Cast Iron Company: Forging Culinary Excellence with Timeless Kitchen Essentials

Lisa Simmons is the owner of Cast Iron Co., located downtown at 121 E. Grand Avenue in Ponca City. Cast Iron Co. is a kitchen and gift boutique locally owned and operated in the heart of our community and housed in the historic Donahoe-Souligney building. 

In the fall of 2019, after her two children reached school age, Simmons found herself in a season of transition. She and her husband Andrew had moved back to Ponca City from Stillwater for his job and her little ones were no longer at home all day. She knew she was ready to go back to work but was unsure what she wanted work to look like. Simmons also knew she would need a flexible schedule. She began kicking around the idea of starting her own business. She had a good friend from Stillwater, Miranda, who owned her own business and she often heard her talk about what that entailed. Miranda was in Simmons’ corner from the beginning and helped guide her along the path to opening Cast Iron Co. She encouraged her to look downtown for an open space, pointing out that downtown is the heart of any community. 

Lisa and Andrew started their planning by driving around downtown looking at properties. They were drawn to her current space because of the historic tin ceiling. After meeting with the property owner, Simmons was still hesitant about opening her business. She knew there would be competition and wondered if our market could handle the type of store she wanted to open. She was again encouraged by her friend Miranda who convinced her she could make her kitchen boutique work in downtown Ponca City. Miranda helped guide her through obstacles like state-mandated paperwork and the more hands-on pieces of the business, like choosing vendors and inventory. 

Andrew was integral in prepping their space for her shop. Previously, the property they rented had been used as an office space. As part of their remodeling work, they cleaned the floors, built new walls in order to create the showroom and storage spaces for the business, cleaned and painted the ceiling tiles, built new duct work and so much more. Andrew also built her custom green counter, which is such a lively focal point of the space. 

As things progressed, she still hadn’t come up with the right name for her business. She wanted something with “a little edge to it,” as she puts it. Brainstorming with her husband one day, he threw out “cast iron” and she knew he was on to something. Things continued progressing at a steady pace and then came grinding to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most entrepreneurs going into retail are going to market and picking out products. She was pouring over catalogs to try to determine what things she would stock in her store. This creates a special kind of challenge for someone opening a kitchen boutique. Simmons couldn’t taste-test products or see anything in person. She had to follow her gut and trust that she was making the right decisions for her business and for Ponca City’s market. 

After Lisa & Andrew’s months of hard work, Cast Iron Co. was ready to open in April of 2020. The world, however, was largely shut down. She had kept things hush-hush during the planning stages and had hoped for a grand opening complete with a big reveal, but that just wasn’t in the cards. Like so many other business owners during the pandemic, she had to shift her plans. Simmons ended up opening her doors in May and having her ribbon cutting in June of 2020. 

Cast Iron Co. features a wide range of kitchen products and gift items. One of their in-house specialties is their completely customizable gift baskets. She creates gift baskets for occasions like birthdays, housewarmings, and holiday parties, as well as baskets for corporate gifts during the holiday season. These are great for customers because they take the guesswork (and the actual work) out of gift-giving. She can theme the baskets as well – your husband loves to grill, and she can put together a grill-themed basket. If your spouse loves kitchen gadgets, she can fix you up. If you’d like baskets for your corporate customers and would like to simply set a price point and let her go to work, that’s an option too.

Cast Iron Co. also carries a handful of signature lines. They stock Lodge Cast Iron Cookware products. Lodge is based out of Tennessee and makes all manner of cast iron products and is most well-known for their cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens. Simmons also carries the popular Brumate line of drinkware. Brumate makes mugs, tumblers, can coolers, wine cups, coolers and more. Their entire line comes in fun colors and patterns making them a great gift item for anyone on your list. Other customer favorites are the spices, hot sauces and dip mixes Cast Iron Co. carries. The spices and hot sauces make great gift items and can make any meal better. The dip mixes are perfect to keep on hand for the holidays to easily whip up for parties and get-togethers. 

Despite a slower start than she had hoped for, she’s been successful in our downtown. Simmons has tripled her inventory since opening her business over three years ago. She has received guidance from other local entrepreneurs like Lori George, who owned the Prairie Rose. She’s learned some hard lessons along the way, but believes it has been worth it. She has also become an active member in our community since moving back to Ponca City in 2019. She’s currently serving on the Main Street Board of Directors and is Vice President of the Trout PTA. Simmons is also in this year’s Leadership Ponca City Class and is shadowing the Tourism Board as a part of that program. 

Subscribe now