BLUEBONNET BAR ‘We have a bright future ahead of us’: Norman’s historic Bluebonnet Bar continues supporting local musicians amid COVID-19
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ucked away at the end of Main Street sits a bar and music venue older than most Norman residents. Despite the b a r ’s
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recent smoking ban, the scent of old cigarette smoke and the history attached to it lingers. As always, the Bluebonnet Bar sells some of the cheapest drinks in Norman. But the history, inclusivity and community it serves with every drink is priceless. The bar shut down in March, following Norman’s COVID-19 guidelines, and after 10 weeks the bar reopened with limited capacity. Months later, the bar is still open with half its normal seating but with all of its drive to remain a steady venue for Oklahoma musicians. Michelle Miller and her then-boyfriend Tanner Miller bought the bar in 2017, and while COVID-19 may have gotten in the way of a few months’ worth of income, since opening in the 1930s, Bluebonnet has seen and survived its fair share of economic
hardship and national unrest. “Everyone gets along while they’re at the Bluebonnet,” co-owner Michelle Miller said. A day at the Bluebonnet begins with its opening at noon, and then the older generation comes in to play dominoes and watch “Jeopardy!” at 3:30 p.m., Michelle said. After they leave, people in their 20s, 30s and 40s shuffle in after work. By night, music from the evening’s musical act and people of every age fill the bar. Manager and bartender Chris Levings said the variety of clientele forms a tight-knit community, and with that community comes a sense of safety and tolerance. “You should feel comfortable being able to come down here by yourself and not be worried that something’s gonna happen. ... We have a lot of people who return just because they’re like, ‘This is one of the first places I’ve ever felt welcome being me,’” Levings said. “That’s really nice and heartwarming to hear.” Outside the bar, under a glowing purple and green “OPEN” sign, hangs a sign noting, “We stand with you. You are safe here,” and a few more with social justice-related messages. Michelle said bigotry is a rare occurrence for those who come inside the Bluebonnet Bar. “Everyone is welcome. ... Once you’re in the bar it’s just a place for everyone to just escape the outside world ... (and) the chaos,” Michelle said. Michelle said the bar’s message isn’t about politics — it’s about acceptance. “If you wanna make people feel bad for who they are ... there’s other places to drink,” Michelle said. COVID-19 may have closed the bar for a short time, but Michelle said the sense of community didn’t lessen. Michelle and Tanner both work full-time jobs outside of the bar and were able to fund Bluebonnet through the closure. For them, Bluebonnet is a worthy investment to save — the same worthy investment they made a few years ago when they came up with the cash to buy it in the first place. “We love that bar. If they close it ever, it’s not gonna be on our watch. … We were just not gonna
BY ABBY TOW
let COVID get in the way,” Miller said. Before Michelle and Tanner took over, Levings said the then cash-only, beer-only Bluebonnet wasn’t exactly her speed — she wasn’t a beer-lover, didn’t fit in with the older clientele and rarely saw the bar full. But Levings had been friends with Michelle long before the Millers bought the bar, and she knew they would do something special with the historic joint. Michelle and Tanner, now married, have made major renovations to Bluebonnet — including getting a liquor license and credit card capabilities — but they aren’t trying to turn the historic bar into something that it isn’t. “It’s the oldest bar in Norman, and we don’t want it to feel or even look like a newborn, ’cause it’s not,” Michelle said. While some things have changed, the pool tables and shuffleboards from its older days remain in the bar, along with loyal patrons and the title of the oldest bar in Norman. The new no-smoking rules, a garage door for the bar’s patio and knocking out the drop-ceiling to reveal the ductwork above the bar were moves to make the space more welcoming for patrons, employees and musicians. “We were always just afraid to go non-smoking because we thought we would lose a bunch of regulars,” Michelle said. “Then COVID happened, and we saw what it was like to make zero dollars for 10 weeks ... we were like, when we reopen let’s go ahead and go non-smoking.” Feedback has been positive, Michelle said, but some patrons were lost to the change. However, the clientele remains a mixed bag of ages and demographics. Levings said the bar’s success with maintaining their patrons through an ownership shift a few years prior to the pandemic assured her Bluebonnet would be OK. It also didn’t hurt that Bluebonnet has earned its stripes as a decades-old establishment. “That itself showed we can pull ourselves out of anything. ... Y’know, keep the historic Bluebonnet feel but get up to speed with everyone else,” Levings said. Losing money during the closure was stressful for businesses downtown, Levings said, but some of Bluebonnet’s regulars and other service workers looked out for each other. Part of reopening in July and staying operational meant being mindful of Bluebonnet’s older and immunocompromised patrons, Levings said. Half
