Carly Fussell with Mother Road Market

By Roderick Hands | January 21, 2025

Carly Fussell introduces Mother Road Market, a nonprofit food hall in Tulsa, and Kitchen 66, a program supporting food entrepreneurs with training and resources. Entrepreneurs gain real-world experience through pop-up events, residencies, and collaborative spaces, while the market engages the community with diverse events and cuisines. Rooted in Tulsa’s identity, the initiatives celebrate local culture, Route 66 heritage, and the entrepreneurial spirit.

Show Notes:

Guest: Carly Fussell | Mother Road Market

Key Moments:

  • 00:00 Story of Starting a Cupcake Business
  • 01:11 Introduction to Tulsa’s Home Podcast
  • 01:32 What is Mother Road Market?
  • 02:59 Exploring Kitchen 66
  • 05:02 Mother Road Market and Kitchen 66 Collaboration
  • 06:02 Supporting Entrepreneurs at Mother Road Market
  • 18:32 Events and Activities at Mother Road Market
  • 21:25 Route 66 and Future Plans
  • 22:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Connect with Mother Road Market:

Transcript:

Carly Fussell with Mother Road Market | Tulsa Is Home Podcast

She had decided she wanted to open her own cupcake business called High Cupcake. And with that came the learning curve of everything that comes with opening a food business. I mean, it is. just unreal. All of the barriers that, uh, entrepreneurs face in order to open their own business. And so she had this vision with the foundation  to create a program to help startup entrepreneurs who were looking to open a business specifically in the food space. 

Known as the biggest town you’ll ever experience.  With its unique historical background, Tulsa is home to a diverse range of people and businesses with a thriving economy. Delicious eats, nightlife, and entertainment for all ages. Tulsa is also home to business titans, entrepreneurs,  Artists and foodies, whether you’re considering a move to Tulsa or just wanting to learn more about the place you call home, the Tulsa is home podcast is for you. 

Introduction to Tulsa’s Home Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Tulsa’s home podcast. Uh, today we get to talk with Carly Fussell, uh, with Mother Road Market and Kitchen 66, and we’re going to talk about, uh, just a wide range of, uh, business concepts. Concepts that you guys are in, um, and, uh, the foundation that you’re with. 

What is Mother Road Market?

And, um, so before we get into kind of all those, what is, if for those people who don’t know what Mother Road Market is, Maybe they’re, um, surely they’re from Tulsa, they know and have visited, uh, but maybe people from out of town, they don’t know what it is.

So give us a kind of a brief summary of what it is. Yeah, so Motherhood Market is Tulsa’s first and only non profit food hall. So we basically are just a big community space. We have about 13 restaurants inside. We also have some retail spaces in there. Um, and really our goal is just to bring Tulsans and travelers alike, um, into one community space where they can eat, hang out, enjoy food, um, and just kind of learn all about Tulsa as well.

And all of the diverse entrepreneurs that we have here in the city. Awesome. And it’s what kind of foods. Uh, restaurants do you guys have there? Oh my gosh, everything. Tacos, Nashville hot chicken, Brazilian food. Um, we have Ice cream, and then we also have a full bar and then we also have what we like to call Tulsa’s best patio.

So it’s a big expansive space. Um, it is covered and it’s heated in the winter. So it’s kind of a year round space that people can just go and hang out. And it has a route 66 themed mini golf course out there. So for anyone who loves to play mini golf, especially the kiddos, it is the perfect place.

Awesome. And so it has a unique, uh, motherhood market, uh, has a unique story and kind of the. Uh, the tenants that you bring in. 

Exploring Kitchen 66

So tell us about Kitchen 66 and how those work together. Yeah. So actually, um, Kitchen 66 and Motherhood Market are both programs of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation, which was, um, founded by Kathy Taylor and her husband, Bill Lobeck. 

And then they brought on Kathy Taylor’s daughter, Elizabeth Frame Ellison to be the CEO back in 2013. And Elizabeth had actually had a really, unique experience. She had decided she wanted to open her own cupcake business called High Cupcake. And with that came the learning curve of everything that comes with opening a food business.

I mean, it is just unreal, all of the barriers that, uh, entrepreneurs face in order to open their own business. And so she had this vision with the foundation  to create a program to help startup entrepreneurs who were looking to open a food business. Business specifically in the food space. And so that’s kind of how kitchen 66 was born.

