Roosevelt's On Tulsa's Cherry Street Transforms For Christmas Season: 'It Is Phenomenal'

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas on Tulsa's Cherry Street.

Twinkling lights glow in the windows and on the buildings of several restaurants in midtown, but one goes the extra mile to make its customers smile.

Roosevelt's has gone all out decorating for the holidays for the last six years.

"Christmas is a special feeling, special time and we wanted something that people could kind of forget about their problems for a little bit," said one of the restaurant's partners, Josh Royal.

Debbie Reynolds made the trip from Fort Worth, Texas, to visit her granddaughter and great-granddaughter in Tulsa. They took her to Roosevelt's for the first time.

"I walked in the door taking pictures, it is wonderful," said Reynolds.

She was not the only one in the restaurant mesmerized by the decorations.

"This is our first time, and it is phenomenal," said Tammi Bradley and her husband Daniel. "It is quite a showcase walking off the street and seeing this."

The couple lives in Jennings but were invited out to eat by Bradley's sister-in-law.

"Daniel is actually going through some treatment at the hospital so we are staying here, and she just treated us and got us out of the room," said Bradley.

She adds the pictures of Roosevelt's at Christmas do not do it justice.

"To actually be here and see it in person, it is much more beautiful than what you think of all the pictures you see because it is so vast. It is just huge," she said.

To pull it off, Roosevelt’s spends about 2,500 hours decorating.

Royal said, "It is a lot; I mean I think there are 10,000 icicles alone and there is a little over 2.5 miles of garland if you stretch it end to end."

The decorations are always up well before Thanksgiving, something Reynolds appreciates.

"I love, love Christmas and the sooner we put up the lights, the better. The tree comes up first of November," she said.

The restaurant even puts on a light show set to music for customers to enjoy while they grab a bite to eat or a drink from the holiday menu.

Even though Shelly Gore has been to Roosevelt's before, she said that part surprised her.

"That was amazing; I did not know that was going to happen, so that just kind of made it more special," she said.

Gore shared the moment with her mother-in-law, who traveled in from Dallas, Texas.

Royal said customers come from all over the United States and even outside the country to experience their decorations.

His favorite part is watching their reactions.

"When they walk in and their mouths drop and their eyes sparkle and these are adults too, I mean they are not just kids, I mean it feels good," Royal continued saying, "It really is a unique special thing and when you see it, you feel it too and it is kind of hard not to do it because of that."

The decorations at Roosevelt's will be up through mid-January. For more information and a look at the holiday menu, click HERE.