PAWHUSKA MERCANTILE: Mercantile will open Oct. 31

PAWHUSKA — Ree Drummond, known on national television and the internet as “The Pioneer Woman,” announced last week the long-awaited Pioneer Woman Mercantile will open Oct. 31 in downtown Pawhuska.

“That is later than when we originally wanted to open, but after all this time and work, we want everything to be just right,” Drummond wrote on her blog. “I just wanted to give the official date so you’d know it’s safe from then on out to make plans to come if you’re so inclined! We would love to see ya.”

In 2012 Ree and Ladd Drummond purchased and began renovations to the circa 1907 Osage Mercantile Building near Main Street and Kihekah Avenue in downtown Pawhuska. The Drummonds also purchased the former Pawhuska Alco retail building, 1457 W. Main Street, and transformed the space into a warehouse for The Pioneer Woman Mercantile as well as online sales of products.

The Pioneer Woman Mercantile will provide a bakery, deli and general store, Ree Drummond said. In late August, a series of job fairs were held in Pawhuska, Bartlesville and Tulsa to staff the store and warehouse.

The Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce and Pawhuska Merchants Association have been preparing for the expected influx of traffic and visitors coming through the Osage County town. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Joni Nash said The Pioneer Woman Mercantile will be a boon for the area.

Ree Drummond rose to fame in 2006 after starting an online blog, sharing stories about life on the family’s expansive ranch west of Pawhuska and homeschooling. The Pioneer Woman website soon evolved into a place for food recipes to be shared with the public, garnering millions of new fans.

In 2009, Drummond’s first cookbook was published and in 2011, Food Network announced a new nationally televised series featuring Drummond and her recipes. She now has a cookware, dinnerware, kitchen utensil and table linen line of products in Walmart stores nationwide.

Ree Drummond is originally from Bartlesville, graduating Bartlesville High School in 1987 before heading to the University of California for college.