Um, so in 2016, the foundation launched kitchen 66, which is known as Tulsa’s kickstart kitchen. Um, it’s an incubator. We have a commercial kitchen, and then we also run what’s called the launch program, which is usually anywhere between like a 12 and 15 week. Business training course for people who are ready to launch their food concept.

So they go through everything. They meet with the health department. They learn how to get business permits, loans, marketing support, everything you can possibly imagine in order to launch a food business. So that started in 2016 and we actually had a space in the sun building downtown where those businesses would pop up and they would serve lunch to the downtown, Lunch crowd so they would come in and they would kind of get to test their concepts get feedback from those people  And then after that for two years it went  People loved it.

And we were like, wow, there’s this need for a space for these entrepreneurs that maybe aren’t ready to open their own full fledged brick and mortar, but they are ready to be open  full time, you know, to the public. And so that’s where Motherhood Market was born. 

Mother Road Market and Kitchen 66 Collaboration

So in 2018, we opened Motherhood Market, Tulsa’s first and only nonprofit food hall.

And we reserved.  Quite a few spaces inside mother and market for those people from kitchen 66 to open their business and so they operate All during the same hours that mother road market is open, but they’re still receiving support from the foundation. Just giving them kind of that next step in order for them to prepare to open their own brick and mortar.

Awesome. How many restaurants are currently in, uh, motherhood market? We currently have 13 food businesses inside motherhood market, and then we have several retail spaces as well. Okay. Do the retail spaces, do they go through?  or similar business startup training? They don’t go through kitchen 66, but they are, um, also receiving support from the foundation and they are startup businesses as well that are kind of kind of testing their concept.

How many graduates have you had through kitchen 66? Oh gosh. Over 200. Okay. Yeah. 

Supporting Entrepreneurs at Mother Road Market

And so, um, Something unique about Kitchen 66 is also inside Mother Road Market is we have a 2800 square foot commercial kitchen. So, um, our goal with that is to provide Food trucks, caterers, people that are going out in the community and serving food in any capacity, they can rent space inside that, um, commercial kitchen.

So it’s open 24 hours a day, they have access, they can go in and use the space. There’s commercial grade ovens, ranges, large spaces where they can prepare food in somewhere that is, you know,  um, the health department has, you know, done all of the coding and everything. Cool. So. That’s just something, another level that Kitchen 66 provides for entrepreneurs here in Tulsa.

Is that still downtown? No, it is inside Motherhood Market. That is inside Motherhood Market. Okay. So we had that space there. in the sun building downtown. We moved it inside motherhood market when we opened. Yeah. So there’s a whole other group of entrepreneurs that don’t have businesses necessarily inside motherhood market, but they are still in the space preparing food every single day.

So, so much going on all the time. Yeah, absolutely.  So how long have you been with them? I have been with the foundation for about four and a half years now. Okay. Good deal. Yeah. And so what, what do you feel like the, um,  the main draw for restaurants, uh, to either join kitchen 66 or, or just go through, uh, mother and market and post up?

I think that it’s, The way we have found a place to connect the community the resources are amazing I think it helps so many businesses but really we are working towards bringing creating this vibrant space where people can can just come and enjoy food and We I think it’s such good exposure for those businesses.

I think there’s some businesses inside Mother Road market We have some really strong ones like chicken and the wolf. That’s a really well known business here in Tulsa people come thinking maybe I’m going to eat chicken and the wolf for the day, but then they walk around and they’re exposed to these brand new businesses that they’ve never heard of before, or maybe a different type of cuisine.

And so I think it’s just getting those people in the space in order to experience all of these different startup businesses that are entering the Tulsa food scene. I mean, it’s just so. important for them to kind of be exposed to that. So we see such a wide range of people who are either traveling route 66 or they live here and they come, you know, once a week or they come with co workers and friends.

And I think  Something that’s so unique about Motherhood Market and something that people talk about all the time is that, you know, usually you have to sit down and talk to your friends. Where do we want to go eat? Everyone has to agree on what they want to eat on.  At Motherhood Market, you don’t have to do that.

