By Pamela Grady
OKCBusiness

Nearly a year after Norman City Council named downtown Norman’s arts district “The James Garner Corridor,” additional business have joined in on the synergism that is taking over the Main Street area that spans from University Boulevard to Porter Avenue.

Restaurateurs Gil Gentry, chef, and Derek Kordeoiski are a prime example. They plan to open Copia on the Corridor, an American, continental-style eatery at 326 E Main.

“The area’s really turned into an arts district here,” Gentry said. “I would say it’s bringing another side of art to Main Street. There are several art galleries…starting all the way from The Depot. Naming it the James Garner Corridor is helping bring some folks back to downtown Norman instead of all business going to I-35.”

The restaurant will boast a warm red and yellow color scheme with a gold tin ceiling, crown molding, wood flooring and original artwork for sale. Jazz will be the theme of the music selection.

The owners say they will open with only eight over-sized tables, room for approximately 32 people.

“We want people to have enough room and not feel crammed,” Kordeoiski said. “We want people to enjoy the dining experience.”

The restaurant will be open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday thru Friday, and will open during evening hours exclusively for private events and engagements. Prices during lunch will range from $7.50 to $14.50.

“In the beginning, the vision was a lot smaller – food, beverage, more café-like – and then it kind of expanded to let’s use our lunches to make some money but at the same time let’s show off what we can do at night,” Kordeoiski said.

The James Garner Corridor also brings a specialty foods shop to the area.

In September 2006, husband and wife Steve Reynolds and Suzy Thompson opened Forward Foods at 123 E Main.

“We wanted a historic neighborhood, and narrowed it down to Campus Corner and Main Street because they’re both pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods,” Thompson said. “We ended up taking the Main Street location.”

The shop carries a variety of specialty foods that are in demand, but unavailable elsewhere in the area, they say.

Forward Foods carries more than 200 varieties of cheese from all over the world with approximately 100 varieties in stock at a given time, including Garrotxa, a goat- milk cheese produced in northern Spain, and Roaring Forties Blue, an Australian blue cheese.

As well, the store carries fresh flowers, Farrell Family Organic breads, a bakery based in Tulsa, various spices, European condiments and preserves, 15 types of olives, pastas in bulk from Rustichella d’Abruzzo, high-end oils and vinegars also in bulk and heirloom beans and rice varieties such as Thailand’s Purple Sticky Rick, Green Bamboo Rice, Middle Eastern Couscous and Lebanese Couscous.

Cheese-related hardware also is available, as is Mrs. Meyers cleaning and laundry products.

“People drive down from Edmond to buy those (Mrs. Meyers products),” Thompson said. “We walk a fine line to also try to be a neighborhood grocery store for people who live around this area, so we still carry staple items.”

Hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday thru Saturday, and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday.