Business briefs

__TAX BUSINESS OPENS IN ADVANCE__

ADVANCE, Mo. -- __Karen Tropf__ opened Tax Time at 19810 Route C in Advance. The business offers personal and business tax preparation, bank reconciliation, bookkeeping and payroll, household item appraisals, eBay listings and notary public services.

__AT&T TO ADD MORE JOBS IN CAPE GIRARDEAU__

AT&T announced Jan. 9 that it will hire more than 30 full-time employees at its Cape Girardeau call center. The company will provide paid training for people hired to become U-verse Solutions Leveraged Service Representatives. The call center added 26 new positions in November.

__SOUTHEAST RECEIVES REACCREDITATION__

Southeast Missouri State University announced Jan. 8 that the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools' Higher Learning Commission reaffirmed the university's accreditation for the next seven years. The action will allow the university to continue providing required services to students and faculty, receive community support and function effectively, according to a news release issued by Southeast. The reaccreditation process began in 2010 when the university submitted a systems portfolio that identified areas of improvement. The university worked to improve in those areas and in September received an on-site visit from HLC examiners. The HLC accepted positive recommendations from the examiners in December. The next reaccreditation for Southeast will be for the 2019-2020 academic year.

__WARD HYUNDAI HAS NEW OWNERS__

Ward Hyundai in Cape Girardeau was acquired by __Michael W. Absher and Cheryl Absher__ of Marion, Ill., as of Jan 1. The Abshers also own and operate Marion Ford Hyundai and Bluegrass Honda/BMW in Paducah, Ky., and are part-owners of Marion Chevrolet Buick GMC, Mercedes-Benz of Marion and Madisonville Ford Nissan in Madisonville, Ky. The business name has been changed to Hyundai of Cape Girardeau.

__BUCKNER BREWING CO. CLOSES__

Buckner Brewing Co., 132 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, closed its doors Feb. 3. The owners plan to liquidate equipment and sell the building amid a pile of outstanding tax bills, according to the Southeast Missourian. Owner __Phil Brinson__ said he will continue to own and operate Jeremiah's Restaurant & Lounge in Sikeston, Mo. Brinson owns Buckner with a partner, __Mark Sprigg,__ who handles the brewing side of the business. Sprigg plans to move from the area to be closer to family. Jennifer Hendrickson of Murphy Business in Cape Girardeau is handling the sale of the building and its contents for an undisclosed sum. The historic building opened as the Buckner-Ragsdale clothing store in the early 1900s and was a staple of the downtown business community until the its closure in 1982. After housing a number of shorter-term ventures, the current owners purchased it in 1998 and won the John Boardman Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation from Old Town Cape in 2004 for their transformation of the 23,000-square-foot space. It grew to contain Ragsdale's pub and The River View Room special events hall in addition to Buckner's microbrewery.

__CPU INC. TO WORK WITH GOLIATH TECHNOLOGIES__

CPU Inc. of Cape Girardeau, a computer consulting and services firm that also provides payroll and tax service processing, selected Goliath Technologies of Philadelphia to monitor and manage their internal, hosted and remote customer environments.

__FELKER'S AMERICAN FAMILY OFFICE RELOCATES__

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Farmington Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Jan. 9 to celebrate the relocation of Felker's American Family Insurance Agency to 560 Maple Valley Drive.

__SUBWAY OPENS IN MALDEN__

MALDEN, Mo. -- A grand opening and ribbon cutting were held for Subway of Malden, 1709 N. Douglass St. __Rick and Jeff Sampson__ own the restaurant.

__ROBINSON CONSTRUCTION AWARDED NEW CONTRACTS__

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Robinson Construction Co. was awarded several new construction contracts, including two government tasks orders. The government awarded Robinson a $2.5 million contract for installation of a new elevated water tower at the Tactical Equipment Maintenance Facility Complex in Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., and the replacement of a domestic water tower at Colmery O'Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka, Kansas, for $1.2 million. The latter project will be completed in conjunction with the $6.9 million Community Living Center project that was previously awarded to Robinson and is currently in progress. Robinson will perform as general contractor on these projects. Robinson was also awarded contracts from private industry customers in the amount of $2.9 million for work in Missouri and Tennessee. Included in the work is the installation of equipment and conveyor systems at a large manufacturing facility in Missouri, renovations and piping installation inside an operational food processing plant in Tennessee and a design-build contract for a barge access replacement project at a large production facility in Missouri.

