The Whiz-Tech Technology Cafe isn't exactly a computer repair business. Nor is it, precisely, a restaurant.
The new business opens its doors to the public for the first time tomorrow morning. And it promises everything from IT consultation to graphic design to retail computer accessories to fresh-off-the-grill paninis, all in a single location -- the 6,000-square-foot first floor of the Printers Loft building.
"It's huge," promises Whiz-Tech's director of public relations, Deverick Miller -- and he means that in more ways than one. Clearly.
As Miller describes it, Whiz-Tech is the brainchild of Yasha Henderson, who opened a computer repair/graphic design company out of her home in June 2007. But with an initial marketing budget of only $1,500, business was almost immediately booming.
"We realized there was a huge niche to be filled in St. Louis, Missouri," says Miller, who is also a partner in the business. "We saw that small and mid-sized businesses needed our services too."
And so the partners landed on the idea of opening a headquarters downtown. They'll still send techs to your house for repair services, but there will also be workers on site from all day until midnight, helping out with just about any service a fledgling entrepreneur could want, from website development to copy editing to binding and collating to, of course, sustenance.
Andrew McLendon, who Miller says previously worked at the Ritz-Carlton and the cafe at the Missouri Botanical Garden, has developed a menu of sandwiches, salads, smoothies and snacks. The owners also plan to host everything from author readings to seminars to art exhibits. (And with that much space, why not? Miller notes that Whiz-Tech takes up an entire city block.)
The Printers Lofts are at 1629 Locust Street downtown. The doors will be open tomorrow from 6:30 a.m. to midnight, with grand opening festivities from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., so take a minute and stop on by.
And, while you're at it, let us at Daily RFT know what you think.
