Sarasota's Kimsey wages financing fight

Sarasota entrepreneur Rick Kimsey, with a goal to shoot a dose of Starbucks into the urgent care industry, is now Exhibit A in the lending tug-of-war between banks and small businesses.

Kimsey bought franchise development rights for Doctors Express for 16 counties in west and central Florida late last year. The Towson, Md.-based chain provides urgent care for the large segment of patients who fall between a primary care doctor and an emergency room. The chain's mission is to execute its strategy in a uniform way, no matter where the office is located, much like Starbucks.

Kimsey opened his first Doctors Express in Sarasota in January and a second one followed in St. Petersburg in June. Kimsey wants to open at least six more centers by the end of 2011 and he tells Coffee Talk he has sites picked out for some locations. The list includes potential sites in Naples, Fort Myers and Bradenton.