By Joey McWilliams
TISHOMINGO – Stepp West is headed west. Well, northwest, that is.
The longtime business in Calera of rustique boutique and decor is opening a second location in the southeastern Oklahoma area in Tishomingo.
Owner of the multigenerational business, Kim Stepp, said the opportunity to make this kind of a move at this time is a ‘God-thing.’
“Most people know that the highway at Calera where my other store is located is going to be getting construction that is going to last for a year, starting in 2018,” Stepp said. “And it’s literally going to cripple us down there.
“It’s going to be devastating for business because you’re not going to be able to get to us very easily and I’ve been praying for over a year that God would open up a door of financial opportunity for me to not lose everything that I have.
“So, I came to Tishomingo one morning at 8:00 to pick up a flatbed trailer that I had bought and by 2:00 that afternoon, I had bought a building.”
The new store is located at 202 W. Main in Tishomingo, on the east corner of the block that Blake Shelton’s restaurant Ole Red is on. Click HERE to see the inside.
There will be a Grand Opening on Saturday for the new location. And Stepp said she is not alone in celebrating new business, so the city of Tishomingo is helping out in the effort.
“We are actually going to have four businesses having their grand opening that day,” Stepp said. “What we’ve decided to do is that we’re going to have a block party. We’re going to block off the block right there at my corner.
“And we’re going to have a band and we’re going to have a little fall-fest carnival-type thing going on with activities for the kids. And just have a lot of fun.
A big question for those who shop at Stepp West at 302 S. Service Road in Calera might be, ‘Will the Calera location stay open?’
Stepp’s answer is, ‘Yes.’
“We’ve been there forever,” Stepp said. “This business is basically what I grew up knowing. We have been four generations, over 150 years of this type of a business.”
Her grandmother, Maggie Lee, started the business in Durant on S. Ninth, and the store carried that name, ‘Maggie Lee’s.’ After she passed, Stepp’s mother moved the business to Calera and built the building which houses the shop now. It was called Arthur’s then, her mother Gaylene’s maiden name.
The fourth generation, Stepp’s daughter, Dani, works with the business as well.
“We all ran it together as a family,” Stepp said. “When my mother passed away, I stayed there and kept it all going. And when this opportunity came up, I guess God felt like I needed to go to Tish. So here we are.”
The block party for the Grand Opening is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14.