Majeed sells Stevie's Steakburger, SEMO Gas

After nearly 11 years of conducting business in Cape Girardeau, Steve Majeed has sold SEMO Gas and Stevie's Steakburger.

Majeed is returning to Pakistan within the next few weeks to join his wife, Toni, and their children, who already are living there. For some time Majeed has been planning to sell his businesses and move to his homeland but wasn't able to close the deal until June 30.

"It would be very hard to stay here and work without them being with me," Majeed told me. "Plus I've been in business for a long time and I'm getting tired."

Majeed said he may return to Cape Girardeau when his children are 15 or 16. His son is 8 while his daughter is 6.

He plans to lease the buildings to Michael D. Patel, who bought both businesses.

"I really appreciate their business and coming to my stores," Majeed said. "Mostly, people were good to me."

* Elf Shoppe closes: The Elf Shoppe in Jackson has closed. The news was confirmed by Jackson Chamber of Commerce executive director Brian Gerau.

The business at 131 W. Main St. began as an online store operated out of Crystal Elfrink's office in her home in February 2008. It became a brick-and-mortar store in September.

It sold such collections as birdhouses, sports home decor, jewelry, candles, baby and bridal gifts. The Elf Shoppe also provided custom gift wrap, local gift delivery, custom orders on handcrafted items and shipping nationwide.

"It's a tough time for small business," Gerau told me. "Businesses out here are doing their best to make it in this tough economy."

* Thrift store moves next door: Safe Harbor Thrift Store has moved from 3860 E. Jackson Blvd. to 3862 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson. The store also has set new hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Proceeds from sales at the thrift store benefit the pets at Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary in Jackson. Anyone wanting to donate may do so during the store's regular business hours.

* Apartment complex opens: Gary and Doris Jean Arnold have been in the duplex and storage rental business for a while, but a few years ago they saw a need for more apartments in the area.

So in January construction began on the Enclave apartments. The 24 units near the corner of Lexington Avenue and Sprigg Street are each 1,200 square feet and feature 9-foot ceilings, teakwood flooring in the great room, carpeted bathrooms and ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Doris Jean Arnold has already rented out the first set of apartments, at $795 a month. She can be contacted at 335-8808 or 270-4789.

* River City Biologicals adding to facility: River City Biologicals is adding to its facility at 813 Southern Expressway. Scheduled for a late August completion, the 3,750-square-foot addition will include office space and a conference and reception area, according to vice president Jerad Busch.

The biological raw material supplier and processor of meat products once rented space inside the Southeast Innovation Center's incubator before moving to its present location.

* Ribbon cuttings scheduled: Save-A-Lot and Riverside Regional Library will have a dual Jackson Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Located in a shopping center in the 1900 block of East Jackson Boulevard, the two businesses have undergone quite a few changes since early 2009.

Save-A-Lot has undergone a massive remodeling project. Once it purchased the grocery store, the St. Francois County-based Can Stockers -- a group of two brothers, two sisters and their father -- renovated bathrooms and offices, replaced refrigeration cases and installed produce cases.

In April, Riverside Regional Library moved from 204 S. Union Ave. to its present location. New features of the library include a study area, single entrance and more books.

* Funeral home news: In a recent edition of the Business Buzz I reported that Illinois-based Crain Funeral Homes had purchased Lorberg Memorial Funeral Chapel at 829 N. West End Blvd. in Cape Girardeau. Since then I've come across some additional information.

The transaction of the purchase from Bill, Betty and Jim Kuss was made official Wednesday. Owner Bryan Crain and his wife, Stacey, said they'll honor all pre-need contracts. Among the services they'll offer are funeral and cremation services, pre-need planning and insurance, and monuments.

Southeast Missourian business reporter Brian Blackwell may be reached at 388-3628 or bblackwell@semissourian.com.;