OKC Business Expects More Interest After Route 66 Monument Installed

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City businesses expressed excitement at the prospect of more tourism and foot traffic along Route 66.

Officials unveiled the first urban installation of the Route 66 Centennial Monument Project at NW 23rd St and N Hudson Ave on Tuesday, Nov.26.

The new marker is just a few blocks up the road from the Boom Town Creamery.

Kayli Bartnicki, pastry chef for Boom Town Creamery, shared “I actually drove past it whenever they were unveiling it the other day and didn’t know that it was going up but I was super stoked.”

She said that Route 66 tourists visit the store about two to three times a week. Bartnicki thinks the increased focus on the historic road’s ties to Oklahoma and Oklahoma City will increase interest in the area and attract more customers.

“We already have, like, a good amount of people coming in that are traveling along Route 66 and I think this is just going to be like more of a ‘Wow this is like a stop stop along Route 66,'” she added.

Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell (R-Okla.) said initiatives like the new monument can drive economic activity. He noted that half of the sales taxes in Oklahoma are collected from communities that include some portion of Route 66.

According to the lieutenant governor, “Oklahoma has more miles of the most famous road in the entire world… than any other state.”

Bartnicki described the NW 23rd St business community as mutually supportive. She said businesses will often recommend each other to customers.

“I think, like, a lot of Route 66 there’s not a lot of stuff on, like, it’s just road. So whenever people are driving and there’s like a district like this it’s like ‘Oh a place that we can stop and grab a bite to eat, grab dessert,'” she explained.