Oklahoma continues to recover from last week’s winter weather after an ice storm shut down much of the state over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. There are still plenty of residual effects, from tens of thousands of power outages through mid-week, and tons of tree debris that will need to be removed over the next month.
Black Friday shopping was already projected to be down for 2015, and the treacherous conditions put even more of a damper on holiday retail sales.
"I know that on Friday there were very few people at the Midtown pop-up shops," said Adam Brooks, the managing editor of The Journal Record. "And the owner of Stash in Norman said that she saw the same thing on Small Business Saturday, though I was in Stash on Saturday. I saw a few people shopping."Several local retailers are hoping to recover from the frigid holiday sales, according to The Journal Record’s Molly Fleming:
In Oklahoma City’s Automobile Alley, Plenty Mercantile co-owner Brittney Matlock said the ice-covered weekend made the post-Thanksgiving sales less awesome than last year. “Our sales are down 30 percent, and the only thing we can attribute that to is the stinky weather,” Matlock said. “What we hope is people didn’t stay inside and spend all those local dollars online. We’re hoping everyone will come out and celebrate local in the next month.” The store will welcome people on Thursday for its gingerbread house workshop. Later this month, Santa Claus will visit as part of the district’s Shop Hop event. Plenty often hosts classes on the roof or in the back of the building. “(The events) will bring in someone who hasn’t been in the store yet, and they have to walk through the store to get to the event,” she said. “The events and the store feed each other.”
"Rebecca Bean at STASH said that 75 percent of her sales for the year come in the fourth quarter, so every day really matters," Brooks said. "There's not really time to put together new promotions, but [Arter] did say sales tend to pick up as Christmas approaches, so there's still reason to have good hope for the season."
Vacant Indian Museum Ready For Winter
Oklahoma City officials continue to debate the future of the unfinished American Indian Cultural Center and Museum along the banks of the Oklahoma River southeast of the junction of Interstates 35 and 40.
Oklahoma City is putting together a committee to examine what to do with the museum after state lawmakers passed a bill this year authorizing $25 million in bond funding to complete the project, and eventually transfer it to the city.
"The state law says that the deadline for the city to accept the offer is in January," Brooks said. "The city expects to have three reports from consultants soon that will help them determine if it makes sense to take over, and then Mayor Mick Cornett and three councilmembers will review those reports, and they will make a recommendation to City Council."
There hasn’t been much development since June, but as The Journal Record’s Brian Brus reports, caretakers of the museum say it’s ready for winter and the risks that come with cold weather, snow, and other freezing precipitation:
Little preparation was necessary, [David Hornbeek with Hornbeek Blatt Architects in Oklahoma City] said, because little has changed at the center since last winter. “We actually haven’t had to do anything more than in the past several years because we haven’t made any progress in several years,” Hornbeek said. “We’re doing our best to protect the construction that’s already occurred.”
There is a January deadline for Oklahoma City to reach a decision about the museum’s fate, and Brooks says no one really knows what will happen if the city council rejects the plan.
"The legislature wants to wash their hands of this project, but they found this compromise, and if it doesn't work out, nobody really knows what the backup plan is," Brooks said.
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