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Geof Waller, First Watch
SBJ photo by Wes Hamilton
Geof Waller, First Watch

Open for Business: First Watch

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First Watch
First Watch began serving breakfast, brunch and lunch Oct. 9 in the former Shoney’s building at 2946 S. National Ave. Franchisees James Tillman, co-owner of Complete Electrical Solutions LLC, and developer Joseph Hulston spent $2.2 million buying and renovating the long-vacant, 5,000-square-foot building, with financing from Springfield First Community Bank. Organized as Ozark Endeavors LLC, the franchisees plan four more First Watch restaurants in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas within five years. With a modern farmhouse theme, Hulston said Federal Construction Inc. served as lead contractor on the remodeling project, and Ireland Architects Inc. designed the space. Geof Waller manages the staff of 35. Based in Florida, First Watch Restaurants Inc. has roughly 225 of the “daytime cafes” and about 80 locations of The Egg & I. Tillman, who also has invested in FD’s Grillhouse and the Nixa Applebee’s restaurant, has partnered with Hulston on several retail center ground leases and a state probation and parole office underway in north Springfield.
Hours: 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily
Phone: (417) 889-0601
Web: FirstWatch.com

Pharaohs Stone Corp.
Egyptian businessman Amr Ayad launched Pharaohs Stone Corp. on Aug. 1 at 4346 W. Calhoun St., Ste. B. The company sells unfinished 3-centimeter granite slabs, he said, which are then picked up by third-party fabricators and processed into countertops. Ayad said importing granite from Egypt was cost prohibitive before November 2016, when the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Egyptian pound nearly doubled. Today, $1 is worth about 17.67 Egyptian pounds. Ayad said he researched and personally visited at least 10 U.S. cities in Texas, Florida and California, before choosing Springfield, based on its culture, environment and construction market. He leases the 4,600-square-foot warehouse and showroom from Big Rock Properties LLC for $4,900 per month. Ayad and his uncle, Magdi Gadwat, a 10-percent business partner, invested $140,000 in inventory and equipment. Four people have been hired so far, and Ayad plans to add sales representatives, material handlers and a sales manager, before returning to Egypt. Ayad has operated a separate import-export business in Egypt for seven years.
Hours: By appointment
Phone: (417) 920-7665
Web: PharaohsStone.com

CoxHealth Ozark Pediatrics
CoxHealth repositioned medical practices in Christian County and opened its Ozark Pediatrics clinic July 24 at 1741 S. 15th St. in south Ozark. The providers – Dr. Jennifer Essner and nurse practitioners Sandra Hinds and Katrina Kovarik-Stevens – moved from CoxHealth Center in Nixa, along with three nurses, two clerical staff members and a manager, said Julie Kiser, CoxHealth’s director of clinics for women’s and children’s services. The new clinic treats children newborn to age 18 for checkups, sports physicals, vaccinations, and management of acute and chronic health conditions, as well as development and autism screenings. The 2,737-square-foot building previously was home to several primary care practitioners who Kiser said merged into a larger CoxHealth urgent care clinic farther north at 5548 N. Farmer Branch Road. CoxHealth owns the buildings, and costs associated with the moves were not disclosed.
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Phone: (417) 730-5550
Web: CoxHealth.com

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