Deli (rebranded in 2015 as Dilly Diner), the Asian-fusion flair of Yokozuna, Fassler Hall (a year-round nod to Oktoberfest), and the retro-style Dust Bowl Lanes & Lounge.
A few blocks north, the Tulsa Arts District was also poised for a resurgence. The Tavern, an upscale interpretation of the modern pub, is a fitting anchor for the burgeoning cultural scene. (If you promise to keep it a secret, we’ll help you get reservations at our speakeasy steakhouse, The Bull in The Alley.) Just a couple blocks down, you’ll find Elgin Park Brewery, which introduced house-brewed beers, New Haven-style pizza, and 50+ screens of sports to downtown Tulsa for the first time when they opened in 2016.
Our neighborhood expands beyond downtown Tulsa. We serve up our signature hospitality in restaurants in South Tulsa and the OKC area. By 2018, denizens of Little Rock, Arkansas were making Dust Bowl and Fassler their local watering holes.
Today, McNellie’s Group owns and operates over 20 locations across Oklahoma and Arkansas, and continues to grow into neighborhoods hungry for an authentic dining and entertainment experience.