Revitalizing the Crossroads of America
Lenial Rogers of Sapulpa had a saying: Fear is unwarranted if you are prepared. His granddaughter, Joni-Rogers Kante, is in the middle of a development boom in her home town that has turned heads not just locally but up and down Route 66, the road that still brings people to Creek County from all over the world. Over a dozen projects are in the works and that kind of development takes a lot of preparation - though not everything has quite gone to plan. I was honored to sit down with the founder of the Kante Group last week to learn more about her story.
The Kante Group first came to my attention with their work restoring the 1950s-era TeePee Drive-In on the west side of Sapulpa. It had long sat dormant in sight of the Rock Creek Bridge, with ideas coming and going on how to return it to working order. On the weekend of Halloween, it welcomed movie-goers for a pair of feature films for the first time in decades. There’s more to come, too, but let’s start at the beginning.
Joni stands next to one of Sapulpa’s famous Route 66 murals on Dewey Ave
Joni grew up in Sapulpa, living on the family farm until she moved to California with her mother at fifteen years of age. She soon began working at a Sav-On Drugstore there, honing her work ethic and finding a personal strength in sales and connection. From there, she found success with Mary Kay cosmetics but also saw an opportunity to create something of her own. In 1999, she founded SeneGence. The cosmetics company has grown into a multi-million-dollar cosmetics and skincare company known around the world.
In 2016, Joni decided to come home. What began as a plan for a small writing retreat grew into the purchase of expansive acreage along the old Ozark Trail. “We fell in love with the area,” she said, recalling how she and her husband, Ben, acclimated to their return to such a beautiful landscape. She also saw an opportunity to invest in the town. “When people wanted to go do something, they just went to Tulsa,” she said, and it inspired her to find ways to build up the community. At the same time, SeneGence was looking for a centrally-located distribution hub and she realized Oklahoma City wasn’t that far away. An extravagant campus was drawn up, a new hub for for company operations on the edge of Sapulpa. It would be state-of-the-art and designed to serve thousands of employees. It was all coming together.
But, then, the pandemic came. “Had we started the campus…come COVID, it would’ve been completely obsolete,” she said. “People don’t want to work in those kinds of spaces any more. There might be ten employees in a 50,000 square foot building because people would prefer to work either at home or in a different kind of environment.” She pointed to the space around us, a cozy nook at the Crossroads Cookery restaurant and coffee bar, to illustrate her point. Above us were the offices for the SeneGence Event Team, who often came down for business meetings or breaks. She credits Ben with the idea of running retail on the ground level and work space above.
“It’s changed at every turn,” she said but noted, “It’s really been a blessing for us to have started down this path.”
Route 66, however, was a complete surprise. “We had no idea,” she said. “I mean, we knew it was [here], but it was no big deal to us. It was something that kind of, unveiled itself, over time.” She was surprised to learn that it was more than just a symbol on a map and that people from all over the world come to the United States to travel down the highway. It had become iconic and part of the identity of so many places, including her home town.
She looks forward to helping further enhance the brand that is Route 66 in the town of Sapulpa, because it’s all about elevating the people. All of which, she was sure to mention, have gone above and beyond to not only help her realize her vision but add their own expertise to the mix. She compared it to a Norman Rockwell scene. “If you could tell a wholesome story about townspeople coming together, and whatever resources they have…some have more, some have less…it doesn’t matter, they are bringing their ‘A’ game.”
Ribbon cutting at the Crossroads Cookery
She gave a great example. One of the Kante Group projects was the renovation of the Burnett Mansion, now the home of the Make Sense Foundation non-profit. “Without saying anything, [our master gardener] started planting flowers that would help repopulate bees and butterflies. Unbeknownst to anybody! This year, the State Department of Agriculture came down and said there’s an anomaly going on here with the bees and Monarchs from this area. They’re here at a much greater rate than others.” That’s because the right person had the resources to do what they do best.
Her willingness to invest has inspired others to do the same. Sapulpa has a Master Plan for Route 66 now and other planning is taking place as historic properties are revitalized. Alleyways are being developed as walkable spaces and, if you haven’t been down for the Christmas Chute yet, you gotta get down there.
The neon of the Cookery with the decor of Sapulpa’s Christmas Chute
What about other Kante Group projects in development? Work on an old hotel around the corner from the Crossroads Cookery is just starting. The Old City Hall building has a basement speakeasy in the works with a New Orleans-style restaurant to go with it. The Waypoint Lounge, an esports venue and event space with a focus on audio/visual functionality, is nearly complete; inspired by the success at the Burnett Mansion, they’re also designing part of it to house a bee and Monarch sanctuary garden. Even civic projects with the school district are bringing in magnet programs and capital improvements. “All kinds of things are being planned,” though like everything lately it’s taking a little longer to get done then they’d like.
And, of course, there’s the drive-in. The TeePee is slated to fully open in the Spring of 2023 with the addition of a dozen Spartan trailers that can be rented out as Airbnbs for overnight stays. It’s giving people a reason to stay in town, but also a reason for more Route 66 travelers to make time for Sapulpa and enjoy the charm of this great community.
