Open for Business

Kaldi’s Coffeehouse opened for business July 29 at 900 E. Battlefield Road, Ste. 132 in Battlefield Market Place. The store is one of three new locations for 11-year-old St. Louis-based Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co.; the others are in Kirkwood and Chesterfield. The coffeehouse features Wi-Fi access, a private room and certified “baristas” – employees specially trained in traditional espresso techniques. “Southwest Missouri is a wonderful market for coffeehouses,” said Kaldi’s co-founder Suzanne Langlois, citing the large number of colleges and a young culture. The 3,200-square-foot Springfield locale seats 186 and employs 45. Its menu comprises organic, vegeterian and homemade items such as salads, crepes, panini, smoothies, soups and baked goods. “But our No. 1 thing is our coffee,” said Tricia Ferguson, director of retail operations, at left. Kaldi’s, which is named after the legendary founder of coffee, is open 6 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m.–9 p.m. Sunday.

Penmac opened its third Springfield office July 11 at 2032 E. Kearney, Ste. 202. Penmac Marketing Director Chad Person said the new office meets the needs of existing clients, which were surveyed earlier in the year. “A bulk of new applicants were coming from there,” Person said. Amanda Richardson, staffing specialist; Jennifer Rash, area manager; and Nancy Riggs, regional VP, staff the 900-square-foot north-side branch, Penmac’s 47th across seven states. It is open 8 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Jason Bentch, Andrew Clark and Brian Cresswell May 15 opened Benchmark Mortgage at 3816 S. Greystone, Ste. B. The managing partners have a combined 25 years of lending experience in this market, having worked for Conseco and Glacier Capital. “We offer all types of home loans from FHA and VA to sub-prime,” Clark said. Benchmark Mortgage is a national lending franchise with 227 branches and is licensed in 29 states. Its parent company, Frisco, Texas-based Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, ranked 57th in Inc. magazine’s 500 fastest growing companies, with $20 million in 2003 revenue and 1,786 percent growth. The local office, which Clark said employs six loan officers and a loan processor, is open 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday through Friday.