Pickleman’s Gourmet Café Allen Wills and Brittany Means on Aug. 17 opened their second Pickleman’s Gourmet Café in Springfield. The engaged couple moved to Springfield last year to open a Pickleman’s at 3522 S. National Ave. and last month rolled out a 2,500-square-feet café at 333 E. Walnut St. Columbia-based Pickleman’s offers toasted sandwiches, thin-crust pizza, salads, soups and cookies, and free delivery within a 15-minute radius of each store. Catering services also are available. Wills and Means started eating at Pickleman’s as University of Missouri students. “We couldn’t open one in Columbia and wanted to find a place not huge, like St. Louis, but big enough to support one,” Wills said of choosing Springfield. Wills said they signed a long-term lease with downtown building owner Dan Scott, but he would not disclose the terms. Hours: 10–2 a.m. daily. Phone: (417) 851-6900.
A2V Partners LLC Matt Bedinghaus opened engineering consulting firm A2V Partners LLC on July 15 at 1354 E. Kingsley St., Ste. A. Bedinghaus, owner and chief engineer, said A2V Partners employs three to perform studies and create expansion plans for utilities and industrial clients nationwide. “Most of my work is not in the Springfield area,” said Bedinghaus, a licensed electrical engineer in 16 states. “My focus is the four-state area.” New clients include Empire District Electric Co., which A2V Partners assisted with work on a substation in Arkansas. Bedinghaus received a Commerce Bank startup loan for an undisclosed amount. “I’ve been doing this for 26 years, and I’d never owned a company,” he said. “I just decided now was a good time.” Hours: By appointment. Phone: (417) 882-2221. Gamin’ Ride Frank and Donna Greslo opened Gamin’ Ride on Aug. 16 from their Springfield home. Gamin’ Ride is a mobile, indoor/outdoor video game theater system with seating for 16 and four high-definition TVs. With two of the TVs located on the exterior, the system accommodates 24 players on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. The service is available for rent, starting at $299 for two hours, Greslo said. “It functions very well doing birthday parties,” Frank Greslo said. Franchise costs were $30,000, Greslo said, and the couple received a $115,000 U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loan through Liberty Bank to help cover equipment costs. Founded in 2008, Gamin’ Ride is owned by New Jersey-based Interactive Productions LLC and operates 11 franchise locations in seven states. Hours: By appointment. Phone: (888) 364-2637.
A Springfield couple launched 24-hour fitness center Iron Knights Strafford; Springfield-based Meridian Title Co. LLC made its debut in Mount Vernon; and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in conjunction with the grand opening of Render Flooring LLC.
