@theotherrcope , founder and CEO of
@84hospitalitygroup , got her start in restaurant ownership by losing a contest.
An early investor in the area, Steve Mason, guided in part by the vision developer Aimee Ahpeatone had for the district, was in possession of a former laundromat awaiting transformation, so a pitch contest was held for budding business owners, sort of like “Shark Tank.”
Cope teamed up with a chef friend of hers, saying, “I want to put an idea in for this... what are you good at cooking?” Eastern European, he told her. Pierogies. Things like that. “We pitch this idea, they interview us. We don’t win. Go figure.” The loss stung.
“So I took off to Austin about two weeks after the contest ended, and I went to a pizza place called Home Slice on South Congress, before South Congress is what it is now. It was pretty cool and still kind of low-key then. But I sat there and I was like, damn it... this neighborhood is what I think the Plaza is going to be, and we should have done pizza,” she says. Cope came back to OKC and told her friend, essentially, to buckle up — because she had a new plan.
Her company created and now operates a clever collection of restaurants in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, including
@empireslicehouse with locations in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Edmond and Stillwater;
@gororamen in OKC’s
@paseoartsdistrict ; two
@burgerpunky , both in Oklahoma City; and most recently
@elisabettaokc , Cope’s first finer dining concept.
Read the full story in LUXIERE Edition 53 or online now! Link in bio.
STORY :: “Woman of Influence: Rachel Cope”
WRITTEN BY ::
@christine.eddington
PHOTOS ::
@shea_alan @anj_schultz
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#elisabettaokc #italian #finedining #foodie #84hospitality #oklahoma #magazine #okc #thisisoklahoma #luxiere #luxieremagazine
