How many small businesses are in Eastern Oklahoma County?
400 or 4,000?
At the Luther Business Meet & Greet Thursday night at The Chicken Shack, we learned the answer was 4,000.
FOUR-THOUSAND!
Tim Hight, executive director, Eastern Oklahoma County Partnership, shared that number and said the 4,000 number includes home-based businesses and those with offices and facilities and employees. He said EOCP will help businesses with data collection, marketing and advice. EOCP, based in Choctaw, has been around since 2010 and is a “public-private” group (meaning it gets part of its money from governments, like the Town of Luther, and part of its funding from business partners) that wants to bring jobs, economic development and growth to our area – if challenges can be overcome like infrastructure problems (water and sewer), transportation and having facilities to accommodate business. More about EOCP in another article.
Hight spoke to Luther small businesses who attended the Meet & Greet. He said Luther is growing, population wise. Don’t we know? Many small businesses as well as some “new” Luther residents gathered Thursday night at The Chicken Shack in this (nearly) monthly networking gathering sponsored by The Luther Register. The Chicken Shack is one of Luther’s new eateries, located right on Hwy 66, offering live music, great food and an outdoor gathering space. Have you tried their chicken?
Some of the BEST of the 4,000 small businesses who came Thursday night include:
The Chicken Shack, Kelly Coldiron and Eddy Gochenour
PD Beavers Contracting & Construction, INC., Mike and Pam Beavers
AireServ, Clint Gilliland
Oliver and Friends Petting Zoo, Jennie Hays
Broken Horn Ranch, Candace Carper Jones (with SIX weddings coming up!!!)
Musician Jesse Cahn, catch him at JJ’s Alley Bricktown Pub, and for music lessons of nearly any instrument
Jane Aeon, local artist
M&M Tiles Service, Edson Mayen edsonmayen@gmail.com
SEWSNBOWS, Amy Mayen
Route 66 Graphics, screen printing/embroidery, Andy McDaniels and Jeremy Ring
Eleven Oaks Ranch
, Ken & Jaye Payton and Shawna Stults
PC Dreams, Tim & Kim Free
HaleyDawn Photography, Haley Weathers
Oklahoma Patriot Auto Sales, Edmond, Sheila Harp, office manager
MIL Marketing Group, Emma Dean Kratochwill, president
Tres Suenos Winery, Richard Kennedy
Triangular Silt Dike, Jason & Jimmi Roach
Olsen Orthopedics, Dr. Todd & Cassandra Olsen
Davis Family Christmas Tree Farm, info coming soon!
Rustic Farm, Pam Simmons
Pam Simmons reported that she is planning an opening on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at her new place, Rustic Farms, in the historic Engels Store downtown. She reports that ALL of her booths are rented with a variety of artisan, antique and craft vendors. She hopes for an Open House on Saturday, Nov. 26 during Thanksgiving weekend.
Other business owners and past hosts of The Luther Business Meet & Greet, John & Scherrie Piddock of Josephine’s Cafe and Pidcock Farm’s Outdoor Soundstage, and Matthew Winton of The 116 Farmstead Market & Table sent their regrets this time. But they and all attendees said they are excited about continuing this gathering to network and plan for our future as a community and as fellow business owners. Because small business is where it’s at.
Someone asked “why?” … why we are having these gatherings, or what is the purpose? Good question. Purely, the reason and purpose is to network and see what this group might accomplish together for our Town. Because where else can you learn about CAMELS and Christmas trees and all of the other wonderful things our neighbors are doing? Attend the Luther Business Meet & Greet, or read about it here!
It’s #LutherLocal and it’s #mytown.
