Eskimo Joe's
Eskimo Joe’s was the brainchild of Steve File, a pal of Stan Clark since the two were in the fifth grade. One fateful Sunday afternoon in May of 1975, Steve proclaimed, “Hey, I’m gonna open a bar.” Stan said, “I know where there’s a two-story building for rent. I’ll go partners with you!” Within minutes, these two wild and crazy guys had agreed to rent the building at 501 W. Elm.
Steve came up with the name Eskimo Joe’s and Bill Thompson, a freshman art student, drew the famous logo with a magic marker. “I loved it the second I saw it!” Stan says. And so, Eskimo Joe and Buffy were born.
Eskimo Joe’s opened July 21, 1975 serving ice-cold beer, red-hot music, and great-big smiles on both proprietors’ faces and on the front of the 72 t-shirts available for sale on day one. In the beginning, Joe’s shirts were sold behind the bar. The first shirts sold out in a week, and became so popular that the wait staff could no longer keep up with the demand. That popularity continues to the present day.
In the years since 1975, Eskimo Joe’s has reached out and supported the community in numerous ways. One of those is by supporting breast health awareness and screening in Oklahoma women in need. To that end, Joe’s sells merchandise with the pink ribbon logo and donates a portion of those sales each year to Project Woman Coalition, a small non-profit located in Central Oklahoma.
In 2002, Stan Clark, owner of Eskimo Joe’s was awarded the Corporate Breast Cancer Companion award given annually to those individuals and corporations that go above and beyond in helping with this important cause. For more information about Eskimo Joe’s, please visit their website, www.eskimojoes.com See how you can support breast health awareness for those Oklahoma women in need, and have some fun at the same time!