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Steve Johnson, Once Upon a Child
sbj photo by wes hamilton
Steve Johnson, Once Upon a Child

Open for Business: Once Upon a Child

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Once Upon A Child
Steve and Cindy Johnson on Aug. 24 opened a Once Upon A Child franchise resale store at 1258 E. Battlefield Road, in place of their former Clothes Mentor shop. Steve Johnson said he decided to enter the children’s clothing and accessory market after Children’s Orchard closed last year due to fire. “The parents are not so worried about style as they are about condition,” Johnson said. His staff of 15 sells items for 25-50 percent of the original retail price, he said, and buys merchandise from the public for 30-40 percent of the resale value. The average Once Upon A Child franchise costs $300,000 to launch, but Johnson said he self-funded it for less, by refurbishing the interior himself. Franchisees pay a $20,000 startup fee and 5 percent royalties to Minneapolis-based Winmark Corp., which also owns the Plato’s Closet and Play It Again Sports concepts.
Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-6 p.m. Sunday
Phone: (417) 886-1853
Web: OnceUponAChildSpringfieldMO.com

Big Whiskey’s Concepts LLC
Big Whiskey’s Concepts LLC opened its eighth restaurant Aug. 18 at 900 N. Old Town Ave. in Republic, in a former Ruby Tuesday. The Springfield-based restaurant company bought the 5,200-square-foot building for undisclosed terms from Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RT), which in 2016 closed 95 underperforming stores. It’s Big Whiskey’s first stand-alone site. “When they purchased the Ruby Tuesday in Republic, it was actually a two-store deal,” said Laura Elliott, director of marketing. “It also included the shuttered Ruby Tuesday in Nixa.” The Nixa property is for sale, she said, but it could become another corporate-owned Big Whiskey’s – in addition to the three in Springfield and one each in Ozark and Branson. Big Whiskey’s first two franchisees opened stores this year, in Bentonville, Arkansas, and in Lee’s Summit. A third franchisee was announced May 29 for Las Vegas, scheduled to open in spring 2018.
Hours: 11-1:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday
Phone: (417) 732-2646
Web: BigWhiskeys.com

Mouery’s Carpet Center LLC dba Mouery’s Flooring
Eleven years after buying into the carpet and flooring business – originally as The Carpet Center – Rick and Elisabeth Mouery moved the company a second time. The latest is a $1.2 million newly constructed stand-alone building at 2516 W. Battlefield Road, down the street from their previous leased space on South Scenic Avenue. The 14,000-square-foot storefront opened Aug. 21 under the rebranded name Mouery’s Flooring, Rick Mouery said, to emphasis the broader range of carpet, hardwood, vinyl and laminate flooring sold and installed. A larger showroom has improved lighting for a more accurate view of product colors, Elisabeth Mouery said, Mouery’s Flooring employs seven, along with two outside salespeople and several subcontracted installation crews. Among roughly 50 brands, the company carries Mohawk, Beauflor and Regal Hardwoods, according to its website.
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
Phone: (417) 883-4720
Web: MouerysFlooring.com

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