Comings & Goings

After more than a decade of operations in Springfield, Five Guys Burgers and Fries has closed its White Oaks Mall location. Signs reading: “Sorry, this location is now permanently closed” appeared in the windows at the 2501 Wabash Ave. store Nov. 28. Five Guys, a fast food chain with a limited menu specializing in hamburgers, […]

SmallCakes Cupcakery & Creamery is reopening Dec. 1 under new ownership. The bakery at 2300 Wabash Ave. opened in 2018 but closed at the end of October after the landlord, Joyner Real Estate, filed an eviction notice against the previous franchisee. “In the past, we had done some marketing for the business,” said new owner […]

Sgt. Pepper’s Café is coming to West Jefferson Street, but it will be a slightly different venture from the current restaurant on the corner of Stevenson and Baker Drive and will have different ownership. “It will be the same name and concept, and probably the same menu for the most part, but definitely two different […]

HAE’s Bakery & Coffee Shoppe has opened a second location at 3844 Wabash Ave., just over a year after launching its first brick-and-mortar store. The new store occupies the endcap space of the newly built Wabash Crossing Mall in front of the AMC Showplace 12 theater. Existing tenants include Better With Bubbli Boutique and Galaxy […]

Springfield Reprographics has acquired Laser Innovations as part of the company’s expansion of services. “This new purchase adds to what we are already doing in that line of business, plus one more item,” said Steve Wakefield, owner of Springfield Reprographics. He noted that both companies sell toners for office printers, but Laser Innovations also maintains […]

Two new national retailers are opening in Springfield this week, both focused on outdoor activities and sporting goods. Academy Sports + Outdoors has a grand opening scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, for the new location at 3211 S. Veterans Parkway. Academy Sports joins Old Navy in the Southwest Plaza III shopping center […]

European Wax Center is coming to Springfield. The location at 4423 Yucan Dr. in Cobblestone Plaza is holding a soft opening on Thursday, Nov. 9, according to manager Sydney Beach. The company, based in Plano, Texas, has nearly 900 locations throughout the U.S. While there are numerous European Wax Center sites in the Chicago area, […]

After experiencing significant growth, Compass for Kids has moved into its own office space with the purchase of a building at 1201 S. Fourth St. The nonprofit has also hired Christy Freeman Stark as director of marketing, a full-time position shared with Kidzeum of Health and Science. “We had outgrown what Central Baptist Church could […]

The Railyard, an outdoor food venue based around shipping containers, opened Nov. 3, two years after plans were announced to bring the unique concept to Springfield. The property at 2442 S. Sixth St. is just north of the newly constructed overpass on South Sixth Street, part of the Springfield Rail Improvements Projects. Four shipping containers […]

Mercury, a global, bipartisan public strategy firm, is opening an office in downtown Springfield at 235 S. Sixth St. The office at the northwest corner of Sixth and Monroe streets is the second Illinois location for the firm, which recently opened a Chicago branch office. Former Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, who was born and raised in […]

Green Family Stores will open the doors of its new Hyundai dealership Nov. 1. The 30,000-square-foot facility at 601 W. Stanford Ave. broke ground in May 2022. The new store is intended to be more centrally located, while the current Hyundai facility at 1200 S. Dirksen Parkway will remain open as a dealership for used […]

Bloom Wine Bar & Florals will be opening Nov. 18 at 2 S. Old State Capitol Plaza offering wine, craft cocktails and beer along with floral services and a space for private events.   Brittney Robinson, Hannah Goss and Caitlin Becker are the three ladies behind the new venture. “We became friends eight or nine […]