Uptown bar owner says, “Gay or straight, let’s have a drink.”
by Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief
When Greg Seal had a dream to open a bar, he wasn’t thinking about the sexual orientation of the people he would serve. He doesn’t look at people that way. It’s not the way either of his grandfathers’ taught him to look at people.
“Some of the lessons I learned from my granddads were that there are no such things as a stranger, everyone is welcome at the table, the Golden Rule and those basics in life,” said Greg Seal, co-owner of “Grandad’s,” located in Oklahoma City’s Uptown District.
Seal has worked at and managed several bars and said now that he is fortunate enough to get his own place and have a go at it, he made the bar a tribute to his own grandfather’s Kenneth Seal &Harvey Parrish and the lives they led.
“It’s about the examples they set and the way that I watched them interact with people.”
That’s where Seal learned, among other core values, his acceptance of the LGBT community.
Exegetical core values are why Seal and his wife, Jennifer, attend Mayflower Congregational Church, UCC in OKC. Greg drives the Mayflower van in OKC Pride parade each year.
“I think this bar has a unique atmosphere. I have tried to recreate the ambiance from my childhood [from the ‘70’s] and I think there’s a lot people can connect to,” adds Seal. “There is a nostalgic sense that I think people will be fond of. We are not trying to be trendy or anything with the latest of ‘parsley & vodka.’ It’s back to basics with traditional focus on community and conversation.”
Bookended by the Oklahoma state capital and Oklahoma City University on the east and west, the Uptown District is an area near mid-23rd Street which includes many trendy new venues and several ethnic shops.
Grandad’s is a full service bar serving well drinks, draft beer and beer in cans; “Because that’s how granddad drank it!”
Perhaps unlike the days of granddad, the bar will be non-smoking, and will have internet access.
The bar is located 317 NW 23th in the Uptown District. For info, visit www.grandadsbar.com or the direct bar number is (405) 604-0922.