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User Info	Christmas Shoppers Not Eating ?; entered at 2007-12-02 15:22:12
Willhedge4food Posts: 27 Registered: 2007-09-07 Owasso, OK	Good observations Widgeon, but I wouldn't put much stock in the fact that Owasso restaurants are hurting.. I live in Owasso, and know plenty of people in "the know" and I think what you are seeing is poor development, not a tapped out consumer. You also need to consider that yesterday was the Big12 championship game, a lot of people were home that evening. Anyways back to the development issue: The only restaurant in Owasso I've ever waited at was Chili's. It seems like there is always a small wait on Friday-Saturday night. Every other restaurant I've never had to wait, and that includes the new Cracker Barrel that opened less than a month ago. The problem is that they've grown that development (Smith Farm) way too quickly and haven't really diversified the offerings. Within a half mile of that Fuddruckers you have a Burger Street, a Red Robin, a Ron's Burgers & a Steak 'n Shake. Not to mention Chili's, Applebee's, Logans Roadhouse, & Lonestar...all of which have significant burger offerings. The developers of Smith Farms were overzealous in thier buildout, and now we are going to lose at least 1/3 of the restaurants that have been opened (the retailers are doing fine however). The developers forced Lonestar to open thier restaurant, even after it became apparant it didn't make sense for them to coexist with a Logans across the road. Additionally, the consumer in Owasso is still conditioned to drive to Tulsa for dining & entertainment. Same goes true with healthcare, population wise we can support the two newly built hospitals, but people still go to Tulsa for thier doctor. The newly built Baily Ranch Medical Center is hurting...bad. In the next twelve months, Owasso will most likely see these operations close shop (although between the burger places it might be a "last man standing gets all the marbles" type deal: -Steak n Shake -Fuddruckers (although the one on 71st street is always dead and has still been open forever) -Burger Street -Applebees -Monterey's -Red Robin -Bailey Medical Center -Dickson Theater (I'll miss having no crowds for new release movies though :( ) Owasso consumers (and Tulsa for that matter) are financially sound. We never saw the levels of home appreciation that other places did, so it doesn't seem that most consumers got trapped in problem of withdrawling phantom home equity. The energy industry is still hitting on all cylinders, and that is still driving job growth in the area. My girlfriend is upper management for a major big box retailer, they are hitting all thier sales targets, the only problem they are having is in staffing. I don't know many people in the Tulsa area who are hurting...yet. I hope it stays that way. 2007-12-02 15:22:12