About 100 people came out today to Classen Circle to protest against a new development plan by Braum's and to fight for their local establishments.

Braum's proposes to rezone and tear down the buildings on a block bordered by Classen Circle, Military Avenue and NW 50th St and build a new Braum's location. Braum's has not responded to calls about the company's plans.

The protesters carried signs admonishing the plan and chanted about being a family.

The Classen Grill and the HiLo Club are two of the businesses in the building that will be torn down. The owner of the Classen Grill, Radmio Luna, said he and his son, Ricardo, found out about the plans Wednesday through the news. He said the building owners have not given him a timeline on anything yet.

"Our whole lives are invested into this business," Ricardo said as he started to tear up. "And if it goes, then we don't know what we'll do."

Kayla Bonewell, pastor of Church of the Open Arms and Cathedral of Hope, lives about two blocks away from Classen Circle and said the HiLo is a historic space for the LGBT community.

"Before any churches were open and affirming to the LGBT population, we had to sometimes congregate in bars," Bonewell said. "And the HiLo is one of those historic places that has always been inclusive of all communities."

Bonewell said the HiLo continues to be a safe space for different communities. She said she and her wife, Dana Johnson, frequent the places on Classen Circle, which continue to draw a lot of business. The two said they plan to go to the Oklahoma City Planning Commission meeting in opposition of the rezoning of the area.

Several protesters said the HiLo was the first bar they went to when they turned 21.

John Tate was one of those people. He said he lives down the street and his band plays at the bar.

"It's my neighborhood," Tate said. "This is literally like my Cheers."

Tate said he was looking forward to his son coming to the HiLo when he turns 21 in three years.

Kelly Pickett, who has been coming to the HiLo since 1982, also had her first drink there and said it is like her second home. She said she lives by a Braum's that is about a mile and a half away.

"And there's so much history to this building," Pickett said. "I've seen the upstairs where the apartments are. And it's an iconic building. I mean it might be in a little bit of shambles, but we live with it."

Cate Howell runs the "Save Classen Circle — Boycott Braum's" social media page. She said people are saying the building is ugly and should be torn down, but she said it represents a great deal to the community. She said the places at Classen Circle are a community hub and are active participants in the community.

"These particular watering holes in our community attract a certain kind of crowd that doesn't really have another place to go," Howell said. "And this is what keeps Oklahoma City weird. It's what keeps it different."