You just show up and you have 13 different options of something, you know, and everyone can get what they want to eat. Yep. And you can hang out outside, inside. And, um, our goal is just for people to enjoy themselves while they’re there. Learn a little bit about Route 66, about startup entrepreneurs, and then hopefully spread the word.

Awesome. Yeah. How long do people typically stay in, um, Motherhood Market before either? Making a decision to kind of have a standalone or a second location or Maybe restaurant business is not where they want to be right which are all things we consider a success for sure Um, it all varies. Um since we just opened six years ago You know, we kind of were trying to figure that out How long does it take for a business to figure that out?

Um, and also we did face 19 pandemic, right? You k years after opening. So  w that had signed leases  th they needed a couple of m  three to 10 years would be, that’s a wide range, but you know, everyone’s kind of on a different path. Some people maybe are a little more ready and they only need a couple of years inside motherhood market to really get their footing, figure things out, and then be ready to find a space.

So it all varies. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. And, um, are there, I know you talked about diversity with, with the restaurants. Are there, uh, do you, can you have more than one, any particular restaurant, or do you try to have every single of those 13 spaces be a different type of cuisine or how do you do that?

Yeah, um, I think the goal would be that we would have different types in all of them, but also, you know, Startup businesses are startup businesses. Maybe there are two italian concepts or two Hamburger restaurant concepts, you know, and our goal really is just to support the entrepreneurs that are ready to take that next step So we definitely aren’t against it by any means.

Um, we’re just looking to kind of keep things fun You know, we want people to come back and see something new or experience something new So just there’s always the fine line and the balance of figuring it out. But Yeah. Um, so with kitchen 66 and, uh, you have people who apply, does it cost to go through that?

Do they come up with their funding? What does that look like? Yes. So there is tuition to go through the kitchen 66 launch program. And, um,  It is 500 to go through the program and we actually just as of a couple of years ago We now offer that program in english and completely in spanish as well So we have some community partners that have helped make that happen, which has been a huge game changer, you know I think there’s a lot of businesses that want to We would never have been exposed to different types of foods that we never would have known if that wasn’t an option.

So that’s been a huge turning point for Kitchen 66 as well, has been able to offer that. Cool. But yeah, they do pay a tuition. They go through the 12 to 15 week program and we do three cohorts a year. So, Um, it’s split up every year between how many English and Spanish cohorts we do. We try to keep it even.

Um, how many in each batch? 10 to 15. Okay. So they go through a full application process. They apply, they come in for an interview. They usually bring samples of their food. That’s one of our favorite things in the office.  Trying all the new different food. Um, and then the kitchen 66 team decides, and we like to take a wide range of entrepreneurs.

So people who. have an idea or people who are almost ready to potentially be open inside mother and market or a brick, a full brick and mortar somewhere here in Tulsa. So they’re learning alongside each other. And the fun thing is they’re also learning from each other. So they create kind of lifelong friendships and partnerships that maybe they never would have been able to before. 

And so then we also have the people who are popping up in, The commercial kitchen, they pay a really small fee in order to be in the kitchen. It’s actually by the hour. And so they can just kind of pick and choose, you know, I am going out with my food truck on Tuesday for lunch. So I’m going to book a couple hours in the kitchen, prep things that they don’t have room for in their food truck, and then they go out and that’s kind of all that they have to do.

So  just keeping it really low barrier for them. Yeah.  So do most people who, uh, enter the Kitchen 66 program. Do they, are they wanting to or expecting to get inside Mother Road Market at that point? So I think wanting to probably, um, but we do only have a limited amount of spaces inside Mother Road Market.

But the fun thing about Mother Road Market is that we also have the Kitchen 66 Takeover Cafe. It looks just like any other Okay. a space inside Mother Road Market, but it actually is a daily rotating pop up space. Okay, I had seen that, but okay, I didn’t know what it was. Yeah, so those businesses that are going through Kitchen66, and we also have some that didn’t go through the launch program, but they’re some way tied to Kitchen66, they can pop up one day.

Okay. No strings attached. You know, they come in. They, uh, are there genuinely just to test their concept and see. And so we provide them with some marketing support, get the word out about them and kind of just teach them the ropes of what that looks like. And so they pop up for a day, usually just a day, and they can do it once or twice a month and just see how things go.

