Open for Business: Tea Bar & Bites Bakery & Cafe

Tea Bar & Bites Bakery & Cafe
A fixture in the Rountree community for over two decades, Tea Bar & Bites Bakery & Cafe changed ownership on Jan. 1. Founder Colleen Smith reached a deal to sell the 621 S. Pickwick Ave. restaurant to Eleanor Taylor and Vance Hall for undisclosed terms. Smith founded Tea Bar & Bites in January 2004, and the restaurant has operated at its Pickwick Avenue home ever since. Taylor and Hall also are the owners of Prairie Pie at 307 S. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Springfield. Hall said he and his wife continue to operate Prairie Pie, adding Tea Bar & Bites will carry some of the downtown eatery’s baked goods, frozen take-and-bake pot pies and ice cream. Taylor said much of Tea Bar & Bites’ menu remains intact, which includes breakfast items such as sandwiches and burritos, lunch options like the Mediterranean platter and hummus, and a beverage selection that includes a variety of teas. Prior to launching Prairie Pie in 2016, Taylor said her baking career began several years earlier working in the kitchen at Tea Bar & Bites.
Phone: 417-883-2462
Web: TeaBarAndBites.com

Springfield-Greene County Health Department
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department relocated one of its clinics on Jan. 6 to 1111 S. Glenstone Ave., inside the Preferred Family Healthcare building. The clinic, which previously operated at 1720 W. Grand St., inside Jordan Valley Community Health Center, serves recipients of the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children known as WIC. The Grand Street WIC clinic closed to the public and started the relocation process on Dec. 24. Health Department officials say the new location offers more clinic space for WIC staff and members and is in a more central location within Greene County. Lauren Stockam, public health program representative, said the WIC clinic’s new space on Glenstone Avenue spans 1,419 square feet on the first floor of the building. That compares with 950 square feet at the Jordan Valley space. Stockam said the eight-person staff overseen by Tara Williams is currently utilizing temporary space in the building until March while renovation work takes place down the hall.
Phone: 417-864-1540
Web: Health.SpringfieldMo.gov/2910/WIC

Springfield Real Estate Investors Association
A Joplin real estate investment organization affiliated with a national trade group formed the Springfield Real Estate Investors Association. Real estate agent Chris Forsythe, who co-owns the Joplin Area Real Estate Investors Association, said the Springfield chapter officially launched Jan. 9 with its first meeting at Relics Event Center, 2015 W. Battlefield Road. Forsythe, who also owns Chris Forsythe Agency LLC in Pittsburg, Kansas, said the Springfield Real Estate Investors Association is under the umbrella of the Joplin association that’s been in operation since 2021. The educational and networking groups are affiliates of the National Real Estate Investors Association, the website of which notes roughly 40,000 nationwide members. He said the Springfield chapter has a goal to average 200 members and will support investors within a 60- to 80-mile radius. While the group currently has no physical location in Springfield, Forsythe said plans are to add one soon.
Phone: 417-295-7262
Email: joplinareareia@gmail.com