Montana Mikes to expand to OKC, Tulsa.
Kansas steakhouse chain looking to break into larger Oklahoma markets
January 24, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – A steakhouse chain with branches around the region and small Oklahoma markets plans to open six to 10 restaurants in larger Oklahoma markets within the next several years.
Montana Mike’s, a branch of the Hutchinson, Kan.-based Stockade Companies, was launched in 1998. Bartlesville was the first Oklahoma store, opened in the late 1990s. The Stockade Companies started in Oklahoma in 1966 and changed hands several times. The company’s structure has been in place since the late 1980s and the ownership group, made up of longtime employees, has owned the company since 2004.
In addition to the Bartlesville store, Montana Mike’s has a restaurant in El Reno and one in Clinton that opened in November. Plans are in the works for a Ponca City branch to open soon. But the company has its eye on a nationwide expansion, with sights on Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Lawton.
All of the Montana Mike’s are franchises, but the majority owner of the company, Tom Ford, is the largest franchiser. Madison Jobe, vice president of franchise development for Montana Mike’s, said the company has 25 restaurants and plans to open an additional 25 in the coming years in Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas.“We’re aggressively looking to expand in the Oklahoma market with the Montana Mike’s brand,” Jobe said.
And while the company has opened some Montana Mike’s in converted structures, it looks primarily to build new sites.“Our primary growth vehicle will be through new construction,” Jobe said. In the past few years a number of restaurant concepts have come to Oklahoma, including high-end eateries such as P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and the Denver-based burrito chain Chipotle.
Michael Almaraz, with commercial real estate brokerage Grubb & Ellis Levy Beffort, said what often determines a new brand moving into the Oklahoma market is tied to larger brands that have found success here. Almaraz said the economy, as much as people’s desire to eat out, factors in to new restaurants taking a chance in the market. “Now more than ever we’re popping up on the radar screen because of the nature of the Oklahoma economy,” Almaraz said. “When people have jobs, and good jobs, they tend to spend more money going out.”
Alison Oshel, director of community redevelopment with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, said restaurants and hotels are booming right now in Oklahoma City, which has led to more eateries seeking information on the local market. “We do like to eat out as a community,” Oshel said. “We actually have more gross sales in restaurant sales than some of our competitive peer cities.”
Oshel said national chains often do follow the lead of restaurants such as P.F. Chang’s and the Cheesecake Factory, but noted that several locally owned restaurants, with their own unique concepts, are also doing quite well.
Montana Mike’s will begin seeking franchisees in Oklahoma to get the six to 10 restaurants in the works. Jobe said while the restaurant offers fare similar to other steakhouse chains, Montana Mike’s, rather than employ a western theme, outfits its restaurants with a rustic mountain lodge decor.
The exterior of a Montana Mike’s steakhouse is shown. The Kansas-based restaurant chain, which already has franchises in some smaller Oklahoma markets, plans to open six to 10 new restaurants in larger Oklahoma markets within the next several years. (Courtesy photo)
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