Osage County partners with Retail Strategies to recruit restaurants, retail and visitors

Colleen, with the county’s office of economic development, told commissioners on June 30 that the office is focused on housing, tourism, downtown revitalization, infrastructure and business development and has supported grant writing and capacity building in county communities.

She announced a new partnership with Retail Strategies, a private retail‑recruitment firm, and introduced John Taidit of Retail Strategies. Taidit described the firm’s approach: a three‑step process of market discovery (mobile‑device trade‑area and demographic studies), inventorying properties and active recruitment of tenants and brokers. He said the firm has worked with hundreds of communities and will deliver a recruitment plan to the county within roughly 15–30 days and provide regular status updates through a Basecamp project management portal.

Taidit summarized findings from early data work: a custom trade area for the county shows roughly 67,000 estimated population in the market area, a median household income the firm estimated at about $91,000, and large gaps in restaurant, food and beverage, and clothing and accessories spending — categories he called primary targets. He suggested those gap numbers represent local spending that currently leaks to outside markets and that bringing more restaurants and food options would capture some of that opportunity.

Commissioners and staff asked how the firm will coordinate with smaller municipalities; Taidit said outreach will be routed primarily through the county office and that retail opportunities vary by traffic, site quality and highway access. Colleen said she will collect points of contact and municipal “wish lists” to prioritize targets for recruitment.

Why it matters: The agreement commits the county to a data‑driven retail recruitment effort intended to increase sales tax revenue, create local jobs and attract visitors. Commissioners did not vote on funding in the meeting; next steps include receiving the promised recruitment plan and identifying local contacts for implementation.

The presentation closed with commissioners agreeing to continue coordination with local mayors and city clerks and to review Retail Strategies’ recruitment deliverables once received.