__BEAR CREEK MERCANTILE WINS NATIONAL CONTEST__

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Bear Creek Mercantile was a winner in Melrose International's nationwide "Be Inspired" contest for most creative or best holiday store displays. Bear Creek's use of light in its "winter wonderland" window display stood out to the judges at Melrose International, a leading home decor and floral supplier.

__BILL'S BARBEQUE HAS NEW LOCATION__

KENNETT, Mo. -- __Bob and Joan Horton__ moved their Bill's Barbeque restaurant to 819 St. Francis St., the Daily Dunklin Democrat reported. Their previous location was damaged in a fire Dec. 21.

__TOWNHOMES TO BE BUILT ON NORTH MAIN STREET IN CAPE GIRARDEAU__

Developers of a three-story, five-townhome residential project are planning to break ground mid-spring on the 300 block of North Main Street. __Kenny Pincksten__ and __Jim Riley__ will call the luxury complex Riverview Court and are in the planning and permit stage with the city. Pincksten said the architecture is based on historic row homes he observed while traveling in Savannah, Ga., and throughout the south. The project cost is estimated at more than $2 million.

__POP'S PIZZA CLOSING__

Just after celebrating its 20th anniversary, Pop's Pizza at 409 N. Clark St. in Cape Girardeau announced it is closing. Because of uncertainty in the economy, the family pizzeria does not want to sign a two-year lease as required by the building's owner, said __Brad Sample,__ son of restaurant owner __Cora Lee Sample.__ He also said his mother is looking to retire from the business. Unless a buyer is found, the business will close Feb. 28, he said.

__BUD SHELL HAS NEW NAME, OWNER__

Bud Shell's Auto World at 411 Siemers Drive in Cape Girardeau changed hands Dec. 26. It is now owned by Morlan Chrysler and will be called Morlan Pre-Owned Center. It stocks about 200 pre-owned vehicles, said general manager __Jason Todt.__ Former owner __Glynn Jarrell__ has stayed on as sales manager, along with many other members of the Bud Shell team, Todt said.

__SEMO PARTY BUS CUTS RIBBON__

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting in January for SEMO Party Bus. Owner __David Slaughter__ said the bus interior is outfitted with wraparound limosine-style seating, special lighting and a karaoke machine to transport riders in a fun atmosphere to weddings, wineries, parties, children's events and tourist destinations.

__YVONNE'S RESTAURANT CLOSES__

Yvonne's Restaurant, 1015 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, has closed. The restaurant's original location in Benton, Mo., remains open for business.

__CURVES HAS NEW LOCATION__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Curves moved to a new and updated facility in the lower level of Bluff Estates Shopping Center in Poplar Bluff. The facility also updated its complete weight loss program.

__WEST BANK BISTRO CUTS RIBBON__

West Bank Bistro, 340 S. Lorimier St. in Cape Girardeau, held a ribbon cutting Jan. 16.

__MATERNITY SHOP HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING__

Cloud 9 Maternity, 2136 William St., Suite 196 in Cape Girardeau, held a ribbon cutting Jan. 18.

__PLAZA TIRE BREAKS GROUND__

Plaza Tire Service held a groundbreaking Jan. 18 for its new location at 170 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

__BOLLINGER CHAMBER ADDS MEMBERS__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce added two new members in January: __Betty A. Rambo__ of Marble Hill, and Sandy & Wayne's Hutch, owned by __Sandra and Roy Hanners__ in Sedgewickville, Mo.

__BLOCKBUSTER TO CLOSE CAPE STORE__

The Cape Girardeau Blockbuster store stopped renting movies and video games Feb. 2 in preparation to close its doors permanently. The Cape Girardeau location was identified as one of 300 lowest-earning stores nationwide slated for closure, said manager Maryjane Gibbens. A liquidation sale of remaining merchandise began Feb. 4 and will continue through March 24.

__CHANGE ANNOUNCED BY NARS COMPANY__

National Asset Recovery Services Inc. (NARS) and its affiliated companies, Pinnacle Financial Group Inc. (PFG) and Integrity Financial Partners Inc. (IFP), announced Jan. 28 that it integrated its operating divisions and would change its name to Integrity Solution Services Inc. NARS has a 40,000-square-foot call center at 2102 William St. in Cape Girardeau.

__FANTASTIC SAM'S OPENS IN FARMINGTON__

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The Farmington Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Jan. 15 for Fantastic Sam's, a new hair salon at 716 W. Karsch Blvd.