ALTUS – Business owner Sidney Worrell Tyner was thrilled when she learned The Enchanted Door tied for Business of the Year in the annual Main Street Awards presented Dec. 15.
Tyner, 30, and daughter of store founder Lisa Worrell, said this is the second time The Enchanted Door has won the award presented by the Oklahoma Main Street Center.
“It was even more exciting this time because it’s my store,” she said. “It’s been great because everybody who was up for that award has put their blood and sweat into their business.”
The Enchanted Door tied for the award with the McSwain Theatre in Ada. Tyner boasted that she and her staff have turned the alley behind the business into a new event space and refurbished the second floor into a personal living area for her family.
The Enchanted Door is a gift and decorative accessory store filled with a variety of gifts and has been serving Altus residents since 1993.
Two other Altus businesses and the Altus Main Street program won awards this year. Southwest Crop Insurance was tapped for the Best Façade Rehabilitation under $10,000, and Whirlwind Book Bar won for the Best Adaptive Reuse Project. In addition, the Altus Main Street program was one of the 10 finalists for the top prize.
Programs across the state competed in 20 award categories representing the “four points” of the Main Street Approach – Organization, Promotion, Economic Vitality and Design. Panels of outside judges for each point reviewed the entries and determined the winners.
Altus Main Street Director Lynna Wilmes was “excited” about the awards local businesses and the Main Street program received this year. “I’m elated,” she said. “It’s bragging rights. The honor of being nominated is kind of like the Academy Awards. It’s a recognition of hard work over the years.”
Altus’ Main Street has undergone a renaissance with a renewed interest by business and property owners. At the same time, some of the city’s shopping centers have experienced a downtown. “Right now, we’ve got pretty Christmas lights everywhere and downtown is doing well,” Wilmes said. “Everyone takes a lot of pride in their buildings.”
Part of the Main Street lure is the courthouse square, train station and several buildings, constructed in the early 1900s have a historic designation. Also included in the 28-block Main Street area is The Towers, an old hotel that has been renovated into apartments for senior citizens.
The Main Street program hosts events including the annual Walkin’ on Chalk Arts Festival set for April 18, 2021, and the hit Rock-N-Rumble Car Show and Cruise scheduled for April 30-May 1, 2021.
The Oklahoma Main Street Center is a Main Street America Coordinating Program. Since 1986 Oklahoma Main Street programs have generated nearly $1.7 billion in total public and private reinvestment, created 18,611 new jobs and helped in the development of 5,426 new or expanded small businesses, according to information from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
The statewide Main Street program offers cities and towns assistance with design, placemaking, historic preservation and energy efficiency with historic buildings.
For more about the Altus Main Street events, call 580-482-2277 or visit www.mainstreetaltus.sbcglobal.net.