Opinion: Stories celebrated daily in downtown retailers, restaurants

Rusty Worley

Stories are powerful. They are critical for local retailers and restaurants to stand out in a crowded marketplace. The Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc. estimates there are 150 stores in the Battlefield Mall, 30 shopping centers across Springfield and over 800 restaurants in the Queen City. Add the ability to shop digitally, and the competition increases exponentially.

Many center city businesses are rich in history. Elkins-Swyers, appropriately adjacent to Founders Park, started in 1910 as a printer of stationery and invoices. It has adapted new technologies to become a leader in election services across the country. Springfield Blue Print and Photo Copy Co. started in 1930 and is southwest Missouri’s largest and most diverse reprographer, offering a wide variety of large format printing services. Cave Carburetor was founded in 1939 and has been in its current location for over 80 years providing parts for small engines. The Walnut Street Barber Shop opened in 1943 and has been a home for swapping stories for generations of men and their sons.

On the restaurant side, Springfield Brewing Co. was founded in 1997 by Paul Mueller Co. as a showcase for their stainless-steel tanks. Brew Co.’s building dates back to 1910, when it was owned by Job Newton for Newton Grain Supply. Gailey’s Breakfast Cafe was originally Gailey’s Drug & Pharmacy. Launched in 1942, the business was where Joe Gailey (the pharmacist) and his wife, Beulah, served burgers, chili and shakes for over 50 years. Its building on Walnut was lovingly renovated by Craig Wagoner 20 years ago and it continues to be a popular brunch spot in Springfield.

Unique business models are another important storyteller. 

Five Pound Apparel made a commitment when it launched in 2010 that it would donate 5 pounds of food to Ozarks Food Harvest for every branded item sold. They have donated 346,590 pounds of food over the past 14 years, while becoming a go-to store for Springfield and Ozarks gifts, including the new Springfield flag. 

Over 10 years ago, Obelisk Home purchased a 40,000-square-foot building in the Idea Commons (Missouri State University’s urban research park) and renovated it as “an incubator for the designer’s genius, a showcase for style, trend and what’s new and next,” as its website aptly describes. Similar to its Jordan Valley Innovation Center and Efactory neighbors, it continually evolves to support how people design, plan and purchase their homes.

Fresh Gallery and Formed are another two of downtown’s retail success stories. Each storefront curates and features the work of dozens of local artists. They are also creative examples of how to share the workload of staffing and merchandising a retail business to more effectively balance today’s work-life demands.

Mother’s Brewing Co. converted a bread factory into a brewery with one of the most magnetic backyards in southwest Missouri. Hold Fast Fast Brewing converted a vacant fire station into one of the few (3% nationally) breweries that are women-owned with a woman as head brewmaster.

Big Whiskey’s embraced its storytelling at its downtown roots on Park Central East and created a franchise with 14 locations across five states with an additional four stores opening soon.

For local retailers and restaurants to compete today, they need advocates.

Break out of your regular routines and check out new places. Take a few minutes to learn their stories and meet the owner. Inevitably, you will connect with more than one where you will feel compelled to be a cheerleader.

When you find an interesting shop or a new favorite taste, share those stories with your friends, family and co-workers. Word of mouth remains one of the most effective forms of marketing.

Finally, help support the next generation of retail and restaurants. Springfield has over 40,000 college students and a culture of entrepreneurship. Do your part to point the aspiring owners to established resources to nurture small businesses – Efactory, Springfield chamber, the city of Springfield Economic Vitality department and Downtown Springfield Association, just to name a few.

Local retail and restaurants are a barometer for the economic health of a community. May the next chapters of their stories continue to be a point of pride for Springfield.

Rusty Worley is the executive director of the Downtown Springfield Association. He can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.