Star Cakes LLC
Six-year-old south-side dessert shop Star Cakes LLC opened its second store March 3. Husband-and-wife owners
Ted and
Lisa Cothran targeted downtown and signed a sublease with Distorted Utopia LLC at 310 S. Campbell Ave. Star Cakes occupies 1,000 square feet for $1,200 a month inside Minda Weigand and Amanda Kennell’s clothes and accessories store. Star Cakes, which opened in 2011 at 1364 E. Republic Road, specializes in cupcakes ranging from $2.75 apiece to $29 for a baker’s dozen, as well as layered and sheet cakes serving up to 80 people. Newly added wedding cakes are quoted in person. With a few employees at the downtown store, Star Cakes employs another 10 people on Republic Road.
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Phone: (417) 576-3757
Web:
StarCakescoc.com
Get A Grip Southwest Missouri LLC
National resurfacing franchise Get A Grip now has a Springfield branch.
Billi Evans started Get A Grip Southwest Missouri LLC on Feb. 20 and Evans’ son Levi Presley manages it. The mobile business resurfaces cracked fiberglass bathtubs, scratched or stained porcelain, and laminated or cultured marble countertops. Both Evans and Presley went through training at the headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The local franchisees are targeting apartment complexes, and they’ve done work for Spring Hill Apartment Homes in Republic and Royal Orleans Apartments in Joplin. “When I go in, I sand the surface to create a profile. The spray will settle in the profile instead of staying on the surface,” Presley said of Get A Grip’s system and patented products. Franchise fees start at $25,000, according to company material, and Get A Grip has operations in 34 markets across 18 states. The southwest Missouri franchise has four full-time employees.
Hours: by appointment
Phone: (417) 421-9831
Web:
GetAGrip.com
Brain Balance Center of Springfield
Todd and
Carolyn Pridemore opened a branch office of the Brain Balance Center on Jan. 16 at 1839 E. Independent St., Ste. U. The Pridemores, who live in Columbia and operate a center there, say they saw a need in the Ozarks for children’s developmental support. Brain Balance Center works with children ages 4-17 struggling with academic, behavioral or social skills, said Springfield center Director
Stephanie Lay. She said the local office has three directors and five coaches to work its programs that integrate sensory motor training and stimulation, and academic activities, with nutritional guidelines. The student program rate is $6,500 for three months, covering one-hour sessions three days a week. The center doesn’t accept insurance but offers tuition plans and scholarships, said Lay. Founded in 2006 by neurologist Robert Melillo, the Brain Balance Center has 130 centers open or in development.
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and Saturday by appointment
Phone: (417) 877-0954
Web:
BrainBalanceCenters.com
