Mel-O-Cream Donuts, a Springfield staple since 1932, will soon have a fifth retail location. Springfield resident Amanda Crossland acquired the four existing retail locations in July 2019 from Chris Weihmeir. While COVID put some of her expansion plans on hold, she is now moving forward with a west-side Mel-O-Cream store.

 “I thought it would be a good opportunity; people on that side of town are looking for more coffee and breakfast options,” Crossland said. She’s working with Corky Joyner, owner of Joyner Construction Services, who is in the process of building a strip center at the corner of Yucan Drive and Archer Elevator Road.

 Crossland said Mel-O-Cream will have 1,300 square feet on the west end of the strip center, which will allow for a drive-thru and outdoor patio seating. “He’s building it custom for us,” she said.

In addition to opening a new retail location, Crossland said she’s made a few other changes to the overall operations. “We’re using a new coffee roaster, and that’s improved our coffee quality,” she said. Crossland has also partnered with a new milk supplier, Rolling Lawns, a dairy based in Greenville.

 While she acknowledged “struggling with the same staffing issues that everyone else is,” Crossland plans to hire six to eight additional employees to staff the new location, which she hopes to have open this summer.

 The four existing Mel-O-Cream stores are located at 217 E. Laurel St., 525 North Grand Ave E., 195 W. Monroe and 3010 S. Sixth St. in Springfield.