Open for Business: Amici

Amici
Italian restaurant Amici opened Aug. 30 at 4728 S. Campbell Ave. Husband and wife Thor and Catherine Bersted own the business via Lavender Italiana LLC. The eatery fills 3,010 square feet in space formerly occupied by Tasia, which shuttered last year. Catherine Bersted said startup costs were $100,000, adding the couple signed a five-year lease for an undisclosed rate with Lakewood Properties LC. Bersted said she and her husband, who co-own Springfield restaurant Aviary Cafe and Creperie LLC and Lavender Falls Farm LLC in Clever, wanted to find a business model that allowed employees to have multiple days off in a row per week, noting Amici is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. Bersted said its menu, which includes classic and modern Italian dishes, changes seasonally and offers scratch-made pasta and sauces, with all proteins cut in-house. Dishes include chicken marsala, shrimp and lemon linguini and primavera. Prices range $8-$40. The venue also is available to rent during off-hours for business meetings and private parties.
Phone: 417-299-8236
Web: DineAmici.com

Neale & Newman
Following its October acquisition of Cantwell, Smith & Trokey LLC, Springfield-based law firm Neale & Newman LLC moved its Branson office Dec. 1 to 500 W. Main St., Ste. 205B, in the Branson Financial Center. Neale & Newman previously operated in Branson for roughly two months at 115 W. Atlantic St., Ste. 102, in the Landmark Building, which was the former office space of Cantwell, Smith & Trokey. Neale & Newman Managing Partner Daniel Wooten said Kate Trokey-Harris leads the four-person staff at the new 2,000-square-foot office. Trokey-Harris was named a partner in conjunction with the buyout. Wooten declined to disclose relocation costs and lease terms for the new office. Neale & Newman’s staff count is 32, including 17 attorneys, which ranked No. 2 on Springfield Business Journal’s list of the area’s largest law firms published in May 2023. Wooten said two new attorneys are set to join the staff in August.
Phone: 417-670-2520
Web: NNLaw.com

O’Reilly Auto Parts
An O’Reilly Auto Parts hub store opened Dec. 9 at 2200 W. Battlefield Road, just west of Kansas Expressway. The 15,000-square-foot store is slightly larger than the company’s typical retail locations, officials say, noting it includes extra warehouse space. As a hub store, the building serves as regional support for nearby retail shops, carrying nearly double the stock-keeping units of most O’Reilly Auto Parts locations. Construction costs for the facility, which was designed by Esterly Schneider & Associates Inc., were roughly $2 million, according to officials with general contractor Springfield Builders Inc. O’Reilly Auto Parts spokesperson Sonya Kullmann Cox declined to disclose additional startup costs for the store led by manager Ryan Carter. According to the company’s website, the Springfield-based O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY), which was founded in 1957, operates over 6,100 stores across 48 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Last month officials announced plans to expand into Canada through an acquisition.
Phone: 417-447-7103
Web: OReillyAuto.com