Bob Foos
Changes are afoot downtown in the Mid-Missouri Bank block on Main Street.
The bank announced last week that it will permanently close its drive-thru branch at 101 N. Main St. on July 16. Normal hours of operation will continue until then.
After a regulated period, the property will be up for sale, although it may have already been spoken for.
There was a grand opening for the drive-thru bank in 1965, when being able to do bank business from your car must have seemed like a modern convenience.
It was two years ago that Mid-Missouri Bank made its new facility at 1421 S. Madison St. as its main bank in Webb City.
Meanwhile, the original Webb City Bank at 100 N. Main St. had closed and was up for sale. An auction of interior items was held in October 2024.
That building was finally sold on March 13 to Jacob Vasquez, a 2013 graduate of Webb City High School.
He says he thinks the building has great potential, but he will take a year to decide what to do with it. The plan “needs time and attention,” he says.
In the meantime, he says he is looking for a one-year tenant.
Back in 2003, when Mid-Missouri Bank rejuvenated the main bank downtown, it expanded by adding the adjacent Parker Building. Its main feature was a community room.
The Parker Building is separate again and now owned by Tammy and Rick Sprenkle.
Tammy will use it as a second location for her Girlfriends Fitness Center. The first location is in Oronogo – in the shopping center on the northwest corner of Route D and Highway 96.
Rick has spent much of the past year “gutting” the building. The ground floor is mostly a big area for the fitness center, with exposed-brick and pink walls. There’s an apartment and space to rent for events on the second floor.
Look for Tammy to open Girlfriends open soon, offering a dual membership for both her Oronogo and Webb City locations.