Small Business Buds During Pandemic; OKC Chamber Encourages Residents To Shop Local

The Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce is encouraging people to shop local and help small businesses recover from the pandemic with a "Stand Tall and Shop Small" initiative.

News 9 spoke with a small business owner who went from the oil and gas industry to owning a plant shop.

The plant shop is a "shop in shop" located inside Shop Good at 1007 N Broadway Ave. in Oklahoma City.

The pandemic has made it so you can easily shop online. Even if that is your style, you can still support local businesses.

Steven Kochenower, the owner Southern Window Plants, said if you need help or something goes wrong, you will get more personal attention shopping local.

"We want to be able to tell someone all about the plant that they are interested in. Make suggestions for people if they are not sure what they are looking for," he said. "We can just offer a little bit more than say a Lowe's or one of those other places."

During the pandemic, Kochenower said he hustled. He posted plants online and offered curbside pickup.

Now, as people continue to remodel their homes and go back to the office, Kochenower said this past May was their best month ever.

They also offer more than just a few house plants. They offer plantscape consultations for both residential and commercial spaces. So whether it’s three plants or an entire office space, they can help you throughout the entire process: from consultation to installation. 

When you choose to shop local, you are helping the people around thrive.

"All of your tax dollars are staying here, so being able to support you community, things like that make a big difference," he said.

Kochenower said one of the biggest challenges he is facing now is getting all the supplies he needs to meet demand.

"So, while you are coming out of this recovery, we are seeing more people, but it is harder to get more products things like that in the store," Kochenower said.