DUNCAN – A series of business recruitment leads brought to Duncan by a Dallas-based consulting firm may be paying off.
A Nebraska-based Italian restaurant, an athletic retail and apparel store and quick-serve restaurants are showing interest in coming to Duncan, according to Community Development Director Nate Schacht.
None of the businesses have made a firm commitment to Duncan, but hopes are high, Schacht said during the May 11 city council meeting. Schacht’s presentation included leads consulting firm Buxton and Company are supplying Duncan and the methods for contacting interested companies.
“We have one company that is very interested,” he said in an interview with Southwest Ledger. “Before COVID, we had a retail store in the athletic and apparel industry that was looking at Duncan. We have an Italian restaurant chain that we’ve talked to and sent a packet to. If we got a restaurant of that caliber the sales tax would cover what we spend on the consulting firm that works for us,” Schacht said.
Duncan pays Buxton $40,000 a year to promote Duncan to prospective businesses looking to locate in Oklahoma.
The Nebraska Italian restaurant, which started in 1994, has franchises in Iowa, Montana, Colorado and Kansas and wants to expand its territory into Oklahoma.
In addition, a business group from Chicago visited Duncan in late November about the prospect of building two quick-serve restaurants, Schacht said.
Most companies will want incentive packages to come to Duncan, such as funding for infrastructure which the city council must approve.
“There are economic development funds available to the council,” Schacht said.
In its two-year agreement with Buxton, the company has provided Duncan with 42 leads including 23 restaurants and 19 retail outlets including clothing, furniture, special boutiques, groceries and the athletic and apparel store. The restaurants have included casual dining, quick-serve and fast-food.
After receiving the business recruitment leads, Schacht said he sends “feel-good” letters to the companies and follows up with a demographic packet about Duncan and southwest Oklahoma, including age of shoppers, median income and educational level.
Some businesses, such as the Italian restaurant, are looking for local residents who are interested in investing in a franchise. Other businesses want to know the size of buildings that are available.
“It could be anything from 500 square feet for a small coffee shop to 5,000 square feet for a large retail store,” Schacht said. “They want to know about land values, lease agreements and if their business model will work here. They want to know about our infrastructure, if the city will invest for them, traffic lights, sewer capacity and if people are happy in Duncan.”