By Carol Mowdy Bond
Contributing Writer
Prompted by the COVID-19 impact on his business, Robin Hocker, aka Chester the Clown and owner of Chester’s Party Barn & Farm, 5201 Cimarron Road, NW, in Piedmont, and Bryan Oliver, owner of Yumhaus, rolled out Yumhaus Kitchen at Chester’s Party Barn & Farm the week of April 8th. And they’re giving the public new, scrumptious culinary options.
Chester recently refurbished his concession stand, morphing it into a commercial kitchen. Simultaneously he partnered with Bryan, a chef who owns Yumhaus. “We’re doing things differently here at the farm, because of this virus thing,” Chester said.
Bryan is in the kitchen making fajita dinners. And they’re ready for orders! “People can order meals and we’ll deliver, or they can come by for pick up,” Chester explains. “We’re starting out with fajita meals for the weeks of April 6th and 13th. We’re offering chicken, steak, and combo fajita dinners for four, for a flat rate, with all the sides you’d expect from a Mexican restaurant.
“Delivery in Piedmont is free. But there’s a delivery fee for Okarche, Surrey Hills, Edmond, Yukon, and Cashion.”
Because this is a brand new business, at this point, people should order for next day delivery or next day pick up, by phoning 405-373-1595 or by emailing bryan@yumhaus.com. The web site is about to launch, and will include the menus and a more streamlined process.
Bryan will cater all future events at Chester’s Party Barn & Farm. As well, Bryan has a food truck, and he will also be available to cater events elsewhere.
Chester has been in Piedmont since 1988. Now he’s a local legend, not only for his business smarts and personality, but also for his philanthropic and entrepreneurial spirit.
A native of Jay and one of 16 children, Chester explains that he was raised “dirt poor.” After graduating from Jay High School in 1978, Chester wanted to be a stand-up comedian but didn’t really know how to make that happen.
So he got a job that summer and in the process, he was introduced to clowning. As part of a clown group known as Spunky and the Gang, Chester learned how to be a clown and how to entertain. The group did magic tricks, slapstick routines, made balloons, and more. He was really good at it, and ended up with plenty of clown gigs.
But times were lean, and he had to clown on the side while working whatever paying jobs he could find. A series of events occurred, and he got a job offer from the Greatest Show on Earth – Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. But personal issues prevented him from taking the offer.
Starting in 1990, Chester had a television show, “Fox Kids Club House,” on the local Oklahoma City Fox station, which ran for several years.
Then McDonald’s knocked on his door about a position as the Ronald McDonald clown. And from 1992 until 1997 he was the “Field Ronald,” making live appearances. “I was not the ‘TV Ronald,'” Chester describes. “I was never on TV. I was out in the field at every conceivable kind of event everywhere.”
In 1988, Chester moved to Piedmont. Then in 1998, he bought an abandoned piece of property, and with a lot of elbow grease, he created his farm. In 2000, the now-well-known venue, Chester’s Party Barn & Farm, was born. He and wife Gloria have three children and ten grandchildren.
“We have been chosen as a top agritourism business by the State Department of Tourism,” Chester says. “This is our 20th year as an agritourism business. In the past 20 years, 500,000+ people have visited our farm. And our barn is an event venue that holds up to 200 people.”
“We’ve lost at least $30 to $35 thousand over the next 60 days for sure, due to pre-booked events that were cancelled because of the virus. That doesn’t count when people just come,” Chester explains.
Now Chester is getting more creative than ever, trying to save his farm, with a sparkling new commercial kitchen and Yumhaus meals. And he adds, “I am blessed to get paid to party.”
