Area businesses in 2003 - A look back

Business Today

Compiled by Sharon K. Sanders

Southeast Missourian librarian

JANUARY

6 -- The Kirchdoerfer Jersey Farm of Cape Girardeau and Voelker's Brown Swiss of Perryville have been given the Prairie Farms Quality Award for 2002.

7 -- Dan Drury, president of Midamerica Hotels Corp., announced plans to raze the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau and replace it with a new Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites.

7 -- St. Francis Medical Center began seeing patients at its new Cancer Institute, offering radiation oncology services for the first time.

8 -- While the environmental cleanup of the former Marquette Hotel awaited state approval, new owners Prost Builders wanted to see how the historic building would look from the outside when it reopens at the end of 2003. Representatives of a Columbia, Mo., electrical and engineering design company tested accent lighting they propose to mount on the building's exterior.

9 -- Southeast Missouri Hospital began celebrating its 75th year. The hospital opened on Jan. 9, 1928.

13 -- Richard and Jane Daume have sold their Kwik Kopy printing business to Ted and Jason Coalter, owners of Cape Girardeau Printing Co.

13 -- Beard's Sporting Shop at 811 Broadway, in business 44 years, has closed. Cherokee Trails was expected to move into the building.

14 -- Cape Girardeau Kmart dodged a bullet -- again. The company announced its second round of cutbacks, saying it would close 326 more stores and eliminate 37,000 more jobs in hopes of getting out of bankruptcy by the end of April. But the Kmart in Cape Girardeau wasn't among those slated to close.

20 -- A Fred's discount store was scheduled to open in the old Jackson Wal-Mart building. Developer for the property was Jim Maevers.

20 -- Chiropractic Associates of Southeast Missouri recently opened its new offices in Jackson at 1404 Old Cape Road, Suite 102.

20 -- Vel Green was introduced last week as the new owner of Elan Day Spa.

21 -- Southeast Missouri Hospital began accepting patients to its new 11-bed orthopedic unit.

27 -- Plans were announced for the opening of CiCi's Pizza, a national buffet chain, around the first of April at 221 S. Broadview.

31 -- Mike Kohlfeld, president of Kohlfeld Distributing, received the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. Award, and Ford & Sons Funeral Home was named the city's Small Business of the Year during the chamber's annual dinner and dance at the Show Me Center.

FEBRUARY

1 -- Susan Dean, manager of Hecht's Women for many years, took over the business with a couple of silent partners. The business was renamed the Woman's Store.

1 -- Citing years of decreasing customers, Union Planters Bank officials have decided to shut down the branch at 325 Broadway. It was the the last full-service bank in downtown Cape Girardeau.

3 -- John Sander has announced he's closing the Cape Girardeau True Value hardware store his father started 27 years ago.

3 -- David "Mac" McAllister has opened a second location of Mac's Smokehouse in the same mini-mall as Soap and Suds at 525 N. Silver Springs Road.

3 -- Applebee's International Inc. has reached an agreement with its biggest franchisee, Thomas and King Inc., to buy the assets of 11 Applebee's restaurants -- including the one in Cape Girardeau -- for $23.2 million in cash.

7 -- Under the Sun Tanning Co., owned by Daniel and Jessica Richardson, opened at La Croix Village.

10 -- Christo and Terry Chriss prepared to open a new restaurant in Jackson called Cafe Mane Street at 131 W. Main.

10 -- Soskin Cape Toyota began selling Mitsubishis. Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America recently awarded the Mitsubishi automobile franchise in Cape Girardeau to Alan Soskin.

10 -- Phil Penzel, president of Arrowhead Steel Inc. in Scott City, announced that his ownership interest in Arrowhead has been acquired by local businessmen Larry Payne and Steve Obermann.

14 -- La Croix Village held its grand opening.

14 -- Broussard's owner Shawn Stockard has confirmed that his downtown Cape Girardeau restaurant was for sale.

17 -- Renaissance was in the process of expanding the store downtown on the corner of Broadway and Main Street. Three more storefronts, all the way to the alley on Broadway directly across from the Convention and Visitor's Bureau, were added to the store.

17 -- Hairstylist Millie Yates has opened Cape Cuts at 1930 Broadway.

