SULPHUR, Okla. – Almost one year after a tornado destroyed a quaint downtown boutique, rebuilding is complete and the doors have reopened, signaling a new chapter in the Chickasaw-owned business.
The original building that housed 3rd & Broadway, a business co-owned by Chickasaw citizen Madeline Jack Little and her Choctaw mother Julie Jack, was leveled by an EF3 tornado April 27, 2024. The nighttime storm tore through historic downtown Sulphur, damaging or destroying more than 60 businesses.
In the days following the storm, friends, family and customers voluntarily arrived at the familiar building with the turquoise door to help with cleanup, Little said.
“We had merchandise just strewn out on the sides of the building,” she said. “Some stayed with us for hours just helping us go through our stuff.” Entering the building was too dangerous and was not an option, she added.
Once the dust had settled and the shock of losing the store subsided, rebuilding plans began to gel.
As fate would have it, a few years earlier Little’s sister, Joanna Jack John, had invested in a historic downtown Sulphur building at the corner of West 2nd and Muskogee. Despite the widespread damage surrounding the building, it sustained relatively minor damage such as broken windows, water damage and a damaged roof, but it was still standing.
The plans for a reimagined retail boutique began to take shape, and a major restoration of the building began, led by John’s vision and the skill of local contractor Brandon Box.
“Joanna did months of planning and renovations prior to us even having a piece of inventory in here,” Little said.
In the meantime, fixtures, clothes hangers, mannequins and other retail necessities were ordered.
Once the building was complete, Little, her husband, Patrick, and her mother went to work adding details such as painting and hanging mirrors to get the store ready.
The result was a beautifully restored airy retail space that preserves the historic charm of the building and features glamorous touches. Sentimental tributes decorate the interior space such as her grandmother’s antique furniture and a round white table. The table was donated by the owner of The Table at the Mix Mercantile, a downtown eatery which was destroyed in the tornado.
A photo of the original building hangs behind the counter and the back door is painted the familiar turquoise.
The store reopened March 17, 2024, and enjoyed a gleeful first week of business.
“Everyone just walked in, and they stood at the door, and they just go, ‘Oh my gosh,’ like exalted joy,” Little said.
The reimagined boutique’s new space did not change the fundamentals of the business.
“We still want it to be the same. We offer the same merchandise to our customers, the same affordable pricing. We really wanted to evoke the same feeling for our customers, even though we’re in a new place,” she said.
Maintaining those feelings of acceptance, belonging and friendship for the customer are paramount, Little explained.
“So many customers come in and they want to have a hug or talk to my mom, or just walk out feeling better about themselves. So that is our main thing, making sure they walk out feeling good about themselves. It is a safe, enjoyable, happy place for women to come, and they don’t have to buy a thing.”
Opening day, a few customers were waiting outside the door before the store opened. The reunion continued throughout the day and into the next week.
“These people, our friends, we haven’t seen them in almost a year, but we all caught up. It was like a party. Women were just beaming from ear to ear. The enthusiasm was off the charts. It really is like a true womanhood in here for the community.”
The outpouring of encouragement spilled over to cyberspace.
“It was overwhelming the support and enthusiasm on social media. Between my mom and I, we have read every comment on every post.”
The emotions impacted her mother during the first week of business, Little said.
“She was so strong and positive during the storm and months after. Then finally it got to where she realized just how much of an impact 3rd & Broadway had on her and on others.”
3rd & Broadway was established 13 years ago by Julie Jack, Kary Warren and Angie Wolf.
As a teen, Little worked summers behind the counter through the Chickasaw Summer Youth program (now Toksali SMART).
Wolf stepped away in 2020 and Little became a legal partner of the business.
Before the store was relaunched, Warren retired.
“Kary was so vital to the business. She retired, and I really tried to step in and fill her shoes with the accounting and inventory side of things and adding a new point-of-sale system.”
A computer sales system replaced the handwritten receipts.
Little also hopes to launch a store website within the calendar year.
She is a busy woman. She and her husband just relocated to Sulphur from Norman and are renovating her late father’s home, hoping to have it complete before their baby boy arrives in June.
Chickasaw heritage
Little said she receives her Chickasaw heritage through her late father, Clay Jack.
Growing up in Sulphur, she was active in many Chickasaw Nation camps, such as golf, softball, and Camp Survivor.
A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Little earned a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science and completed an internship with Unconquered Life. She worked for the program for about a year after graduation.
The journey of losing the store and the process of rebuilding has given Little some perspective.
“I’ve just come to accept no matter how terrible something feels, everything happens for a reason. Even though it could be a personal defeat or personal sadness, months or years down the road you realize it happened for a reason. Maybe 3rd & Broadway was supposed to have a rebirth, renewal or a revamp.”
Though they could have chosen to walk away from the business, Little said the boutique was too special not to bring back.
From the new storefront, Little has a front row seat to the rebuilding of downtown Sulphur.
“Even though it’s painful, you just kind of have to accept it and rebuild and renew, so we have to look at it just as an opportunity.”
3rd & Broadway is located at 119 W. Muskogee. Store hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The phone number remains the same, (580) 622-3396.