There’s been plenty of buzz and speculation surrounding the highly-anticipated Classen Curve, the newly developed retail and restaurant center in Oklahoma City, and with good reason.
Have you seen this place? Unique architecture, chic restaurants and retail rivaling Fifth Avenue. Anyone familiar with Rand Elliott’s work (i.e. Pop’s, Chesapeake Boathouse, RED Prime Steak) realizes this place screams “Rand”- sharp angles, large windows, open layout. He created the entire complex to look like a trophy case, which is fitting considering the products are worthy of display - Balliets, Uptown Kids, Café 501, RePUBlic Gastropub, Upper Crust, On a Whim, Red Coyote, Metro Shoes, 105 Degrees, and who can forget the soon-to-be Whole Foods.
Walking along the shops at Classen Curve will take you back to a time when window shopping was king and individualized customer service was standard. Chesapeake Energy President Aubrey McClendon, the developer of Classen Curve, envisioned creating a “modern Main Street”. The intimate experience of Classen Curve is exactly what consumers are missing in this superstore society. In talking with some tenants about the design of their stores, I noticed a pattern. They each referred to their stores as art. When you walk into Balliets or even Uptown Kids, you get the sense that these products are not just clothes on hangers, but true works of art. Gary Goldman of Uptown Kids told me that Rand designed the store with that particular concept in mind, framing the products in such a way that it feels more like attending an art gallery than shopping!
So, I suggest you go ahead and skip the art gallery and head on over to Classen Curve and see what all the buzz is about!
