Re-energizing Route 66 in Tulsa – Mary Beth Babcock

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. 

My guest on this episode is Mary Beth Babcock of Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66. It’s a quirky, fun little retail operation based out of an old 1950s gas station on 11th near Peoria. You’ve maybe seen Buck Atom. He’s hard to miss. Buck is a space cowboy and a big fan of Route 66. He’s also a big statue based on the classic muffler man model. Nearby is a brand new neon sign that is part of a going trend to bring neon back to the Mother Road. 

Mary Beth is passionate about everything she does. It started with helping revitalize downtown Tulsa’s Blue Dome District with her retail shop Dwelling Spaces. There she had fun with yetis and coffee robots. Two years ago she opened Buck Atom’s. We discuss why she moved to Rt 66 and what it means to be able to help support the famous Mother Road as global tourists cruise through Tulsa. 

A few months back tourism came to a stop as did most of Tulsa due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We start this conversation about how she’s been able to continue operating despite having to lock the doors to her shop and how she had to alter her scheduled celebrations, but still had lots of fun.

Despite those setbacks, Mary Beth just kept on trucking. That’s her in a nutshell. Always looking forward and moving ahead to accomplish whatever it is she envisions. I’ve known her for nearly a decade, and she’s always inspired me to pursue my own creative endeavors just by watching her lead by example. She’s full of life and her excitement for things is contagious. I don’t think it’s possible to spend time talking to her without laughing and also getting fired up to go do something. 

We recorded this conversation by phone on Tuesday, June 2. I had been covering the protests the past few days and was exhausted, but chatting with Mary Beth gave me new life. That’s what she does. We both really love Tulsa, so we talked about what makes the city great, which includes a lot of creative people doing great things. 

Mary Beth also talks about her friendship with friend of the pod, Danny Boy O’Connor, and she shares some tips on the places to eat and places to see on Oklahoma’s portion of Route 66. In our June issue we’ve highlighted fun things to do in all our neighboring states as well as in our state. So make sure you check it out at TulsaPeople.com.

OK, here we go.

This is Tulsa Talks.