17 -- Endless Summer Tan recently opened at 1420 N. Kingshighway.

20 -- The 2003 strategic plan for Old Town Cape was revealed at the group's annual meeting. The 2003 budget anticipated $93,840 in spending, nearly double the $48,781.90 spent in 2002.

24 -- Workers prepared a site on Lexington, between La Croix United Methodist Church and Commerce Bank, for construction of a 12,000-square-foot office building.

MARCH

3 -- The First National Bank, based in Sikeston, celebrated its charter's 100th birthday with a reception at its Cape Girardeau branch last week.

3 -- Spectrum Training Center opened at 14 N. Sprigg.

5 -- Jerry Davis, the man who brought McDonald's restaurant to Cape Girardeau 35 years ago, was killed in an airplane crash near Sparta, Ill, along with his flight instructor, Kenneth Krongos.

10 -- The Country Shade Craft Mall at 8 Plaza Way has been sold. Brinda Luttrull ran the business with her husband, Omer, for 10 years, renting booth spaces to crafters. But they recently sold the 6,000-square-foot store to Janet Hahs of Biehle, Mo., and Mary Keller of Cape Girardeau.

10 -- Timber Creek Homes has been purchased by American Lifestyle Homes of Pinckneyville, Ill.

15 -- Hibbett's Sporting Goods was scheduled to open at the Town Plaza in spaces formerly occupied by Baskin-Robbins, the Clip Shop and some offices.

17 -- Matt Dameron of Jackson recently started Heartland Home Tours, a Web site that allows prospective home buyers to take a virtual tour of houses in Southeast Missouri.

17 -- Jim Maevers, who previously inked a deal to put a Fred's discount store in a little more than half of the old Wal-Mart building in Jackson, has leased the other half, and it's going to be occupied by Nearly Perfect Shoes.

20 -- The ribbon was cut for the second location of My Daddy's Cheesecake at La Croix Village on Route W. The owner of the business is Wes Kinsey.

31 -- Donna Diebold Joplin recently announced the opening of SEMO Appraisal in Cape Girardeau.

APRIL

7 -- Wonder Bread and Hostess Cakes has leased a warehouse and office building located at 1301 Warner St. in Scott City. The new 5,000-square-foot facility will be the headquarters for the bread and cake division's distributing operation for much of Southeast Missouri.

7 -- Mailboxes Etc. stores in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston changed their names to The UPS Stores. UPS bought Mailboxes Etc. two years ago.

7 -- Dr. Chris Jung has sold Soap 'N Suds Laundry to Sarath Gunawardhana of Chesterfield, Mo. He has changed the name to Waterworks.

7 -- Cycle Werx opened at 1407 N. Kingshighway. The 5,000-square-foot bicycle shop offers a full line of bicycles.

11 -- The Comedy Club officially opened at Jeremiah's, after unofficially debuting in March.

14 -- Plans called for a new downtown bar called Our House to open in the space formerly occupied by the Indigo at 2 N. Main.

14 -- Jan and Bill Wilkins have closed In the Wine Cellar and moved out of the area.

14 -- China Town Buffet opened last week in the old Western Sizzlin building on Kingshighway.

19 -- Eddie Bauer closed its Westfield Shoppingtown West Park store.

28 -- One of Cape Girardeau's most prominent office parks -- Lorimont -- is for sale. It was home to such Cape Girardeau businesses as MedAssets, HealthSouth Rehabilitation, State Farm Insurance, Pyramid Medical Services, Audiology Center, The Yellow Pages and Lorimont Real Estate offices.

28 -- Sweet Peas clothing and gift shop opened last week at 34 N. Main, according to owner Joni Welker.

28 -- Ashley Gilder has opened a Touch of Wellness in Jackson at 810 E. Jackson Blvd.

28 -- Varieties has opened in downtown Cape Girardeau at 36 N. Main, owner Matt Taylor said.

28 -- Ground was broken last week for the new Wieser Hyundai car dealership that will be on Siemers Drive.

MAY

5 -- In Jackson, the banking business has been super-sized since the early 1990s. Today, there are more banks, 10, than fast-food franchises, nine (and that includes a drive-through-only Dairy Queen). In 1991, only two banks served the county seat.

