Tuscana on Yale Offers Variety in South Tulsa
By EMILY RAMSEY
Managing Editor
SOUTHERN EXPANSION: Tuscana on Yale sits on the northeast corner of 91st Street and Yale Avenue. It has recently welcomed a number of local tenants including Ludger’s Cakery and Coffeehouse, Keo Asian Cuisine, and Sweet Pea Couture children’s clothing store.
It doesn’t take a born-and-bred Tulsan to recognize the substantial changes taking place at the corner of 91st Street and Yale Avenue.
Pharmacy has taken up residence on the southwest corner with Whole Foods Market on its way.
Directly across the intersection, sitting to the north of QuikTrip, is the Tuscana on Yale shopping center, which is growing in its options of shops and restaurants and will soon add more.
The area’s high income levels, continual southward growth and the corner’s proximity to the Creek Nation Turnpike were the main determining factors in the creation of the center.
“We have heard people say that 91st and Yale is becoming the new center of south Tulsa,” says Clint Brumble, co-developer of the center.
Allison Dickens, co-owner of Ludger’s Cakery and Coffeehouse, heartily agrees with that sentiment. Dickens and her husband, Chris, opened Ludger’s in the shopping center in May. This being a new concept for the company, the Dickens wanted to make sure they chose the right location. “There is a certain vision we had in our minds about creating our cakery and coffeehouse, and a lot of locations were not a good fit,” she says.
The Dickens were drawn to Tuscana on Yale because of its location in a high traffic area as well as the area’s growth. Dickens also cites the center’s aesthetic appeal and Ludger’s corner storefront, with its large windows and patio seating, as additional reasons for the move.
“We believe that this area is going to continue to grow and that it is a perfect fit for our brand, moving forward,” she says.
Ludger’s offers breakfast items, desserts and pastries in addition to coffee drinks, espresso beverages, smoothies and tea. Of course, wedding cakes and custom-order cakes remain a large portion of the company’s focus, but the coffeehouse was created in response to customer input, Dickens says.
Individuals visiting the center for the first time will quickly notice the diversity of the center’s tenants, which was a main goal for both Brumble and co-developer Bryan Hendershot. “We saw a need for smaller boutiques not chain-type restaurants,” Brumble says.
So they set about filling that need: a one-stop place with a variety of local stores. That includes Sweet Pea Couture, an upscale children’s clothing store; Pure Barre, a women’s exercise facility; Elephant in the Room men’s grooming lounge; Jameson’s Pub; an eye doctor; a nail salon; a tanning salon and day spa; and two restaurants: Keo Asian Cuisine and Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen. A women’s clothing store is expected to be added soon.
Updated 11-18-2013
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