Coffee House on Cherry Street owner wins Tulsey award

Cheri Asher, owner of the Coffee House on Cherry Street, has won the 2012 Tulsey award for restaurateur. The Tulsey Awards honor entrepreneurs in a variety of categories.

I sent in a nomination for Cheri, a little summary of her accomplishments as an entrepreneur:

Cheri Asher has created and sustained a thriving community gathering place for nearly six years. I was an early regular, and I've watched CHoCS evolve under Cheri's direction. She is ever watchful for any aspect of the business that isn't working as well as it should. Cheri has mastered the delicate art of making adjustments that fix the problem without damaging the core qualities that make CHoCS a favorite place for her customers.

It's most obvious in the physical layout as over the years she has added and replaced furniture, shifted partitions and tables, rearranged the entrance, built a small stage -- all to create a variety of spaces to meet customer needs and maintain good flow. Less apparent but equally important are the adjustments Cheri makes to staff and menu.

Cheri deserves recognition not only for creating the kind of place that makes Tulsa cool, but also as a model entrepreneur, building and sustaining a thriving customer-oriented business in challenging times.

Rereading this, I feel I downplayed the importance of Cheri's staff. She has a great team behind the counter and in the kitchen. She has found reliable workers who can keep the place running right whether she's there or not. That is not an easy thing to do, and it's yet another credit to her that she finds good people and is able to keep them.

I look for locally owned coffeehouses everywhere I travel, and I've never found any place quite as "just right" as Coffee House on Cherry Street.