5 -- Cape Shoe Co., the only shoe-manufacturing company in Southeast Missouri, has moved to 2555 Rusmar in Cape Girardeau. The building was acquired through a property exchange with RM Coco Fabrics, which formerly occupied the building.

6 -- Chip and Debbie Peterson of Farmington opened CiCi's Pizza at 221 Broadview in Cape.

12 -- Terry Hester, talk station KZIM 960's morning show host for many years, has moved from his on-air job to become corporate program director for Zimmer's radio stations in central Missouri and Lawrence, Kan.

13 -- Jerome Zimmer, a well-respected local radio pioneer who started one of the nation's first country stations in Cape Girardeau before creating stations that now run across the dial, died. He was 81.

13 -- St. Francis Medical Center broke ground for its new $20 million Health and Wellness Center.

19 -- Bill Burke, the new president and chief operating officer of Nordenia USA, recently arrived in Cape Girardeau.

19 -- Construction has started on developer Chad Hartle's new Jackson strip mall on East Jackson Boulevard between Wendy's and the Super Wal-Mart. At first, it will be home to Hartle's businesses. Later he will add office and retail space.

19 -- New developers Kurt May and Keith Holloway have finished their work on commercial lots that could be home to future restaurants, retail businesses and offices in Jackson. The lots were on Highway D, adjacent to the Elks Lodge and McCombs Funeral Home across from the city park.

19 -- Sunbelt Credit recently opened in the Crossroads Center at Independence and Kingshighway.

22 -- The fifth annual 100-mile Yard Sale, stretching from Jackson to Kennett along Highway 25, got under way. It continued through Memorial Day.

27 -- Shery Varney has begun offering horse-drawn carriage rides in downtown Cape Girardeau.

27. Cross Trails Medical Center purchased a 1.3-acre tract of land on Broadview across the street from K's Merchandise. Groundbreaking for a new clinic was scheduled for June.

27 -- Loy Welker, president of Broadway Park Investment, has purchased two commercial properties in Cape Girardeau. He bought the strip mall at 820 N. Sprigg from Bobby McDonald, which includes Tan It All, Burritoville, Mr. Goodcents, the White House and DC's Cafe. The second development he bought was on North Kingshighway, home to The Brace Place, Miracle Ear and Remax Achievers.

27 -- Renee Luttrell has opened Family Moving and Storage at 1301 N. Kingshighway, Suite E, right next to Coldwell Banker.

JUNE

1 -- Rick McLeod, who has been working for Procter & Gamble Co. in Venezuela since 2000, became the local plant's manager, replacing Kathy Brown, who transferred to a different position within the company.

9 -- The old Teen Challenge thrift store building at 6 N. Sprigg, which suffered fire damage a few years ago, has been bought by Vince and Terrence Kelley. They will rebuild the structure to create a commercial rental property.

10 -- Southeast Missouri Hospital announced plans to replace its grassy hillside on Broadway with a four-story medical office building and an adjoining parking garage. The hospital was scheduled to break ground on the $15 million project in late November or early December and complete it by July 2005.

16 -- The Jackson Chamber of Commerce gave out its community service awards. Wal-Mart store manager Rick Boyd received the Business of the Year plaque; Arnold Strickert was given the R.A. Fulenwider Meritorious Community Service Award, and ARI plant manager Brian Blankenship accepted the Industry of the Year award.

23 -- Cape Girardeau-based Plaza Tire recently broke ground on a new retail facility in Arnold, Mo.

JULY

1 -- Timeless Treasures opened at 1326 Main St. in Sikeston. Owner of the store, which featured antiques and gifts, is Karen Ledure.

7 -- Midamerica Hotels Corp. has given the drab old Holiday Inn Convention Center a much-needed face lift and changed its name to the Plaza Conference Center.

7 -- Owners Jamey and Susan Hall have opened The Paint Can Decorating Center at 108 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau.

7 -- Cape Electrical Supply has purchased White Electrical Supply, with stores in Hannibal and Monroe City, Mo.

8 -- The Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau has commissioned a $42,000 marketing study that will give the city a grand name it can sell to tourists.

