Springfield Coffee opens doors to area arts, culture

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

With 400 square feet of retail space, Scott Hepper's Springfield Coffee Company, at 215 W. Olive, may be the smallest small business in town, but the shop, dedicated to promoting local culture and the arts, packs a punch dispor-portional to its size.

Many people who are employed on the downtown square turn to Hepper as they start their day. His rotating list of coffees features flavors named for Ozarks places, such as the Taneycomo Twister and the Park Central Sipper.

"The crux of my customers are from the square and the state office building. They are the best customers in the world as far as I'm concerned," Hepper said.

Hepper said he plans to keep his business downtown because he believes in the area.

"I love being surrounded by the city's history, and the mix of people down here is great. It's the best place to be in business for me," Hepper said.

The downtown coffee shop is not limited to take-out coffee. Hepper seeks out Ozarks-made gift items to feature in his store.

"Everything you see in here comes from the local economy," he said.

Though he grew up in California, Hepper stayed true to his Ozarks roots, coming to visit his grandparents in Branson every summer. He maintained a love of the area, and came here permanently in 1994, after losing his job in banking when the bank he worked for merged.

"There were about 40,000 of us who lost our jobs. My dad had opened two stores here in Springfield, so I decided to move here," Hepper said.

"I was always fascinated by the entrepreneurial spirit in Springfield. Springfield is small business. If you want to be in business for yourself, this is the place to be," he added.

After working for his father at Hepper's Furniture and Flea Market, then at the International Wine Center and the Greenhouse Market, Hepper opened his own small business in April 1999.

Since then, he has focused not only on building his coffee business, but on "using my talents to give back to the community that has given me so much," he said. Hepper is an artist and he uses his artwork to promote various local charities and nonprofit groups, including the Springfield Symphony, Springfield Little Theatre, Ozarks Greenways and Ozarks Public Television.

He designs art and posters to promote events for these and other entities, selling the artwork in his store and donating the proceeds to the groups.

Since opening the shop, Hepper said he has been on a quest to identify the best locally produced products. His coffee comes from Ozark Mountain Coffee Co., an Ozark-based wholesale coffee company. Hepper's store also has an Internet location at

www.springfieldcoffee.com.

Springfield Coffee Company has sauces and dressings from American Culinary Gardens in Springfield, jams from Persimmon Hill in Lampe and local honey.

"I want to introduce people to the best of the Ozarks. I get a lot of tourists in here who want to take some of the Ozarks home with them," Hepper said.

Hepper financed his start-up with his own investment, plus some financing from Bank of America.

His latest project is a food drive during November, where a case of donated food earns the donor a signed, limited edition Hepper print. The food will go to the Victory Mission.

Hepper has also held an adopt-a-pet day with the local Humane Society, during which everyone who adopted a cat received a free bag of his Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.