Green Country Businesses Participate In 'Small Business Crawl'

Almost 150 Green Country businesses are getting ready to participate in a small business crawl with incentives to bring in sales during record-high inflation.

This is the second year of the TulsaGo Small Business Crawl, taking place Sept. 16 and 17 in Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, and Bixby.

Shoppers can buy a pass card for $10 and get more than $5,000 in combined discounts from the participating businesses.

There are several participating businesses along Route 66, and some said they could really use a boost in sales.

Ike's Chili near 11th and Rockford is Oklahoma's oldest restaurant, and like everyone else, it is feeling the impacts of inflation.

"Some of the items and ingredients that goes into our chili have doubled in price,” said owner Len Wade.

The business, which just celebrated its 114th anniversary, is participating in this year's TulsaGo Small Business Crawl for the first time and offering 15-percent off all meals.

"It's good for them, and it's good for us,” explained Wade. “And with these tough times these days, you know, we all need help, so it's just the right thing to do."

Over at The Sky Gallery near 11th and Lewis, owner Janet Benton said she is excited to have her business participate again.

The gallery is offering 10-percent off t-shirts to get more visitors.

"People are still buying, but they're more aware of what they're buying and they're focusing a little bit more on the quality and the affordability of their pieces," explained Benton.

Erik-Michael Collins with TulsaGo said this year, the crawl lasts two days with 50-percent more store fronts and has expanded beyond Tulsa County.

"Some of the businesses have seen slow foot traffic, so this gives them an opportunity to retell their story to folks that have been going to these businesses for years and just re-put them on the map," said Collins.

Everything from restaurants, salons, spas, boutiques, pet stores and even gyms are all looking for support.

The pass card is for sale at The Half Acre at 31st and Harvard from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 16 and 17.

Crawl shoppers can access the list of businesses and their applicable promotional discount(s) via an interactive map located on the event page at www.tulsago.com/events/small-business-crawl.