The Pump turned ten in December last year, just about the time founding partner Hailey McDermid was announcing that the beloved Uptown 23rd spot would be closing. For a decade, the patio was a popular haunt for one of OKC’s most eclectic crowds. The tater tots certainly helped, as did the abundant parking, and prime location. On a nice night, the patio would overflow to the edge of Walker, and you’d find people of all ages and backgrounds just enjoying a space that tended to be super chill, even when slammed. 

And then life took a turn, and the body blows started. COVID. Pregnancy. Postpartum depression. Some of those stories are personal, and McDermid said not all stories are hers to tell, but the ones that are, she tells willingly, because she believes that publicizing some of these struggles is important, beginning with the postpartum depression that kept her away from the place she founded and loved. 

“I loved my baby, and I love being a mom, but postpartum depression nearly took me out,” she said. “It’s not the baby blues, or something you just get over. For me it was like a psychosis.”

Roughly ten percent of women suffer the effects of PPD after giving birth, and the symptoms can range from mild to debilitating, including suicidal ideation and self-destructive behaviors. McDermid reached out for help, and now, with her daughter three and a half years old, she said she’s felt like herself “for about eight months.”

“At its worst, I’d pull up to The Pump, sit in my car, and go back home instead of working,” she said. “When I finally felt good enough to dive back in, I was faced with a failing business. I had tried to get a partner, including some well known names, but they didn’t work out, so when I posted that we were closing I didn’t expect the response. People offered all kinds of help, and I was grateful for all of the offers, but I joked with some that I didn’t need a bump; I needed a whole bag.”

Funny, yes. Inappropriate, in the best way. Accurate, absolutely. What McDermid needed was someone to come alongside her and co-operating partner Jade Travis with serious money. “The place needed a new vision, a new direction,” McDermid said. “A guy approached me with what seemed like a solution, and then he introduced me to his friend, and now they’re both investors, and the changes are going to be exciting.”

The new partners are Camden Smith, who was first to approach her, and Frank Johnson of JLF Consulting, a firm with decades of construction experience, which gives The Pump a real shot at a new story, and it begins with the ownership story. “We’re now officially Black owned and Jewish owned,” McDermid said. She is Jewish. “We’ve been joking how loved and hated a partnership with a Jewish woman and a Black man will be.” She laughs. “It’s a great story, and it’s even better because one of the new partners has a construction company, and his dad worked at the gas station that was in this building in the ‘70s.”

The planned changes will position The Pump to be a bar and restaurant in their spot just off NW 23rd, but the original aesthetic and vibe will remain. Phase one is already underway, and it’s what McDermid calls a “light facelift” – minor aesthetic changes to bar and bathrooms. Phase two begins this week, and it’s a kitchen remodel in anticipation of the new, expanded menu. 

“I told them it couldn’t just be tater tots,” she said. “I want heavy, delicious food. I want brunch. Chef Kathryn Mathis (Pizzeria Gusto) is helping with menu consultation, and we’re shooting for April 1 for the new food menu and kitchen completion. Aja Bowman will stay on as our kitchen manager, too.”

After the new kitchen and menu, the third phase will be the biggest project of the new Pump. “We’re going to enclose the south patio and add a second story, roof deck,” McDermid said. “That will take months, and I don’t really have an ETA yet.”

What The Pump will not be is a replica of the Tulsa spot that opened last year. McDermid did a quick franchise agreement to make that one happen, and she takes a cut of revenue, but for now at least, it’s a one-off deal, but she didn’t rule out another somewhere “eventually.” For now, McDermid and the old faithful regulars are just happy that The Pump will remain, the patio will remain, and yes, the tater tots are not going anywhere.