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Longtime friends Callie Sitton, left, and Shai McCarty are owners of Urban Grounds.
Provided by Urban Grounds LLC
Longtime friends Callie Sitton, left, and Shai McCarty are owners of Urban Grounds.

Urban Grounds debuts in Ozark

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Although infill work took a few weeks longer than originally anticipated, a hybrid coffeehouse and plant shop opened its doors this morning in Ozark.

Urban Grounds LLC owners and longtime friends Callie Sitton and Shai McCarty said they’re excited to show off their new venture at 5557 N. 21st St., Ste. 5, in Deerbrook Marketplace to the public.

“We had a friends-and-family soft opening last weekend,” Sitton said. “That was really nice as we were able to go through all the things we’d need to if we were really busy. We had quite a few people show up. We figured we had between 300 and 350 people.”

The owners call Urban Grounds a coffee and plant lab, which sells houseplants and a menu of coffee drinks and food, including acai bowls and baked goods.

Sitton said the 2,500-square-foot shop employs 11, slightly more than she and McCarty expected to hire when they announced plans for the venture earlier this year.

“We were afraid it might be a struggle with the way all that is working right now with employment,” Sitton said. “We got really lucky and fortunate that we found a lot of really good employees.”

Late June was the original targeted opening for the shop, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.

“It was more or less the fact that we were doing construction ourselves,” McCarty said of the delay. “That takes a little bit longer when we all have full-time jobs on top of creating this beautiful space.”

McCarty is a hairstylist at A Valeria Boss Salon in Springfield, while Sitton is a teacher at Parkview High School.

The owners declined to disclose startup costs or the rate of their five-year lease with Mike Seitz of Triple S. Properties Inc.

Sitton said they’re about to submit paperwork to the city for a liquor license, as the shop plans to also serve cocktails, such as martinis, margaritas, mimosas, wine and beer. For its menu, Sedalia-based Ozark Coffee Co. is the shop’s roaster, McCarty said. Local vendors for the menu include Spring Branch Kombucha and Dani’s Flour Pot Bakery, which is supplying the shop’s pastries.

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