Uptown CheapskateNatalie and
Lyle Armstrong on Oct. 19 opened resale clothing franchise Uptown Cheapskate at 1724 E. Battlefield Road, Ste. B, the former Kid’s Court space. Natalie Armstrong runs the 4,000-square-foot store with the help of a full-time manager and 12 part-time employees. The Armstrongs also operate two Which Wich? franchise restaurants in Springfield and previously owned a retail lumberyard in Bourbon before selling to Meek’s. Uptown Cheapskate also carries overstock clothing items from department stores at a 70 percent discount, said Natalie Armstrong, a teacher by trade, noting the most popular items are brand name jeans at $50 to $60 and Coach bags at $75. The Uptown Cheapskate website estimates startup costs between $227,900 and $335,000, including franchise fees, inventory and real estate. Hours: 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Sunday. Phone: (417) 501-8920. Web:
UptownCheapskate.com/SpringfieldScotch and SodaOwners
Joshua Widner and
Andrew Heilman opened Scotch and Soda on Oct. 22 at 310 South Ave. The business partners employ seven part time to run the 2,700-square-foot lounge. Widner, a Springfield native, said he is putting his five years of bartending experience to work just a block from the street he grew up on. Scotch and Soda offers a gourmet twist on traditional bar food, he said, though the emphasis is on its cocktail menu, a collection of prohibition-era styled libations with such titles as 12 Mile Limit, Uncle’s Ransom and Stout Jam Manhattan, ranging from $6 to $15. Scotch and Soda will house 198 bottles of spirits for its cocktail menu, which rotates each month. Winder and Heilman started the business with an undisclosed amount of funding by private investors. Hours: 5 p.m.–1:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday. Phone: (417) 719-4224. Web:
TheScotchAndSoda.comAJ’s Barber ShopMarlo Hodges reopened his barbershop at 2200 N. Broadway Ave. on Oct. 19. Hodges previously owned People’s Hair & Baby Fresh Style at 1241 E. Kearney St., which burned down in September. Hodges said he reopened on Broadway Street after receiving a $1,400 donation from an undisclosed source. Hodges, a graduate of The Academy of Hair Design in Springfield, has eight years of experience. He and two full-time employees operate the 1,700-square-foot shop, for which he signed a one-year lease for $500 per month. Haircuts for children start at $7, while men’s cuts are $12 and women’s are $19. Hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment. Phone: (417) 429-8225.
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