And so that’s usually that pipeline that they’re building to figure out, you know, you know,  Maybe there’s going to be a spot inside Motherhood Market, or maybe they’re ready to open that full fledged brick and mortar somewhere in Tulsa. And then as of last year, we opened the Takeover Cafe residency. So that’s kind of step two after just the Takeover Cafe.

So that one’s just a day pop up. The residency is actually one to two weeks of a pop up. So they would come in, kind of settle in, and they would be just another spot inside Motherhood Market. And same thing, we provide them with some marketing support, get the word out, but they are there, and they are.

Really, really trying to gather that feedback and learn what it’s like, you know, to come in day in and day out that grind of being in a little kitchen and how that works. Having employees, you know, usually they have to have people there to support them. It’s not just a one man show.  Those are two spaces that are giving them the opportunity. 

And then we have some consumer packaged goods companies that also go through kitchen 66 and we have the general store, which is kind of like a little bodega. Um, and so we have all different kinds of, uh, frozen, fresh, Um, and then like shelf items, salsas, pretzels, cookies, frozen meats, you know, that people can take home so they can come in.

Are those all from different vendors? All different, yep. So, I can’t even tell you how many are in there, I mean, several. Awesome. So, yeah, they can go through Kinsha 66 and they can sell their Product inside the general store. So they don’t have to be there all the time. You know, we have a cashier there and it’s just like a little shop.

So people love to walk through and they’re then exposed to a wider variety, variety of consumers as well. That’s awesome. Yeah. I mean, we’re, We’re highly focused on local and, uh, and restaurants are always, always good. Right. So this is, I mean, exactly the type of business, not only a model, but like, you know, people who support Mother Road Market are supporting, you know, countless other entrepreneurs.

Right. And it helps you then. To launch out other, uh, restaurants and, and local businesses. So yeah, it’s really exciting.  Are there besides COVID the obvious one, do you know of times when. You know, through the, through the startup or through the idea of, you know, is this actually going to work or is it actually, you know, are we doing the right thing?

Like I’m sure there’s been times, uh, when those thoughts have, have kind of gone through. I feel like every small business goes through those, those moments. Do you know of any with motherhood market? I think something interesting that I’ve learned and some coworkers and all of those businesses, it’s just how the seasons change.

You know, I think that there’s. It’s always there’s those exciting times like around the holidays and in the summer we get lots of travelers. Spring break is always a busy time at Motherhood Market, but there’s also the fluctuating seasons when it’s freezing cold in Tulsa and people don’t want to leave their house, you know.

I think just those really small learning points of like, it’s not always going to be the best day ever, you know, but being able to kind of, Just push through those times and I love that. I think those businesses Being inside motherhood market in a community space They also lean on the other businesses inside there and they can kind of talk about it We have a monthly merchant meeting internally where they all sit down and kind of just discuss stuff What’s going on?

And I think it’s so cool to hear, you know, this week I had really great sales. Maybe we had an event at Mother Road Market that kind of helped boost that, you know, and then maybe we had a really slow week. And so just really sitting down and diving into what all it takes because it isn’t always just the most glamorous industry ever, you know, it’s, it’s tough.

So  I think  I just love seeing them be able to connect with each other. Um, And then it’s so fun. You know, we have some business owners that are there every single day. And then some of them have managers and just hourly employees. And so they all just kind of have that community support and then they have the support of the foundation as well to kind of help guide them. 

Yeah. Awesome. 

Events and Activities at Mother Road Market

So I know you have, uh, different events and things that I was looking, uh, on your calendar. Uh, you have a, like a kid’s cooking day, um, coming up and by the time this, uh, podcast is released, it’ll be, it’ll be past that. But. Yeah. Awesome. Um, with Tulsa Daily newsletter that we, we send out, uh, with different events and everything.

Um, Motherhood Market has continual events on like weekly basis, right? So what are some of those events? Oh gosh, so we try to be As innovative as possible. I think that’s probably our favorite word. Um, but yeah, like I said, kids cooking class, that’s kind of has that tie into, you know, the entrepreneurial scene, kind of getting kids excited about cooking and something that they could possibly do.

regular thing or is that? We do it once a month. Once a month. Okay. So we have a partner organization, Planet First Catering. And so they come in and actually teach that class. And, um, they used to just do the once a month. Standard kids cooking class and now we have such big interest in it. We actually do what’s called the master class.

