LOCAL
Ismael Lele, The Oklahoma Eagle
Isla’s officially closed Tuesday, less than a month after Fulton Street Books and Coffee announced it would shut down. Photo:Tim Landes/Tulsa Flyer
Isla’s Kitchen officially closed Tuesday evening less than two years after opening its doors. It marked the second business in the Historic Greenwood District to close in the past month.
The Creole and lowcountry-styled restaurant planned to stay open through the weekend but said on Facebook they’d have to shut down early due to a “lack of inventory.” With its sudden closing, and the upcoming departure of Fulton Street Books & Coffee, neighboring businesses are stressing the importance of community support to stay open.
One location in the neighborhood that has withstood the economic ups and downs of the past few years is Magic City Books, located just blocks away from both Fulton Street and Isla’s. The store is owned and operated by the nonprofit Tulsa Literary Coalition.
“Local businesses depend on everybody coming in on a consistent basis and making their place of business their regular spot, and we all depend on each other,” Jenna Akuma, executive director of Magic City Books, said. “Each local business depends on each other, too, and when one of us suffers, we all suffer. When one of us grows, we all grow.”
Akuma is concerned with the state of local businesses in Tulsa, especially bookstores. When she started working at Magic City in 2023, there were three prominent, local bookstores. But two years later, her store has outlived both Fulton Street and Whitty Books, which closed its doors in Kendall Whittier in January.
Fulton Street owner Onikah Asamoa-Caesar said part of the reason she’s closing up shop is to seek new opportunities in her home state of New Jersey. The “lack of support” for Black-owned businesses in Tulsa, she said, has made operating unviable. Its last day is Oct. 18.
After Asamoa-Caesar announced the store’s closing in September, Freeman Culver, the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, told The Eagle the unfortunate reality is not every model will be viable for a long period of time. Culver called owning a local business a “sink or swim” endeavor.
Across the street is Tisdale’s Cigar Lounge, whose owner Rodney Tisdale said he was sad to hear about both Isla’s and Fulton Street’s closings.
“It sucks to see a business go, however that’s the thing about being a business owner,” Tisdale said, pointing to the risk involved. “We all love the good part when it’s thriving. We all hate the sad (part) when it doesn’t work out at that time.”
Tisdale told The Eagle that he; Kode Ransom, owner of Greenwood Griots; and Derrick Howard, owner of Fashionable Gear, are consistently brainstorming ideas on how they can help the Greenwood neighborhood return to its level of prosperity reminiscent of the 1940s.
“Let’s talk about when we had multiple millionaires,” Tisdale, who opened his business in May, said. “Let’s not just talk about devastation, because that’s not going to take me to the next level.”
Isla’s opened in January 2024 underneath Justin Thompson Restaurant Group. Its owner did not respond to The Eagle’s request for comment, but wrote on Facebook that 2025 has been a period of struggle for downtown businesses.
