SOUNDPONY

The SOUNDPONY is a bar located in the Brady Arts District of downtown Tulsa. The venue is known for its intimate space, live music, and sponsorship of cycling and other sporting events. It is located two doors down from the world-famous Cain’s Ballroom, 3 blocks from the Brady Theater, and 0.5 mi from the BOk center arena.

Owned by Mike Wozniak and Josh Gifford, the bar was one of the first businesses, along with Caz’s and McNellie’s, to initiate the revitalization of Tulsa’s downtown nightlife in the mid-2000s. It was selected best venue for original live music from Urban Tulsa’s “Best of Tulsa” in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and the club has been featured in issues of Southern Living, Spin,Reuters, and the China Shop blog.

Located at 409 N. Main St. in Tulsa, The SOUNDPONY is open, as its door says, at “3-ish” until close around 2am. It sports a shot-gun style layout of 1500 sq feet, not including a back outdoor patio with a view of the Tulsa skyline. Featuring a full bar, the bar also carries Marshall (Tulsa), Coop (OKC), and Boulevard (KC) beers on tap, a large bottled beer selection, darts, retro video games, and a turntable and mic behind the bar, which is used for Tuesday’s trivia night. Sometimes the bar facilitates consignment bike sales.

Mike Wozniak and Josh Gifford met in Norman where they worked at Chili’s circa 1994. After both moving to Tulsa, they bartendered together at Empire Bar and the Brook, where they aspired to have their own establishment so that they could have a venue for their own creative endeavors in music and video. Eventually, they started a company called Creative Juices that made wedding videos and art.

To finance the bar, they took out personal lines of credit that were secured by Josh’s life insurance policy and Mike’s house. Doug Dijarne at Bank of Oklahoma handled the financing. Contractor Mickey Payne found the space near Cain’s, noting it would be a good spot because the ticket line from Cain’s often stretches past the space that was to become the bar.

Once money and name were in place, Mike and Josh enlisted the help of Duvall Architects (the firm that also designed Vintage 1740 and the Dust Bowl in Tulsa) and contractor Mickey Payne of Happy Hammer, along with Roger Condray welder who did much of the bar’s fixtures and signs. Artist Anne-Marie Foy did the iconic SOUNDPONY moss sign inside the bar.

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Wikipedia