12 -- Po'Man Concessions began operating a mobile concession stand at 709 William.

21 -- First State Bank of Farmington has signed a deal, pending regulatory approval, to open a branch in Cape Girardeau that will be known as First State Community Bank.

21 -- US Bank took over the bank branch at the University Center on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University from Commerce Bank.

21 -- Jackson restaurant Reflections has closed.

21 -- ACT Services LLC, a local business owned and operated by Curt Greer and Carol Kitchen Greer, has acquired the Best Gourmet Coffee Distributorship for this area.

28 -- Shauna Watson, a longtime Scott City waitress, made plans to open her own restaurant -- Drue's Place -- at 601 Second St. East, which is next to the post office in old Illmo.

28 -- Footings were poured for a new barbecue restaurant in Jackson. The Branding Iron was being built in the same shopping area as Fred's and Save-A-Lot.

28 -- Diamond Wireless has opened at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park.

30 -- Their patience exhausted, the developers of the Prestwick Plantation have withdrawn their hotly debated request for tax-increment financing, an economic development tool that would have paid to extend streets, sewers and water to the upscale 700-home subdivision planned for western Cape Girardeau.

AUGUST

4 -- Bobby McDonald, who developed a strip mall at 820 N. Sprigg, has sold the White House club that had been in the back of the mall. The new owner is TJ Henderson.

4 -- Apropos Gifts and More has opened at 97 N. Kingshighway, Suite 4, next to Little Caesar's.

4 -- Carpet Connection owners John and Connie Fodge have purchased property at 766 S. Kingshighway to build a new 8,000-square-foot retail/showroom/warehouse facility.

4 -- Sylvan Learning Center of Cape Girardeau announced plans to construct a new office building on West Drive, about half a block north of Denny's.

4 -- Tracey's Place, a new coffeehouse and eatery, opened at 127 W. Main in Jackson, right across from Jackson City Hall.

11 -- St. Louis Bread Co. changed its name to Panera Bread.

11 -- Owners of Dalhousie Golf Club have decided to open a private dining facility at 17 S. Spanish in downtown Cape Girardeau.

11 -- Longtime painters Bill O'Kelly and Mark Schwartz have started their own business called Classic Colors Painting.

18 -- DLJ Cape LLC, headed by Daniel Jones, has bought the Cape Girardeau Lorimont development along South Mount Auburn Road.

18 -- Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics has opened at 3065 William St., Suite 205.

22 -- A farewell festival kicked off to say goodbye to the Holiday Inn in Cape Girardeau. The inn will be torn down to make way for a new Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites.

23 -- Corner Cafe, 117 Themis, closed its doors for good.

25 -- Roy's Tire and Auto recently opened at 408 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson. The owner is Roy White.

25 -- Insta-Cash opened at 67 S. Plaza Way, sharing an office with SEMO Recreational Leagues. It is in the same strip center as Kandy Kane cleaners.

25 -- Emad Salamy has reopened Phoenicia, a Middle Eastern restaurant on Sprigg Street, after a two-month break.

25 -- Cafe Azu, the new restaurant in the spot that used to be Manee Thai, opened last week. The restaurant features Russian, Ukrainian, German and Polish food.

SEPTEMBER

1 -- River City Imaging was opened by Rick Ross. The center offered outpatient MRIs.

2 -- Developer Jim Maevers has purchased the Albertsons building from the Tennessee group that bought the property when the grocery store closed. Arby's has agreed to buy the spot in the parking lot where the convenience store was and put up a restaurant.

7 -- St. Louis Nights, a blues club operated by T.C. Scruggs, opened at Broadway and Middle.

8 -- Plans were announced for the transformation of the northeast corner of Kingshighway and Bloomfield. The corner, to be called Bloomfield Crossing, would include a new bank branch, a tax service business and an Aaron's Sales and Lease rent-to-own store.

8 -- Kelly Services Inc., a human resources corporation, planned to relocate its Southeast Missouri office to Shawnee Center in Cape Girardeau.

8 -- Emily Terry has started her own photography business called On Location Portraits.

8 -- The new First Community Bank opened at the southwest corner of South Mount Auburn Road and Independence.

