New Ownership Coming To Tulsa Restaurant, Bar After Former Co-Owner Was Arrested

A Tulsa restaurant that shut down when one of its owners was charged with sexually assaulting employees will soon reopen under new ownership.

The former Goat Restaurant and Bar will now be called The Gold Standard Bar and Kitchen and will open in a month.

“Out with the old, in with the gold” is the motto for the new Gold Standard Bar and Kitchen that is replacing what used to be The Goat Restaurant and Bar near 3rd and Kenosha in the East Village near Downtown Tulsa.

"I did love the building, I did put a lot of time and energy into the building,” said Ryan Rowland, who was a manager at the former restaurant until the summer of 2023.

"It just wasn't working out anymore,” said Rowland. “I didn't like the things going on."

Tulsa police arrested one of the former owners of the Goat, Nabil Alame, last April after several past employees reported sexual assaults and drug use happening in the restaurant and inside his nearby apartment.

Alame is out on bond with a GPS monitor.

His attorney Brett Swab told News On 6, "A comment at this time is not proper. The judicial process will provide a clear indication of the truth, and we look forward to that day."

Rowland, his fiancé Violet Ferrer and their friend Carlos Valdez said they have been trying to open a restaurant and bar for two years, so when the Goat shut down, they finally got the chance.

"It was a traumatic experience that happened for a lot of employees,” said Ferrer. “We don't want any type of resemblance to that at all, and it will be a different experience here altogether."

The new owners are changing the decor and the menu.

"We're trying to bring a new edge to Tulsa that you don't really see here,” said Ferrer. “We do intend to have bottle service, a lot of places in town do not have that as well. We will have seafood, such as oysters and salmon and lobster.”

Valdez's parents will also cook food native to Mexico.

"They're going to be running the kitchen and making sure that the Mexican is actually very authentic and tastes good and just like they know how to cook it,” said Valdez.

The new owners said they want to positively impact the community with their business.

"It's a growing community, and it's going to be golden,” said Rowland.

The business plans to have security on weekends and about 40 people on staff.

The owners said their next hiring event here is Aug. 4 at 1 to 6 p.m.