ATOKA, Oklahoma — Year after year, eight million vehicles traversed this sleepy town along US Highway 75, which stretches from Texas to Canada. Few stopped.
Atoka was going through a bad time: residents had left and the downtown buildings were falling into disrepair. Carol Ervin, its director of economic development, began planning how the city could attract at least a small portion of those passing travelers.
In recent months, more than half a million visitors have come to this community of 3,000 inhabitants. The reason: Raba.
Reba McEntire, the country music star, grew up in Atoka County. In January, McEntire opened a restaurant, Reba’s Place — a 50-50 partnership with the Choctaw Nation, whose reservation includes Atoka. The restaurant, in a once-ruined former Masonic temple, includes a concert stage, where McEntire was the headliner for the grand opening.
In the next few years, if all goes according to plan, Atoka will have an airport, a small water park, an amphitheater and boutique hotels. Several manufacturing and green energy companies are setting up headquarters there.
McEntire was skeptical when Ervin suggested opening a restaurant to revive the economy. “I thought it was a guajiro dream,” said the singer. However, “you have to dream big to succeed big.”
McEntire, 67, has held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart 24 times during a 47-year career. He has starred in films, Broadway musicals and television series, including his own hit comedy, “Reba.”
On a recent Saturday, that convening power was evident at Atoka. Throngs of McEntire fans, many dressed in sparkling tops and tasseled jackets to mimic her signature style, lined up outside Reba’s Place. The waiting time was four hours.
The interior was a shrine in honor of the singer. Diners packed booth-like tables made from old church pews and gawked at posters displaying McEntire’s albums, tapes and shows, which have exploited her friendly, down-to-earth image of her.
Just down the street, Boggy Bottom Antiques & Collectibles filled with customers waiting for their table. Tracy Jones, its co-owner, said sales had more than doubled since the restaurant opened.
In the 20th century, Atoka was home to a booming coal mining industry. In October, nearly one in five Atoka County residents lived in poverty.
The Choctaw Nation plans to use the proceeds from Reba’s Place for health, education and housing initiatives for the reservation.
About half of the restaurant’s 134 employees are members of a federally recognized tribe. The restaurant also serves beef from beef raised and slaughtered on the Choctaw reservation. Gary Batton, the head of the Choctaw Nation, indicated that he hopes to open more Reba’s Place locations.
Reba’s Place has drawn visitors from all over the US. Holly Gleason, a music critic in Nashville, Tennessee, said she wasn’t surprised. “Everyone agrees on Reba: people of color, whites, American Indians, Asians, LGBTQ people, and devout Christians.”
PRIYA KRISHNA
The New York Times
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6693967, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-05-02 22:50:09
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