Current source roster
Tulsa Route 66 Commission
Appointed commissioner
July 24, 2024–July 1, 2027 listed term
July 1, 2027 is scheduled term expiry, not an observed end of service.
People / Government & civic life
Brian Fontaine
Tulsa Route 66 commissioner; hospitality operator
Restaurant operations, local music and Route 66 business revitalization.
Brian Fontaine serves on the Tulsa Route 66 Commission and is identified in City materials with McNellie’s Group. His documented career includes restaurant management and operations, a reported founding partnership in Fassler Hall and historical board service with Horton Records. The commission’s business guide names him chair of its Local Revitalization subcommittee.
Career & public service
- 2014
Music nonprofit office
Horton Records return lists Fontaine as vice president.
- 2015
Venue management and expansion
Gazette identifies Dust Bowl Tulsa management and a founding partnership in Fassler Hall.
- 2018
Restaurant group operations
Gazette identifies him as McNellie’s Group operations manager.
- 2020
Outdoor dining proposal
Named applicant for an Arts District street-party and outdoor-seating series.
- 2024
Commission appointment
City lists July 24 as the beginning of his current Route 66 term.
People, institutions and the relationships between them
Following the connections
Each step below represents a documented relationship. Dates and roles belong to the individual links; a path can span different periods.
personBrian Fontaine
commissionTulsa Route 66 Commission
One seat in a collective commission.
personBrian Fontaine
organizationMcNellie’s Group
Business affiliation is distinct from public authority.
personBrian Fontaine
organizationHorton Records
Former officer role; current roster names a different vice president.
Documented relationships
4 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.
Current source roster
McNellie’s Group
Restaurant operations affiliation
Operations manager in 2018; affiliation identified by City guide and 2025 reporting
Evidence dates do not imply exact employment or board-service boundaries. No ownership percentage or financial control inferred.
Historical record
Horton Records
Former vice president
Documented in 2014 and 2019 returns
Evidence dates do not imply exact employment or board-service boundaries. No ownership percentage or financial control inferred.
Historical record
Fassler Hall
Reported founding partner
January 2015 reporting
Evidence dates do not imply exact employment or board-service boundaries. No ownership percentage or financial control inferred.
Interpretation
Public responsibilities and private affiliations
The unpaid commission appointment and the restaurant career are distinct roles. The public guide openly identifies Fontaine’s business affiliation, while the ordinance describes the commission’s advisory authority. Those facts are relevant to understanding the experience he brings to corridor revitalization. They do not establish that a particular employer received a grant, that Fontaine participated in a decision benefiting that employer, or that a conflict occurred. A claim about any specific transaction would require the relevant application, decision record and participation or recusal evidence.
A hospitality operator on a corridor commission
Brian Fontaine occupies seat 11 on the Tulsa Route 66 Commission. The City of Tulsa roster gives his appointment as July 24, 2024, with a term ending July 1, 2027. The City’s business guide explicitly identifies the commissioner with McNellie’s Group, providing the link between his public appointment and the restaurant career described in local reporting. The guide also names him chair of the commission’s Local Revitalization subcommittee. That is a subcommittee responsibility, distinct from chairing the full commission.
Building a restaurant and entertainment career
Oklahoma Gazette identified Fontaine in January 2015 as general manager of Dust Bowl Tulsa and one of Fassler Hall’s founding partners. He was part of the team developing the McNellie’s Group concepts in Oklahoma City’s Midtown district. The article documented an expansion model that paired bowling with a beer hall and shared social space. Its founding-partner description is a dated reported affiliation; it does not establish his present ownership share. In January 2018, the Gazette described him as the group’s operations manager and credited him with overseeing a September expansion of Fassler Hall’s food menu. Together, the reports document responsibilities extending from an individual venue to the group’s operations.
Restaurants and the use of public streets
A 2020 City event application names Fontaine as applicant for the Tulsa Arts District Fall Street Party, identifies The Tavern as host and McNellies Restaurant Group for billing. The proposed series would use street closures and shared outdoor seating to extend dining space on weekends in October and early November. This is a concrete example of restaurant operations intersecting with municipal management of public space. The application establishes what the organizers requested. It does not, by itself, establish permit approval, actual attendance or that every proposed date took place. Nor does the form’s use of a business contact establish ownership of that business.