10 -- A proposed convenience store-gas station near the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge won approval from Cape Girardeau's Planning and Zoning Commission.

15 -- The new Saturn car dealership opened on Siemers Drive.

27 -- Gary Rust was inducted into the Missouri Press Association's Newspaper Hall of Fame.

28 -- It was announced that Jim Wilson Co. is closing its doors by the end of the year. In addition to losing their jobs, workers stand to lose millions in retirement money from their stock ownership plan.

29 -- Mr. Tire opened at 915 Broadway next to Dairy Queen. The owner is David McCormick.

OCTOBER

1 -- The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce awarded its Commitment to Excellence Award to Auto Tire and Parts.

5 -- A proposed Bi-State Southern convenience store at Sprigg and Highway 74 won the approval of the Cape Girardeau City Council.

6 -- Stan Thompson and his wife, Kay, along with business partners Ronnie and Pam Wesbecher, proposed a $1 million RV and camping park on North Kingshighway that would feature 100 pull-through spots, five log cabins, a swimming pool, miniature golf and an outdoor pavilion.

6 -- Linda Bohnsack has installed The Garden Gallery, which specializes in high quality, hand-crafted merchandise, above Grace Cafe on the corner of Broadway and Pacific.

6 -- Mark Dirnberger, a longtime local restaurant manager, took over Bella Italia, the popular downtown Italian eatery that he recently bought from John and Jerri Wyman.

10 -- A business some residents along Good Hope Street had hoped was closed forever reopened its doors, bringing crowds, noise and restless nights. The Taste was back -- but with no alcohol in the mix. The operator is Patrick Buck.

11 -- St. Louis-based Drury Inns Inc. unveiled plans for a new 180-room hotel in Cape Girardeau in an area that the company hopes eventually will warrant that many rooms. A new seven-story Drury Inn & Suites was planned for a seven-acre tract at the southeast corner of Interstate 55 and Highway 74 on property that also will include three unnamed restaurants.

13 -- Mac's Smokehouse Restaurant, owned by Dave McAllister, closed its doors at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, consolidating operations at the Silver Springs Road location in Cape Girardeau.

15 -- Tootie Hecht, Dan Elkins and Martin Hecht, owners of Hecht's Store, announced they were closing the business that has been part of Cape Girardeau's retail history for 86 years. Martin Hecht's father, Louis Hecht, opened the store in 1917.

20 -- Francine Seier's daughter finally made her late mother's wish come true. Debby Erlbacher took over the flower shop and wedding garden her mother ran for nearly 20 years at 38 N. Pacific St.

20 -- Elan Day Spa, which was bought earlier this year by Vel Green, has closed.

20 -- Family Moving and Storage at 1301 N. Kingshighway expanded to include a new business called All Star Delivery Service.

20 -- Rent A Center has bought out Show Me Rent to Own.

31 -- Walter White opened the Ole Country Store at 1007 S. Sprigg, former location of Ratliff's Grocery store.

NOVEMBER

3 -- Teresa Morrill and partners Amanda Chapman and Jerry Taylor have opened a new advertising and marketing agency called AJT Enterprises at 840 S. Kingshighway.

3 -- Miss Print, a small-business print shop, has opened at 891 N. Kingshighway with Tina Parrish as owner.

3 -- Venida Warren has opened Venida's Village at 1135 W. Jackson in Jackson. The shop offers quilting supplies, yarn and thread.

3 -- A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

10 -- Meyer's Bakery, devastated by the tornado that struck Jackson in May, will be rebuilt on a site just north of the Citgo on East Jackson Boulevard, across the street from Woodard's restaurant.

10 -- A year after opening, Andrew Johnson has moved his Comix Strip store from 407 Broadway to a larger location at 621 Broadway.

12 -- The Cape Girardeau County Industrial Development Authority approved the issuance of up to $250 million in tax-free revenue bonds to fuel the construction of a $58 million ethanol plant in the Nash Road industrial park. The development could lead to the construction of a companion 20-megawatt power plant.

17 -- The Grandpa Woo III, a luxury yacht, will offer a variety of cruises that start out at Riverfront Park in Cape Girardeau. Cruises will begin next May.

