New company looks to cool off Ozarks

Entrepreneur Craig Clark’s Ozark Mountain Mist Co. sells outdoor misting machines that work to drop temperatures by 10 F to 15 F.

Clark started the company in May after relocating here from Florida. There, he ran two misting companies with some big-name clients: Walt Disney World Co., Universal Studios and SeaWorld Adventure Parks.

Odee’s Restaurant and Barbeque is Clark’s first commercial client in this area.

“Out of every place I saw in Branson, it was the best-case scenario,” Clark said. “I approached (Odee’s owner Mike Oden) and said I had done this in Florida. He had looked into it before, and other contractors told him it wouldn’t work in Missouri. I said, ‘Let me put in for a week. If you like it, pay for it. If you don’t, I’ll take it out.’ He paid for it the second day he had it. The guests went crazy for it. When I turned it on, I even looked at him and said, ‘Hey Mike, it works in Missouri.’”

Oden said the system, which had a one-time cost of about $4,500 for purchase and installation, has drawn rave reviews from his customers since it was installed in late May.

“In the summertime it gets so hot up there in the afternoons,” he said. “The customers really enjoy it; they can’t believe how much cooler it makes it feel out there.”

The cooled-down area features live music on Sundays, and the new system has attracted more customers to the shows, Oden said.

Clark’s misting machine also has residential applications. He recently installed his first residential machine at the Branson home of Steve Presley of Presley’s Country Jubilee.

Presley said the system helps him utilize a part of his house – a new screened-in porch – that would otherwise be unusable during these hot summer days.

“We had a basic system that you hook up to a garden hose, like you get at any home improvement store, that I got a few years back,” he said. “I wanted a system that we could activate easier and would be more efficient.”

In Florida, Clark said he averaged between $150,000 and $200,000 in annual revenue in his years in Florida. He owned Florida Mist Co. and Rain Forest International.

Clark doesn’t expect to match those numbers here; Disney alone brought in more revenue than he expects to make in southwest Missouri.

He does have high hopes, though. He has been in contact with Silver Dollar City and Branson Landing officials, though no formal agreements are in place.

“Craig is a good guy with a good product, and we’re happy to recommend him as we’re happy to recommend anyone with a good concept to any of the retail companies that are filling out the stores (in the Landing),” said Rick Graff, development director for Branson Landing.

But can a system that adds water to the air be successful in such a humid environment as southwest Missouri?

Clark said yes.

“I was the only one when I started in Florida,” Clark said. “People told me I was crazy, because the business would never work in a humid environment. But when I left there were 20 companies that I knew of, which probably meant there were 30 or 40 (total).”

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