Country singer Reba McEntire has put her name on a new restaurant in Atoka, Okla., an easy drive two hours north of Dallas in Choctaw Nation. The restaurant serves Southern food alongside one-of-a-kind memorabilia, like the sequin gowns and fringe cowboy boots McEntire famously wore over the years.
But more than a glitzy spot to eat, Reba’s Place is a hometown Hail Mary from the redheaded country singer.
“This will turn around our town,” said Carol Ervin, economic development director for Atoka — population 3,250. For years, she’s been working on opening Reba’s Place, which is near the rural part of Oklahoma where McEntire grew up.
“We were really struggling. This is the catalyst project we need,” Ervin said.
During a grand opening party in late January 2023, crowds gathered inside and outside to see the long-awaited restaurant and its namesake, who generously took photos and chatted with fans. In the coming months and beyond, Ervin believes tourists from all over the country will visit Reba’s Place for sweet tea, green chile cornbread, fried green tomatoes, chicken fried steak and banana pudding.
“We’ve had people calling us every day, from California, from Ohio,” Ervin said.
Years ago, Ervin and her team nicknamed the top-secret initiative Project Saber — that’s Reba’s backwards.
McEntire gave all the credit to the design team and to executive chef Kurtess Mortensen for turning the three-story former Masonic Temple into a den for drinks, food and country music. McEntire said she loves beans and cornbread but wouldn’t know how put to that on a restaurant-quality menu.
“The best thing I can make is a reservation,” she said, flashing a Cheshire grin.
Chef Mortensen formerly worked for more than five years at Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s restaurant, which is also in Oklahoma.
Mortensen’s menu has some ties to Texas, including the microgreens he sources from McKinney, quail from Fort Worth and chicken from East Texas. All of the beef comes from the Choctaw Nation reservation, an 11,000-square-mile territory in southeastern Oklahoma.
How Reba got her Place
McEntire was home with her siblings in Oklahoma in early 2020, when her mother, Jacqueline McEntire, was battling cancer and died at age 93. The country star cleared her concert calendar to grieve, and almost immediately, the COVID-19 pandemic kept her home. Creating Reba’s Place helped McEntire feel connected with her hometown.
“I just wish Mama and Daddy were here to see it and love it,” McEntire said, her voice shaking.
Guests at the restaurant should ascend to the third floor library — a room shared with a sizable gift shop with Reba-themed gear. McEntire’s Mama’s books line the walls of the library, and a hidden door in the middle peeks into a speakeasy that McEntire uses as her private dressing room during events.
The second floor dining area has several private rooms, including the “Fancy” Room, named for McEntire’s 1990 hit song. And in several parts of the restaurant, church pews are used for booth seating. Those came from one of the churches, now gone, behind the restaurant.
One of the servers said her niece’s teeth marks are still on one of the pews, from the Sunday mornings when the baby was teething.
“This is the most exciting thing here that’s happened in quite some time,” said another staffer, Angelia Whiddon. She’s lived in Atoka on and off for 50 years.
To kick off the official opening of the restaurant, McEntire performed just over 10 songs to an adoring crowd, bringing most to tears during “I’m a Survivor.” McEntire wiped tears from her eyes many times during the several hours she spent at the grand opening.
“I just have been so emotional about all the work that has gone into this beautiful place,” she said.
Reba’s Place is at 301 E. Court St., Atoka, Okla.