17 -- Bening Mazda became the new Mazda dealership in Cape Girardeau. The dealer, which already had a dealership in Jackson, was appointed the new dealer by Mazda and in the spot formerly occupied by McDonough Mazda at 2611 Auto Park Drive.

18 -- Restauranteur Su Hill showed off an artist's concept drawing of her new downtown Cape Girardeau project at Hill's Saffron restaurant. Hill will revitalize the former Keys Music Store building at the corner of Broadway and Spanish streets using a "boutique hotel concept" by opening a pub-style restaurant on the first floor and renting sleeping rooms and luxury apartments on the other two floors.

24 -- Gary and Sandy Helwege have a new strip mall under construction on the 1100 block of North Kingshighway.

24 -- Fred Finnell has opened a new computer services store at 1733 N. Kingshighway -- Cutting Edge Solutions.

24 -- Lazy H Ranchwear and Tack opened at 3862 E. Jackson Blvd., across from the water slide in Jackson. The Lazy H is owned by Nate Hoffman and John Hale.

25 -- Convention and Visitors Bureau officials unveiled a new marketing logo that depicted the sun rising over the Mississippi River and the slogan "where the river turns a thousand tales."

DECEMBER

1 -- Two older commercial buildings -- the former Health Services Corp. of America and the former Dialysis Center -- were torn down last week at I-55 and Bloomfield Road. The prime, high-traffic tract, along with eight adjoining acres, was being cleared to make way for development as a retail spot, an office development or a hotel.

1 -- Soldiers of the 1140th Engineer Battalion of the Army National Guard received their marching orders in support of the war in Iraq. The activation will remove 500 or more soldiers from Southeast Missouri's work force.

1 -- Phoenicia restaurant on Sprigg Street was open but for sale. Emad and Mimi Salamy owned the Cape Girardeau eatery for 12 years.

1 -- Conscious Healing, a natural health and wellness center, opened at 106 Farrar Drive, Suite 103.

1 -- Pyramid Clinical Services announced last week that it acquired Occupational Medical Services at 21 Doctors' Park in Cape Girardeau.

2 -- Dr. Yuzuru Matsuda, the new president of BioKyowa's parent company in Japan, traveled from Tokyo to meet with Cape Girardeau business leaders.

5 -- Thomas L. Meyer, 84, received the first Lifetime Achievement Award from Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors.

8 -- Kevin Harris, whose family has owned KFCs in the area for almost four decades, has sold the restaurants to A&A Foods of California.

8 -- In an effort to entice big industries, the city of Jackson and the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association considered constructing the first building in Jackson's industrial park.

8 -- A new Realty Executives office was set to open at 1359 N. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau.

13 -- The $100 million Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge was opened in grand fashion.

15 -- Scott Hamann and Andy Baranovic announced plans to open a downtown restaurant -- Sidewalk Sandwich Co. -- at 119 Themis, the former location of Grace Cafe and Corner Cafe.

15 -- Site work was in progress for a new 8,100-square-foot strip center just south of Schnucks in Cape Girardeau, next to the Dairy Queen. The developer is the Rhodes Group.

15 -- Scott City-based Security Bank and Trust opened its first Cape Girardeau branch at 325 Broadway.

15 -- Chris Kuhn has sold Bootheel Fence Co. to Gardens Edge Nursery in Kelso, owned by Marvin Wormington Jr.

17 -- Southeast Missouri Hospital officials broke ground for a new $15 million medical office building. The building will be named for the late Charlie Hutson.

17 -- An agreement between businessman Jim Drury and the city of Cape Girardeau ended more than five years of lawsuits over the River Campus project.

22 -- Mike and Judy Bryant opened the Landing Place Airport Restaurant.

31 -- The greater Cape Girardeau area narrowly lost out on its bid to become the home of a new manufacturing plant for the nation's largest manufacturer of synthetic decking that would have created hundreds of new jobs. Winchester, Va.-based Trex Co. Inc. has chosen Metro Industrial Park in Olive Branch, Miss., as the site for a $160 million to $240 million manufacturing facility. But Cape Girardeau was the other finalist for the company.