Crowded menu of restaurants leads to closings

While Owasso has seen 2 million square feet of new retail property spring up in the past 30 months, the closing of several restaurants might be a signal that the city lacks the customer base to keep so many businesses open.

Several restaurant owners say their businesses were welcomed by the community, but various factors kept them from reaching the number of customers they need to be profitable.

Nancy Roskin, CEO of 3 Tomatoes and a Mozzarella, a pizzeria chain based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said she had reservations about opening a franchise in Owasso.

"I don't think Owasso was the place to open it up, to be honest," she said. "There was not enough customer base for the restaurant. I think it should have opened up in Tulsa."

The franchisee made the decision to close the restaurant last June, Roskin said. It had opened in March 2005.

The rising cost of food ingredients nationwide may have also contributed to the restaurant's closure, she said.

"We're all feeling the change in the economy, whether it's an expensive restaurant or a cheaper restaurant," Roskin said. "The price of cheese has gone up; price of flour has gone way up. In the pizza business, we thrive on flour and cheese, and that's what's killing us."

Todd Kramer, the Tulsa restaurateur behind Te Kei's, a pan-Asian eatery, closed Te Kei's 2 in March after six months of operation. The decision marked the first time he had to shut down a restaurant, Kramer said.

"It was my attempt at a new concept, and I think I picked the wrong spot," he said, adding that he was initially intrigued by Owasso.

Kramer said his restaurant's concept and cuisine might not have been the best fit for the Tulsa suburb.

"What I found is that Owasso — and it's not a bad thing — is a bedroom community. It has a small-town feel," he said.

Because many Owasso residents work outside the city, he said, the restaurant had a difficult time attracting the attention of lunchtime customers.

But Kramer said the experience of closing a restaurant has not dissuaded him from considering another Te Kei's concept in a different location, possibly southeast Tulsa.

John Brinton, director of operations for Wings To Go, a Severna Park, Md.-based chain, said that while a Wings To Go location closed in Owasso last month, he hopes to reopen the restaurant location with another franchisee.

"We actually still consider that a viable location. The numbers are in the average range for a successful Wings To Go," Brinton said, adding that the original franchisee made the decision to close.

Brinton said national economic factors are causing the food-service industry to tighten but that the Tulsa area is somewhat insulated from those problems.

"Certain areas of the country have been impacted more than others, and some have been in a bubble and not impacted as much," he said.

Wings To Go opened in Owasso in January 2005. Four other Wings To Go locations operate in the Tulsa area, Brinton said.

Gary Akin, president of the Owasso Chamber of Commerce, said as many as 24 new restaurants have opened in Owasso in a little more than two years, and that even more are under construction.

He said that when people have more choices of where to eat, some restaurants struggle.

"With all the growth and expansion, it isn't like Owasso is going inward or businesses aren't making it," he said. "There is still a very real growth happening at this time. But as more businesses are added, sometimes smaller businesses and franchises fail for economic reasons as well as personal reasons."

As the purchasing power of Owasso residents increases, the city can support more businesses overall, Akin said.

"Household income has increased in our zip code," he said. "We see our average household income increasing year by year, and that's what is driving demand.

"We're seeing a larger percentage of Tulsa addresses shopping in Owasso."

The closure of a few restaurants is normal in a growing community and is not indicative of any wider problem, Akin said.

"In business, you grow and you shrink," he said. "There is that competitive factor in any industry. That may put some stress on a smaller, non-corporate business. There's a combination of factors."

Jeff Postelwait 581-8387
jeff.postelwait@tulsaworld