What started as a business development opportunity in Bartlesville evolved into a pizza restaurant that became an instant hit when it opened in 2024. Now Tulsa diners have the opportunity to enjoy the popular pizza when Lollipops Woodfire & Grocery opens Friday.
“Tulsa’s home. I grew up a mile down the road. We raised our family here, and we were ready to get back home,” said Adrienne Kallweit, who co-owns the business with husband David. “We don’t want to end the story yet. There are just a lot of reasons why we’ve expanded here.”
There are 13 options of hand-tossed pizzas that can be served on a gluten-free crust when requested. There’s also a build-your-own pizza option. The menu also features many burgers, sandwiches and wraps to choose from, plus some appetizers and desserts.
For those looking for a lunch deal, there’s a daily $9 combo that includes a large slice, a drink and a side.
At the end of the meal, every diner receives a complimentary homemade lollipop. There’s also some for sale in the market along with other goods, including eggs from the Kallweits’ farm.
The restaurant is located at 5130 S. Lewis Ave. in a large building that for many years was a Goldie’s. It sat dormant for more than a decade before the Kallweits took on the project.
“Our day job is we find the craziest thing to remodel,” Adrienne said. “That’s really what we love.”
The interior was trashed by years of trespasser activities in the space. It needed an overhaul.
“We started tearing it out, and we tore one part out and realized that the next part wasn’t holding anything up, so we tore it out, and basically there was a building inside the building,” David said. “We tore it all out but the one supporting wall down the middle that holds the roof up, and that was it. Then we built it all back.”
Finding a hit
What was supposed to be one restaurant will soon be three concepts under one roof. It could have been an overwhelming project expansion, but the couple’s previous ventures prepared them for this moment.
Adrienne and David were developers who founded childcare referral service Seeking Sitters in 2004, growing it into a nationwide business. Then the COVID-19 pandemic started and they soon reverted back to their original day job. The Tulsa midtowners moved their family of nine to a farm and then, in 2022, took on a big project in downtown Bartlesville.
The plan was to gut a historic building and create multiple concepts, rent them out and move on to the next project. Adrienne researched rental rates and talked to prospective tenants. After months there were no leads. She was frustrated.
“I walked into the space while David was doing some demo, and I told him, ‘I can sell lollipops out of this blank space and make more money than rent goes in this town,’” Adrienne said. “We had flipped this gorgeous building and didn’t know how to package it as a renovated and finished building.”
The Kallweits decided they’d become restaurateurs. First came Palace Rooms, which offers upscale dining and an extensive cocktail menu overseen by their bar manager son, Canaan. Then, two years ago, they added Lollipops Woodfire & Grocery.
“You know something is a hit or not soon after it opens, and Palace Rooms did fine but it wasn’t like, ‘Oh my gosh let’s take this on the road,’” Adrienne said. “The minute we opened Lollipops it was a hit. I mean the minute we opened.”
There was a line out the door that kept happening for days straight, David added.
“We knew we had something cool there, and we knew we now had something expandable,” Adrienne said. “We missed our fun dining experiences in Tulsa and wanted to return.”
Speakeasy, live music on Lollipops’ menu
This weekend Lollipops opens on the north side of the building. There will be live music, giveaways and more festivities to celebrate the milestone. Hours are 10 a.m. to midnight.
In a month or so, Palace Rooms will open on the south side where diners used to enter the burger restaurant. Between them will be a speakeasy with private dining space that will soon feature live music and standup comedy. Once those come online, the extensive craft cocktail menu created by Canaan will carry over to Lollipops, which is starting with soft drinks, beer and wine.
The Kallweits are eager to start serving lots of pizza and then hand out their homemade candy at the end of each visit.
“We enjoy giving them out because it’s kind of like our nod to ‘find a way,’” Adrienne said. “If there’s a will, there’s a way.”
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