The space at 733 NW 23rd St. sits inside Bungalow 23, the group of repurposed, brightly painted bungalows and a garden at the 731 address. It has had a short run of tenants. Chino's Mexicano opened there in October 2025 and closed in late August 2026. Chick-N-Beer is next, coming back as CNB Kitchen. Its original location at 715 NW 23rd closed in January.
All of this happened on a street that has been under construction since January. The new NW 23rd is supposed to be done in 2027. The businesses that will line it are already picking their spots.
One Address, One Year of Turnover
Here is the Bungalow 23 sequence in order. The Oklahoman's fall restaurant roundup on Oct. 7 reported the end of it.
- October 2025: Chino's Mexicano opens at 733 NW 23rd St. inside Bungalow 23.
- December 2025: Chick N Beer at 715 NW 23rd says its last service will be New Year's Eve, as The Oklahoman reported. It closes in January 2026.
- Late August 2026: Chino's Mexicano closes without giving a reason and thanks its customers.
- October 2026: Chick-N-Beer announces it will return as CNB Kitchen in the former Chino's space at 733 NW 23rd St. The menu will be smaller, but it keeps the gluten-friendly, potato flour-dredged, double-fried wings. No opening date has been announced.
The move is shorter than it looks. When 405 Magazine wrote about Bungalow 23's plans in January 2023, the team behind the complex was Chick N Beer owner Truong Le and his partners Vincent Le, Ty Hamilton and Lincoln Clay. Relocating Chick N Beer was part of that original plan. CNB Kitchen is landing in the property its own founder helped create, a short walk from its old door.
A Second Opening, a Few Blocks East
On Oct. 17, Cap City Coffee opened at 417 NW 23rd St., according to The Oklahoman's opening-day photo gallery. The shop is owned and run by the nonprofit Bring Life OKC. KFOR's coverage focused on its community mission and included comments from OKC Community Church pastor Tim Mannin.
Cap City Coffee opened on NW 23rd before the street it serves is finished, and CNB Kitchen has committed to an address on the same stretch on the same timeline.
The Street Under All of This
The work running past these doors is a $9.3 million partnership between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the City of Oklahoma City. It covers about a mile of NW 23rd, from Western Avenue to Broadway Avenue. The Uptown 23rd District's announcement said construction would start Jan. 12, 2026, and take about 18 months. The money comes from an Association of Central Oklahoma Governments grant and the City's 2017 General Obligation Bond Program.
Eighteen months from mid-January points to roughly the middle of 2027. By the end of October, the project is a little past the halfway mark of that estimate. In August, The Oklahoman reported that city officials still expected NW 23rd to be finished in 2027.
Here is what the finished street will have, according to the city's project page:
- No center median. Removing it allows shorter crossings and wider sidewalks that meet ADA standards.
- A new traffic signal at Hudson Avenue, along with new streetlights and more bus stops.
- Street trees. The plan calls for 141 between Western and Broadway, including 116 new shade trees and 25 existing sidewalk trees that will stay.
- Resurfaced pavement, plus a new waterline replacing an aging one between Western and Lee Avenue.
The tree numbers show the biggest change. The four blocks between Lee Avenue and Harvey Avenue that currently have a median have 11 sidewalk trees. When the project is done, those same four blocks are planned to have 76.
Where the Work Stood at the Last City Update
The city's most recent monthly bulletin is the August 2026 update, sent Aug. 13. It listed some finished items and the work planned for the following four weeks.
| Segment | Finished as of the August update | Planned in the 4-week look-ahead |
|---|---|---|
| Western to Lee | Sanitary sewer work | Not listed |
| Lee to Dewey | Sidewalk and driveway placement | Not listed |
| Walker to Dewey | Work ongoing | Driveway placement |
| Walker to Hudson | Not listed | Sidewalk and parking placement |
| Hudson to Harvey | Not listed | Hudson closure for inlet installation; sidewalk, driveway and parking placement |
| Harvey to Robinson | Storm sewer at Robinson, south side | Full Harvey Avenue closure; curb, sidewalk, driveway and parking placement; Robinson southbound access restored near the end of the phase |
| Robinson to Broadway | Not listed | Eastbound full closure begins, with demolition and subgrade work ahead of paving |
The August update didn't call any full block finished. Each segment had some items done and others still ahead. On the east end, News 9 reported on Oct. 2 that NW 23rd was down to one lane in each direction between North Broadway and North Robinson. A News 9 roundup on Oct. 8 said ODOT's listed end date for that restriction had already passed. Lane patterns on this project change from phase to phase, so the city's subscription page for project updates is the most reliable way to check current conditions before you head out.
What the Businesses Already Here Have Said
The new arrivals are joining a street where the established businesses have been open about how the construction has gone.
In June, News 9 reported that the work outside Basil Mediterranean Cafe was finished and that construction had moved west toward BoomTown Creamery.
Later that month, KOCO reported that crews had pushed the work outside BoomTown Creamery back to fall, and that Big Truck Tacos planned a temporary closure from June 29 to July 5 so crews could reach its property.
That puts the BoomTown Creamery work in the current season. Back in March, KFOR reported that Pizzeria Gusto was staying open through the nearby road work.
None of these businesses has said why Chino's Mexicano or the original Chick N Beer closed. Chino's gave no reason, and the construction may have had nothing to do with it. The street has been torn up since January. The businesses already on it have been working around closures that move block by block. A coffee shop and a returning wing restaurant are still choosing 23rd anyway.
The Same Pattern One Corridor North
Up the road, the 39th Street district along Route 66 is adding new businesses too. 405 Magazine's October Table Talk reported two new bars there, a block apart:
- The Veil, 2125 NW 39th St., a gothic-themed lounge with live entertainment and cocktails such as the Desert Ritual.
- Sissy Cocktail Lounge, 2215 NW 39th St., with billiards, karaoke, DJs and craft cocktails.
On both streets, new operators are moving into districts that already have an established identity.
Who Will Be There When the Barriers Come Down
The finished NW 23rd will have shade trees where there's a median now, a signal at Hudson and wider sidewalks. The businesses committing to the corridor now will be among the first on that finished street. Cap City Coffee has been serving since Oct. 17 at 417 NW 23rd. CNB Kitchen has its address at 733 NW 23rd and its wings recipe, and it is waiting on an opening date. In Bungalow 23 alone, the next tenant has been chosen before the paving is done.
A street that changes in phases also changes what nearby homes look like to buyers along the way. If you own near Uptown 23rd and want to know how a half-finished corridor, and then a finished one, affects how your home shows and prices, Gina & Joseph Underwood can walk you through it block by block. Start with a Free Home Valuation, and we'll build a clear plan around what's actually happening outside your front door.