A documented connection to Horton Records
Fontaine’s civic connections also include local music. In a November 2025 Tulsa Flyer interview, Horton Records founder Brian Horton credited Fontaine, whom he identified with McNellie’s Group, with helping the organization get started and hosting Horton Fest at Fassler Hall for a couple of years. This is Horton’s account of their early collaboration. A separate record supports a formal institutional role: the IRS filing index lists Fontaine as Horton Records’ vice president in its 2014 and 2019 returns. The organization’s current board page instead lists Julie Watson as vice president, as does the latest return displayed in the index, for 2024. Fontaine’s board connection is therefore presented here as historical; an exact departure date is not established.
What the music organization does
Horton Records describes itself as a Tulsa nonprofit supporting Oklahoma musicians through promotion, booking, management assistance, merchandise and recording distribution. It says it operates with volunteers and no paid staff positions. This institutional setting helps explain why access to a restaurant and performance venue could matter to its early events. The nonprofit, its founder and Fontaine’s restaurant affiliation are separate entities and relationships. Hosting a fundraiser or holding a former board office does not demonstrate control of the nonprofit’s present decisions or finances.
Interpretation
How the relationships fit together
The documented connections run through places where people gather: restaurants, music events and a historic commercial corridor. Fontaine’s operational background and his earlier nonprofit service offer a basis for understanding his role in business-oriented revitalization. That interpretation rests on identifiable appointments, reported jobs and organizational records. It does not require assuming that restaurant ownership, cultural sponsorship and public authority form a single chain of control.
Check the record
Sources & corrections
Research checked 2026-10-24. Roles and financial figures retain their source dates. Sections appear only when supported material is available; an omitted section is not a finding that no such relationship exists.
- City of Tulsa board roster ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-24
Route 66 Commission seat 11: July 24, 2024–July 1, 2027.
- City Route 66 business guide ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-24
PDF page 6 / printed 3: Brian Fontaine (McNellie’s Group); Local Revitalization chair and program responsibilities. Undated guide; chair description attributed to guide.
- Tulsa boards and commissions ordinance ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-24
Title 5 chapter 14, sections 1400–1402: 19-member advisory commission, appointments, unpaid service. Direct access may return 403; section read through indexed text.
- Dust Bowl and Fassler Hall arrive in Midtown ↗
independent-reporting · Source date 2015-01-14 · Checked 2026-10-24
Devon Green, January 14, 2015; Fontaine general manager, founding partner and expansion team. Later migration timestamp not treated as original publication.
- Fassler Hall expands its menu ↗
independent-reporting · Source date 2018-01-03 · Checked 2026-10-24
Jacob Threadgill, January 3, 2018; operations manager overseeing September menu additions.
- Tulsa Arts District Fall Street Party application ↗
primary · Source date 2020-08-21 · Checked 2026-10-24
PDF page 1, visually inspected: August 21, 2020 application; host The Tavern; Brian Fontaine in both chief-officer and applicant fields; McNellies Restaurant Group billing contact. Extracted text misaligns fields; visual page controls. Intended October 2–November 1 dates, not approval or attendance evidence.
- Horton Records fundraiser and early history ↗
independent-reporting · Source date 2025-11-06 · Checked 2026-10-24
Tim Landes interview with Brian Horton; Fontaine’s McNellie’s affiliation and early Horton Fest hosting. Photograph depicts Horton, not Fontaine.
- Horton Records IRS filing index ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-24
EIN 45-3759881. 2014 return filed May 14, 2015 and 2019 return filed July 13, 2020 list Fontaine vice president. Latest listed FY2024 return filed May 8, 2025 lists Julie Watson. No financial amounts transcribed from extracted tables.
- Horton Records institutional description and board ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-24
Mission and current board; Julie Watson vice president; Fontaine absent. Volunteer/no paid staff is institutional self-description.