Republic-based Black Lab Coffee Company is expanding its footprint with a new store in south Springfield close to the South Campbell Sam's Club, owner Christa Stephens said.
The new store, located at 820 W. El Camino Alto, Suite 100, will feature the company's normal espresso and coffee menu, but with a twist. The 1,700 square-foot store will feature a variety of healthy alternatives, including a smoothie bar and Spring Branch Kombucha-made beverages, Stephens said.
The healthy drinks will pair with the community Black Lab is trying to build along with its neighbor in the development and quasi-partner, Burn Boot Camp, a gym known for its intense 45-minute workouts, Stephens said.
Black Lab is “expanding our portfolio a little bit to a healthier lifestyle,” Stephens said.
“I just felt like Black Lab still had a lot to accomplish and a lot of great people to make connections to in a time when people need to learn how to connect again,” she said.
The coffee company's footprint is growing. Black Lab's first store opened in Republic in 2018. Three years later, it opened its store in Springfield across Lone Pine Avenue from Sequiota Park. Stephens declined to disclose the total financial investment for either location.
While Black Lab has not officially signed a lease in the South Campbell development, Stephens said the company has had verbal agreements and should be putting ink on a contract within two weeks.
The new venture comes on the tails of the company closing its downtown Springfield location permanently due to a disagreement with the building's management, Stephens said. The downtown store, which was located at 300 W. McDaniel St., closed on Dec. 17.
“There were several discrepancies with building management and we just decided it was in our best interest to find something that aligned better with our core values,” Stephens said.
Open in the evening for drinks and light appetizers
The new store, which is tentatively scheduled to open in August, will also be a test-run for a new business model, Stephens said. It will be open during normal business hours, but will reopen at night with a menu featuring beer and wine, as well as some nonalcoholic options.
Black Lab's staff will be, “able to create mocktails with kombucha for those that don't want to drink,” Stephens said. “Then we will have wine and beer for those who would like something in the evening.”
The South Campbell location will be open from the morning to around 4 p.m., then reopen later in the evening, Stephens said. While no plans are concrete, she said she expects the store will shut down around 9 or 10 p.m. Stephens declined to disclose the total financial investment for the new store. She adds it won't take on the role of a dive bar, for those looking for dive bars.
“It's just wine and beer,” Stephens said. “It's not going to be an excessive menu. It sure as heck isn't going to be a bar.”
“It is just going to be a place where after you work out, if you wanna go have a beer and, you know, some light appetizers or light desserts,” she said.
For all of its locations, Black Lab sources its beans from Copper Canyon Coffee Roasters, but the company has private roasts that are excusive for Black Lab Coffee, Stephens said.
On top of the new drinks, the store will serve up breakfast and lunch, just as it does at its other locations. The menu features avocado toast, a breakfast burrito and some wrap options that “come in healthy,” she said.
If the model is successful, Black Lab Owners Christa Stephens and Case Howard may implement it across all of the company's stores, she said.
“We’re going to model it there and see how it looks. And if it looks good then the other two will follow suit if we see the need is there as well,” Stephens said, adding that the company needs a bit of a change-up. “It's time to revamp us a little bit.”
Aiming to be as pet-friendly as possible
To say Christa Stephens and Case Howard are animal people would be an understatement. The couple shares a home with seven dogs, six cats and six chickens.
“I'm trying to create a community” that is “more dog-friendly,” Stephens said. “That's really who we are.”
The new store off El Camino Alto will feature a deck that will welcome dogs, both pets and service animals, Stephens said.
“We’re getting a back deck area,” she said. “that’s one of the things I really wanted so it could be closer to dog-friendly.”
Being pet-friendly will work with Black Lab's dog-theme, Stephens said. The coffee company is named after Christa Stephens' black lab, Diesel. Even though Diesel passed away a few years ago, the lab left a lasting impact on the Stephens family and the coffee company.
“Every one of our drinks is named after a dog,” Stephens said. “Some of them are dogs that we have, some of them are our clients' dogs, some of them are types of dogs.”
“But when our clients' dogs pass away, we name a drink after that dog and we celebrate it for a week.”
The company's Black Lab signature drink is a toffee nut and chocolate latte, and the Golden Doodle is a latte with caramel and brown sugar. All specialty drinks can be served hot, iced or frozen.
Drive-thru was an absolute necessity
Christa Stephens also owns three hair salons in Springfield and Republic, a virtual receptionist company called Get Girl Fridays and her own brand of hair extensions, she said.
Stephens learned from Black Lab's first two stores that regulars wanted another option for to-go orders.
“We said our next option had to have a drive-thru,” Stephens said. “There was no ifs, ands or buts about it.”
And it won't just be any drive-thru. Black Lab plans to use QR codes for customers to scan and order specific menu items in an attempt to streamline the ordering process, Stephens said.
“You're gonna pull up to our window and order off of a QR code, and that's gonna send everything to our printers,” Stephens said. The drive-thru will still be a “super personable experience.”
The new store will have a standalone kiosk to appease customers in a rush or those who prefer to avoid social interactions, Stephens said. The kiosk will be “kind of like you see at the airport where you can order your menu and just have it there ready to go,” Stephens said.
“It keeps labor costs down number one and number two, it helps us give individualized attention and be more intentional with where we need to be and what we need to do.”
The South Campbell store will also sell home furnishings and home goods, as well as Black Lab apparel, like T-shirts, sweaters and more.
“It'll have like a small-coffee-boutique-buying area,” Stephens said. “If it's on the walls, it's for sale.”
The development on West El Camino Alto is owned by RW Developments, LLC, and Summit Iconic Development, LLC, according to Greene County Assessor's Office records. The entire development has a commercial market value of $3.27 million as of Jan. 2023, according to records.
RW Developments is registered to Joseph Rhodes and Summit Iconic is registered to Daniel Coryell, according to Missouri Secretary of State Office records.
