Jul. 24—Joplin is getting a new brewery/restaurant.
Bricktown Brewery could open before Thanksgiving at 3030 S. Range Line Road. This is the site of the former On The Border Mexican Grill and Cantina, which closed in October 2019 after a three-year run.
Work to renovate the property, which Bricktown leased because it was not for sale, began Wednesday. A $200,000 permit was issued last month by the city to Lorenz Construction to begin the work.
A Bricktown spokesman told me the company, founded in 1992, is in an expansion mode, but "the tremendously successful" opening of a Bricktown in Springfield made finding a site in Joplin a priority. In fact, the president of the company, W.G. "Buck" Warfield, recently said he believes he can double the size of Bricktown's locations within the next 36 months.
The Bricktown in Joplin will be similar to the one in Springfield, which opened about three years ago. When that restaurant opened, the company said it was eyeing Joplin as a target market.
So far, Bricktown has 18 locations in five states. Most of them are in Oklahoma. The Joplin restaurant will be the second in Missouri. Of those sites, 15 have been failed or underperforming restaurants that have been converted to Bricktowns.
"We have been looking at Joplin for two years. We are tickled to be there," the spokesman told me.
Bricktown will offer a broad selection of small plates, burgers, sandwiches, artisan-style pizza, salad and soups. It also will feature what it calls "big plates" of chicken, meatloaf and seafood.
Bricktown also is doing experimental things in the kitchen to respond to consumer tastes and new interests — things like fried avocados and boom-boom shrimp. Each Bricktown has a large number of taps for beers crafted in Bricktown vats, and by other local and regional beer crafters.
New shop
If everything goes as planned, The Wizard of Paws Pet Grooming will open next month in a storefront at 1510 S. Main St. This is the site of the former My Sister's Closet Consignment & Boutique of JOMO, now located in the former Radio Shack property at 731 S. Maiden Lane.
Kobie McGuirk has been grooming all breeds of dogs and cats in her Duenweg home for the past decade or so. She got her start and training in grooming with PetSmart about 15 years ago.
McGuirk, a lifetime resident of the Joplin area, said she is thrilled to be opening a shop on Main Street.
"I love downtown Joplin and want to see it grow," she said.
She said she became aware of the property's availability through a client.