Newkirk’s Apple Market Gets Shiny Update

Story by Everett Brazil, III/Staff Writer

Small-town grocery stores are special places for the communities they serve, as they provide a place to shop without having to go to larger communities, especially when one is tired after a long day at work. They also employ local residents, including high schoolers, helping to keep money in the community. Shoppers in Newkirk regularly visit Apple Market, located on South Street, a facility that has just about everything needed in a small town.

The store now has a new look, though, and a step inside the refurbished facility reveals a new, high-class image, from a clean storefront to new registers, flooring, coolers and racks that not only expand the facility, but also the shopping experience at home in Newkirk.

The store was owned locally for many years, then known as Heartland. It was later acquired by the Brown family, who rechristened it as Apple Market, making it one of the latest in a string of Apple Market stores across the state.

“The Browns took it over in 2010, and it is family-owned,” she said. “They have stores across Oklahoma, and they have 12 stores now.”

O’Brien is excited about the renovations, not because there was a problem with the store, but because it sorely needed an upgrade for the customers.

“There was nothing wrong with the store itself, it just gives the customer a more modern store with more selections,” she said. “The store next door was previously a doctor’s office, and we bought the facility next door.”

Buying that unused space was an important move, as it allowed Apple Market to expand into new space, which made room for more coolers and freezers and an overall larger store.

Getting there, however, took a lot of time and planning. It wasn’t an overnight project, but one that was in the design phase over several years.

“Planning began two years ago. We bought the space to expand,” O’Brien said.

The work initially began in December 2022, with help from store representatives. Work finished in May.

A step inside the front door today reveals a whole new landscape, or storescape, starting with all-new registers, new vinyl flooring that mimics wood flooring, as well as an expanded front space. All frozen and cooler cases have also been upgraded, save for the produce department, but they have their own improvements.

“Produce is the only department that does not have a new cooler, but we added new refrigerated produce displays for the department,” O’Brien said.

Even moving shopping carts out in front of the store has helped make room for more products inside.

“We have an outdoor cart corral, and that is now where we keep our carts. They aren’t new carts, but they are kept outside so we have more space inside,” she said. “We definitely have more space, more pallets of sale items,” she said.

Even a drive to the store is a better experience, as the parking lot was repaved by Evans & Associates in April.

What didn’t change?

“The storage room stayed the same,” she said.

Regardless of storage space, the store is more than able to accommodate the new products and provide a new, better shopping experience, whether for local customers or someone simply stopping in on a trip, showing that Newkirk has a high-class facility for grocery shopping.

“We added 30 new doors in the frozen section,” she said. “The remodel will bring in new faces who want to see the changes, and I can’t wait to get better deals for our customers as our store grows.”