Casa Romo has received numerous accolades, serving as an anchor for the downtown district with a reputation for quality food and service.
Tuesday evening, the restaurant added another well-deserved honor. Oklahoma Main Street Center, a division of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, named Casa Romo as the Business of the Year during its banquet.
“It was just a surprise,” Owner Daniel Romo said. “It came out of nowhere.”
Ardmore also had two finalists for top honors in the state. Ardmore Police Department Capt. Paul White was one of three finalists for Outstanding Public Official and the annual car giveaway fundraiser by Ardmore Main Street Authority was a finalist for Best Creative Fundraising Effort.
“They are very deserving,” Main Street Authority Manager Allison Meredith said of Casa Romo. “We were sad that Paul (White) didn’t win. Next year, we will write nominations for more awards. We have had someone step up and say they would help because it is very time consuming.”
When asked what he based the success of Casa Romo on, Romo said it was consistency, hard work and taking care of their customers.
“It is a real easy business when you think about it,” he said. “It is just making sure your customers walk out of here happy.”
While the concept is simple, Romo said it takes hard work to pull it off.
“The principles, fundamentals are simple,” he said. “Executing them is the hardest part. There are so many moving parts at the same time. You just have to make sure everything is humming.”
That requires balancing the kitchen with staff at the front of the house. It also requires filling in where needed.
“We are very fortunate because we are a family business and we got five or six of us family members running around,” he said. “We don’t get to call in, and we don’t want to. We are invested in this business and if we don’t work hard then we don’t have anything to show for it.”
Casa Romo has been an Ardmore institution since 2002, opened by Jose and Socorro Romo. In 2011, it moved into its current building from across the street and has only grown in popularity as a destination for local residents and visitors to Ardmore, leading to its recognition as the best business in the state.
“It is a validation for getting up every day, working your butt off and making sure everybody walks out the door happy,” he said. “Yeah, we are doing our job. But I always beat myself up more than anybody else. Yeah, we are okay. Yeah, we are doing good. But I always feel like we can always do something better and better.”
