James D. Watts Jr.
Tulsa World Scene Reporter
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Smalls Sliders, an Atlanta-based chain specializing in pint-sized cheeseburgers, will open its first Tulsa location 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16.
The restaurant, housed in distinctive orange, container-style buildings called “cans,” serves cooked-to-order small cheeseburgers topped with pickles and a special sauce, waffle fries with a queso dipping sauce, Coca-Cola products and milkshakes. The sliders are available in combos of one to four burgers.
Tulsa businessman Kyle Abrusley is the owner of the Tulsa franchise for Smalls Sliders at 619 W. 71st St., near the corner of West 71st Street and Elwood Avenue. He told the Tulsa World that his reasons for getting involved with Smalls Sliders were: “I liked the fact that the burgers are made to order and that, frankly, they looked delicious. … I thought the look of the shops was cool, and as I learned more about the business, I was really impressed with the company’s approach to customer service.”
He added, “I also liked the fact that Brandon Landry and Drew Brees were behind it.”
Landry founded the Walk-On’s chain of restaurants, and former New Orleans Saints star quarterback Brees was a co-owner of that business.
To celebrate the opening of the Tulsa Smalls Sliders, the first 100 guests at the Tulsa Can will receive a pair of slides in the company’s distinctive “Smorange” color. The grand opening festivities will also feature a special check presentation to representatives from the Can’s Smalls Town Hero, Sean Lord.
Lord is the co-founder and president of Heroes Hope, a Tulsa nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating veteran homelessness across the state. The nonprofit provides food, housing and employment resources to veterans in need.
Abrusley said he has several more Smalls Sliders planned for locations throughout the Tulsa area.
“Smalls is all about bold flavor, fun energy and supporting the community, and we’re excited to kick things off by honoring a local hero doing important work right here in our hometown,” he said. “We can’t wait to expand across Oklahoma and introduce even more residents to the brand’s iconic sliders.”
Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
smallssliders.com
The Donut Hole closes
The Donut Hole, 3305 S. Peoria Ave., which has been a popular place for those wishing to satisfy their pastries cravings from early in the morning until late at night, announced in a Facebook post that it has closed.
The shop opened in the Brookside entertainment district in 2017, offering traditional glazed and iced yeast and cake doughnuts, as well as fritters, cinnamon rolls, crullers, jam-filled doughnuts, sausage rolls and doughnut holes. It also featured in thematically decorated pastries, such as doughnuts designed to look like characters from the “Star Wars” films and the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise.
In October 2022, the Donut Hole was the target of two acts of vandalism. The first attack resulted in the shop’s front door and window being smashed and its register and other electronic equipment stolen. The incendiary device caused minimal damage; a young man was later arrested and convicted of the crime, which was motivated by events at the Donut Hole that involved drag performers.
The Facebook post, which is signed simply “Sarah,” states: “After taking some pretty significant hits this year and a recent ER visit with new health problems, I’ve made the painful decision to close the shop. I’ve fought and fought, but I’m hurt and tired, and I just don’t have the strength to keep fighting. Running a small business is a grind; running it mostly alone while trying to manage my health is crushing, and has taken more out of me than I can fix by sheer will.”
The post thanks the shop’s customers, which “were the tiny bit of joy that got me through the hardest days,” as well the Brookside community that rallied to support the Donut Hole in the wake of the vandalisms. “Your support literally saved us,” the post states.
“This shop was my life,” the post concludes. “I’m grateful for every single person who came through. For a kid who came from nothing and has been through so much trauma and loss, I’m proud of how far I was able to make it. I’m sorry to anyone I’ve let down.”
Owners of the Donut Hole did not respond to requests for additional comment before press time.
Sunday Wine Dinner
Little Venice, 208 N. Main St. in Sand Springs, will host a special Sunday Wine Dinner at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 21.
The menu begins with roasted eggplant Parmigiano with tomato sauce and mozzarella, followed by mushroom-stuffed gnocchi in a butter and herb sauce.
The main course will be a grilled New York strip steak with a cherry sauce. Dessert is a flourless chocolate cake.
The wines that will accompany the dinner are from Cantina Pizzolato, an Italian winery that has been producing organic wines exclusively since 1991.
Cost is $68 per person, and reservations are required. To reserve: 918-514-0134.
OKC’s Bar Sen makes NYTimes best list
The lone Oklahoma entry in the recently published “America’s Best Restaurants” list from the New York Times is Bar Sen, the latest concept from multiple James Beard Award-nominee Jeff Chanchaleune.
This is the second time Chanchaleune has made the list. His first restaurant, Ma Der Lao Kitchen, was on the 2022 list, and he was a finalist for the Best Chef Southwest Award at the 2023 and 2024 James Beard Awards.
Chanchaleune opened Bar Sen in February 2025. In his assessment of the restaurant, New York Times writer Eric Asimov wrote: “The food at this dark, bustling barroom with a sunny patio seamlessly balances contrasting flavors — cool lime, soothing sweet-and-sour tamarind, funky fish sauce, hot chiles and punchy fried shallots and garlic. Yum sen lown, a buoyant glass noodle salad with shrimp and ground pork served cold, epitomizes the effortless complexity that is Mr. Chanchaleune’s specialty. But don’t miss that chicken soup, rich, intricate and almost milky with thick, chewy rice noodles. A pandan cinnamon roll under a blizzard of pecan and coconut is a perfectly proportioned sweet finale.”
Bar Sen is located next door to Ma Der Lao Kitchen, which is at 1634 N. Blackwelder Ave., in Oklahoma City.
barsenokc.com, maderlaokitchen.com.
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
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James D. Watts Jr.
Tulsa World Scene Reporter
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