'Over the top' north Springfield convenience store attracts national attention

Alissa Zhu | Springfield News-Leader

A north Springfield corner store has attracted attention from two national convenience store magazines for its innovative business model and gourmet offerings.

Farm 2 Counter, located at 2006 N. Broadway Ave., was launched in December by a former yacht chef, Paul Allen, and his wife, Ashley Allen.

Paul Allen said "everything is a little over the top" at the corner store: Fresh produce from area farms, an organic and non-GMO soda fountain, cuts of wagyu beef — all lit by LEDs that can change color on demand.

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In March, the National Association of Convenience Stores Magazine featured an article about Farm 2 Counter.

The article talked about Allen's mission to source the best goods and products. Farm 2 Counter offers a carefully curated selection of food, offering only "the best" of a certain type of product, as judged by Allen's palate.

The corner store's fancy bathroom, which has a "selfie mirror" and a chandelier, also received a mention in the magazine article.

The National Association of Convenience Stores recently sent a film crew to Springfield to gather footage of Farm 2 Counter and conduct interviews, Allen said.

Allen said the video will debut at the association's convention in Las Vegas, scheduled for October.

Allen said another trade magazine, Convenience Store News and Petroleum, has contacted him about being in July's cover story about "indie influencers."

"It's very flattering and we're just so excited we're beyond ourselves," Allen said. "We feel like it's so amazing to have national recognition and we feel so humbled by it."

Things were slow when the store first opened in the winter, Allen said. The summer has been good for business.

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"Nice weather is drawing a lot more people out of their houses to ask who we are and what we do," Allen said.

He estimates that 60 percent of his customers come from surrounding north-side neighborhoods. Sometimes folks passing through Springfield on their way to Kansas City or St. Louis, who have heard of Farm 2 Counter, will stop in looking for honeycomb or organic root beer, he said.

Vegetables now grow in raised garden beds behind the store. Allen has ditched tall boys of Pabst Blue Ribbon and 40-ounce bottles of Miller High Life in favor of 140 different Missouri craft beers.

Farm 2 Counter now serves fresh-made organic sandwiches, salads and wraps, Allen said.

They're cooked up by Manager Donny Cummings, he said, who worked at the now-shuttered Metropolitan Farmer as a sous chef.

Recently, Farm 2 Counter has held two community events. In May, about 150 people turned up for the Cray-Cray Crawfish Boil, Allen said.

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"It was a huge success. That was awesome," he said.

In June, the store held a We Love Our Customers Day, which Allen said will be an annual event.

Farm 2 Counter has also received an award from the North Springfield Betterment Association, Allen said. The award is given to businesses and organizations that improve north Springfield, according to the association's website.

Allen is already looking for opportunities to expand.

On Wednesday, he was in Kansas City to scout out potential new locations.

"Me and my wife would like to go into food deserts," Allen said. "So it will really stand out in the community and intrigue other people to do the same thing."