The former bank building that will hold The Vault restaurant at 624 S. Cincinnati Ave. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
Libby Auld, chef-owner of Elote Café in downtown Tulsa, said Thursday that she is planning a mid-August opening for her second restaurant, The Vault, at 624 S. Cincinnati Ave.
"The build out should be finished by July 15, and then it's just furniture and training," Auld said. "We should open mid August.
"The building rehab is going well -- new elevator, sprinkler system, vent hood and much more. It has been tough to turn a solid concrete bank into a restaurant, but it is going to be worth it."
The building where the restaurant is located opened in July 1959 as the First National Autobank, one of the largest and most modern autobanks in the country at the time.
The building included the Tom Tom Room, where up to 200 groups held meetings each year, according to Tulsa World archives.
"We participated in Top of the Town recently," Auld said. "We made Mai Tai's and served bruschetta from the Tom Tom Room balcony. It was very well received, and I heard over and over that people never knew what a unique building we had tucked away."
Auld said The Vault will retain its mid-century modern look, and the menu will reflect favorite dishes from that era, some traditional and some with modern twists.
Auld said Jenny Bradley, a native Tulsan who has lived on the East Coast the past 10 years and has been bartending in New York, will return to Tulsa to be The Vault's lead bartender.
"She is going to be an amazing asset to The Vault," Auld said.
At this point, Auld said she expects to have the restaurant open for lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday.
Auld opened Elote Café & Catering, a restaurant specializing in Mexican-inspired food, as a lunch spot in 2008 at 514 S. Boston Ave. She added dinner about a year later.
