Reba McEntire, the country-music star, grew up in Atoka County, and in January, she made good on a pivotal investment here. In a once-dilapidated former Masonic temple, she opened a restaurant, Reba’s Place — a 50-50 partnership with the Choctaw Nation, whose reservation includes Atoka.
Since it opened in January, half a million guests have stopped in, many of them already passing through on busy Highway 75, which runs through this part of southeastern, Oklahoma, from Texas to Canada.
In coming years, if all goes according to plan, Atoka will get an airport, a small water park, an amphitheater and boutique hotels. Several manufacturing and green energy companies are already setting up headquarters here.
* * *
Call it a convenient convergence: a music superstar, a well-resourced tribal nation, a heavily trafficked highway and an ambitious local government. “I put my money in on them,” Ms. McEntire said, “and they made things happen that I never thought could have happened.”
* * *
At Reba’s Place, about half of the 134 employees are members of a federally recognized tribe. The restaurant also serves beef raised and slaughtered on the Choctaw Nation, and its gift shop will soon sell items made by tribal members.
The other hero in the story is Carol Ervin, Atoka's economic development director who was one of the original visionaries. She's quoted:
A city is a living, breathing entity. It is either growing or it is dying. And [before Reba's investment], we were dying.
Don't miss the entire story, which even gets down the nitty gritty on the wages being paid to restaurant staff and the cost of the food at Reba's Place ($27 for an entree).
No comments:
Post a Comment