So it’s a little bit for a little bit older kids and who have come to the other classes before and they learn, you know, maybe a little more specific into it. So that’s been really fun. It’s on Saturday mornings. Okay. Who leaves that?  It’s Planet First Catering. Planet First Catering, okay. And then what, what do they focus on or what, what is their primary?

Um, they do, it’s a catering business. Okay. And then they’ve just come in and they love teaching the kids. And so they’ve been a long time partner of Mother Ode Market and um, yeah. It’s so fun. And then we do things like the food innovation series, which that kind of incorporates all of the merchants. So they get to compete against each other.

So we just had one, not that long ago. It was called the slider showdown. So they all create this innovative slider. People buy a ticket. They get to try a slider from every place they vote on their favorite. So just things like that kind of, again, Anyone can enter that or do you have to be the merchants inside motherhood market?

So, okay. And then, but anyone from the community can buy a ticket. Yeah. Come experience it. Yeah, that is cool. And so, and then, like I said, mini golf, that’s just, I mean, it’s always there, not an event. Um, and then every year we celebrate our birthday. So that’s always fun. Um,  We do a big spring break week. So we try to get a lot of travelers, you know, people who are coming to Tulsa, um, kid focused activities.

We like to do, um, silent discos is one of our big events. Yep. So we have the headsets and kids come out, we have a DJ, so always be checking out mother in market. com. That’s where we have all of our events posted and our Facebook page. But yeah, Tulsa daily is. It’s amazing at helping us get the word out about those as well.

Yeah.  Is there anything that, um, we didn’t touch on? Yeah. Things that you, that you would want the community to, to know about? Is there anything that we missed? 

Route 66 and Future Plans

I think the only big thing is our big tie to Route 66. You know, we are continually celebrating, um, and champion, being a champion of Route 66. Yeah.

So that’s,  all about why we are on Route 66, the Mother Road, the Mother Road Market. Um, we also have the shops at Mother Road Market, which is technically right on that corner of 11th and Lewis. So right on Route 66. So that’s kind of an expansion of, um, the retail program as well. So there’s more spots available there, um, for retail spaces to pop up.

And then, um, just working with the city and community leaders on. Uh, 2026 will be the centennial of Route 66. So that’s kind of up and coming. We’ll have some big fun activations going on  at Motherhood Market in the Tulsa Market District, which is that district that we’re in, and then all along Route 66.

So there’s Is there a date range or is it basically all year? The whole year. Okay, cool. Yeah, so there will be all the things going on. I think there’ll be some things happening in 2025 that will be leading up kind of getting people excited, but we expect that to be a huge year for people traveling who will travel the entire route.

Um, and just, yeah, we’re really excited. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome. Yeah. 

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much. Kind of teaching us a little bit about, uh, Kitchen 66 and, um, Motherhood Market, uh, the foundation. Mm hmm. And, uh, it’s just, it’s such a huge, uh, benefit, a blessing to Tulsa. Um, so one final question you always ask our guests is, you know, Tulsa is home podcast.

We’d like to stick with that theme. Um, so what does Tulsa mean to you for being, uh, you know, why is Tulsa home or maybe, um, you know, everyone at, um,  mother road market, you know, is there a collective, uh, answer that you would have for why Tulsa is home?  I would say personally for me, Tulsa has always been my home.

Um, and I’ve loved watching it grow over the last 26 years of my life. And then I think for  business owners and the foundation kitchen 66 motherhood market, Tulsa is home because of the people that live here in this community. They have supported countless entrepreneurs, um, and their big dreams. And so I think that we’re  Being here in Tulsa has just been such a huge blessing for them.

Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. Well, good deal. Well thanks for, uh, joining us today, uh, with our interview. And, um, yeah. So check out mother road market.com. Mm-hmm . Uh, all the events that they have, uh, Tulsa daily Also, uh, we’re gonna, uh, send out those events that we have, uh, on a regular basis. And thanks again for joining us.

Thank you so much. Absolutely. 

Posted in Business Spotlight, Restaurant, Retail

About Roderick Hands