A small shop located just off of Main street, Kim’s Alterations is so much more than just a business to Norman, it’s family.
Kim Lu began working at an alteration shop in Edmond and “in ’83 she quit, moved to Norman, and decided to start her own business. That’s how Kim’s got started,” Dennis Lu, both Kim’s son and employee said.
In the 34 years Kim’s Alterations has been in business, Kim has won multiple Readers Choice Awards from both the Norman Transcript and the Oklahoman said her son, Dennis.
It’s the relationships Kim has built over the years that have made the business successful, according to Dennis.
“Kim means everything to Norman. There’s people who have been coming in for generations; their daughters get things done, their mothers, grandmothers get things done. A lot of memories from big events; weddings, prom, homecoming,” said Dennis.
On a typical week, Kim’s Alterations normally gets “hundreds of customers, but our biggest customers throughout the years are probably OU. We do a lot of stuff for OU athletics and a lot of administrators and professors,” Dennis said.
An OU athlete that has had the opportunity to work with Kim is OU pom squad member Haley Smith. “We all use Kim on the team and I’m pretty sure cheer uses her too. We all love her (Kim),” said Smith.
“She’s super easy to work with, really sweet, she does everything super timely, and although she’s Chinese, she reminds us of our grandma, so we all love her,” Smith said.
According to Smith, it’s not the work or even the price that keeps her coming back as a customer, but it’s the atmosphere Kim is able to create.
“Kim’s pretty much everything to this store. I have customers that come in here and when they see me, the first thing they ask is ‘where’s Kim?’ They get scared, but Kim just means everything to them,” Dennis said.
One of those many customers includes former OU wrestling coach Jack Spates. “I started going to her when I began coaching at OU, but now I wouldn’t go anywhere else. All of my family goes here, heck everyone in Norman goes here practically,” said Spates.
“Kim’s is simply the best. It doesn’t get any better than Kim,” Spates said.
