Quilting biz to open Queen City franchise shop

A franchise store of a Branson West-based quilting business is set to debut in the Queen City this summer.

Franchisees Katie Tonarely and Jennifer Current expect to open a new location of The Quilted Cow LLC on July 1 at 1711 W. Battlefield Road, Ste. EF. It will mark the third location and second franchise store for The Quilted Cow, which started in 2010. Tonarely said the first franchise shop opened last year in Raymore, which is roughly 30 miles south of Kansas City.

The Quilted Cow sells quilting materials and accessories, including fabric, supplies, pre-cut quilting squares, kits and patterns.

Tonarely, who has been an insurance agent with Aflac for six years, said The Quilted Cow is one of her clients.

“I had been privy to watching them go from 12 employees to 60 employees and just see how much they’ve grown and the impact that they had on the community, the sewing community, the quilting community,” she said. “Last year when I found out they were franchising, Jen and I, our wheels started turning.”

The business partners, who have been friends for several years, both consider themselves novices in quilting. However, Tonarely said they each recognized the value of having a locally owned and operated quilt shop in Springfield.

A longarm quilting machine, which accommodates larger projects, will be among equipment at the new 4,200-square-foot shop in the Kansas Square Shopping Center, Tonarely said. She declined to disclose startup costs, noting she and Current signed a nondisclosure agreement with The Quilted Cow, which includes a franchise fee and percentage of sales. The pair signed a 10-year lease for an undisclosed rate with Davis Properties LLC.

“The Springfield store will also have what we’re calling a yarn barn. So, for people who like to knit and crochet, they’ll be able to get yarn,” she said. “A big part of what we're going to do, though, is classes.”

Tonarely said the shop will include a classroom with 15 sewing machines to provide classes for all ages and experience levels. The store’s employee count will probably land between 12-20 people, which she said could vary from a full-time worker to someone teaching a class once a week.

The Quilted Cow marks a professional pivot for Current, a retired hair stylist who moved with her family from Denver to Springfield in 2021.

“I thought retirement would be cool and it’s not,” Current said, noting she worked in the salon industry for 36 years. “I was looking for something when I met Katie. Her energy, her business sense and her drive really appealed to me.”