Springfield Business Journal_2020-09-28

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 3 SEPT. 28-OCT. 4, 2020 NEWS by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened con- cerns over germs, customers now have an option to access a bar or restaurant’s menu without laying their hands on it.  Touchless Menu is a new technology-based product that hit the local market in July. It’s about the size of a playing card and it allows peo- ple to access the online menu of a bar or restaurant by scanning a QR code through a phone’s camera or by tapping the device with their phone to use near-field commu- nication technology, which allows nearby devices to communicate without an inter- net connection.  Co-founders Dylan Rauhoff and John McQueary launched the device at The Order and Vantage Rooftop Lounge and Conservatory. Both venues are located within Hotel Vandivort, co-owned by McQueary.  “The pandemic was definitely the spark,” Rauhoff said of bringing the product to market. Both he and McQueary declined to disclose their investment in the product. The two teamed up to develop its technology. “Because of our relations with the hotel, we were able to use that as a little bit of a learning ground,” McQueary said. “We took some time for re- search before we pushed to expand to make sure the product was exactly as we wanted.” Rauhoff, a five-year employee of Hotel Vandivort, left his role in July as food and beverage director to focus full time on the new entrepreneurial venture. The idea was born during a two-month period in the spring when the hotel was closed during the IN THIS ISSUE A Rogersville church gets into the coffee shop business at Jamestown Plaza. PAGE 5 Questions surrounding taxes swirl in the wake of federal efforts to rescue the economy. PAGE 9 Vol. 41 No. 10 SBJ Publisher Jennifer Jackson says it’s time for businesses to take action agai nst domestic violence. OPINION PAGE 45 Obligation always comes ahead of privilege.” —Steve Edwards of CoxHealth, on the use of face masks despite personal preference PAGE 49 QUOTE OF THE WEEK Hospitality industry vets launch Touchless Menu Banks expand Springfield MSA deposits by 22% Dylan Rauhoff : Online menus are the future of the industry. See MENU on page 54 MCKENZIE ROBINSON HANDS OFF Around a dozen area bars and restaurants, such as Split Social Kitchen, utilize Touchless Menu, a product created amid the coronavirus pandemic to to reduce the spread of germs and save costs. Great Southern Bank maintains the lead, with Commerce Bank at No. 2 by Geoff Pickle · gpickle@sbj.net Banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. boost- ed their Springfield metropolitan statistical area deposits by 22.5% compared with the same time last year, according to the latest report released by the agency. MSA deposits were $13.3 billion as of June 30, up from $10.9 billion in the corresponding period that ended in mid-2019. FDIC data released in late September show deposits rising steadily in the five-county area over the past decade, with the most recent low of $7.4 billion set in summer 2011. That was down from $7.6 billion in 2010, and represents only the second year-to-year decrease during the 2000s, after depos- its dropped to $4.6 billion in 2001 from $4.8 billion in 2000, according to the FDIC data. Joe Turner, CEO of deposit market leader Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: GSBC), said customers in the market comprising Greene, Christian, Dallas, Polk and Webster counties have the “advantage of great choice and value” in choosing an institu- tion to hold their deposits. “The FDIC deposit market share report related to the Spring- field MSA reflects the region’s financial strength and vitality,” he said via email. “The Springfield MSA deposit dollars listed See BANKS on page 40 Joe Turner: Area residents have great choice when choosing a financial institution.