BEGGS, Okla. — Competing coffee shops are coming together as a way to promote small businesses in northeast Oklahoma.
“Coffee is for everybody,” said Summer Lamborn.
Summer Lamborn is the owner at Kanokie Coffeehouse in Beggs, where the Coffee Shop Hop was born.
“We’re all in this together, even if we are in competition,” said Lamborn.
Lamborn says she wants to bring more people in the door and bring more money into these communities.
“Local businesses, I feel like, are the heart of a community, and if a community doesn’t have that support, people are going to go elsewhere,” said Lamborn.
In total, there are seven shops participating in the Coffee Shop Hop.
- Kanokie Coffeehouse, 118 E. Main St. Beggs
- Bekah’s Brew, 812 E. Trudgeon Henryetta
- The Shack 2.0, 509 W. Main St. Henryetta
- The Coffee Vault, 511 W. Ozark Morris
- Midge & Millies, 813 E 6th St Okmulgee
- Central Perk, 1702 S. Wood Dr. Okmulgee
- Dry Creek Coffee, 1218 Commercial Ave Mounds
The stores range from Beggs to Henryetta, Morris, Okmulgee, and Mounds, where Susan Carner works.
“They like their fraps,” said Susan Carner. “That’s one of our number one sellers.”
Carner opened Dry Creek Coffee back in 2020.
“I wanted to do something that would hopefully bring people into our town and help our town grow,” said Carner.
As the only Creek County shop in the hop, she says it’s a way to shine the spotlight on local businesses.
“I do think it’s bringing more people to town,” said Carner.
The sales tax dollars they generate are important for these small communities. The Oklahoma Policy Institute says sales and use tax is the single largest source of revenue for Oklahoma. The Institute says it produced more than $4.5 billion in 2016.
Beggs Chamber of Commerce President Janis Watkins says it pays for vital services.
“It helps the infrastructure,” said Janis Watkins.
The hop started last week, and a free mug is the prize if you make purchases at all 7 locations. Lamborn says it provides a window into a new city.
“It is fun, and it is working and bringing people in and seeing what else there is that our town offers,” said Lamborn.
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