Business briefs

GAME KNIGHTS OPENS IN CAPE

Game Knights Books and Collectibles opened at 57 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau. The business sells gaming and hobby supplies for games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon, according to owner Jeremy Pierce.

KAREN OLIVER'S SKIN CARE CUTS RIBBON

Karen Oliver's Skin Care Professionals, 125 S. Broadview, Suite 11 in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting Dec. 2. The business offers facials, waxing, massages, hair care, nail care and skin care.

PERRYVILLE ADDS SECOND SUBWAY RESTAURANT

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perryville Subway franchise owner Michael Reiss opened his second Subway location across from Walmart at 1527 S. Perryville Blvd. in Perryville.

BOLD MARKETING EARNS INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

BOLD Marketing in Cape Girardeau earned international recognition through the MarCom Awards, a competition for marketing and communications professionals acknowledging creativity, ingenuity and hard work. BOLD competed against 6,500 entries and took home four awards. Gold awards were presented in print creativity design for Baer & Edington's tax document folder and in the direct mail category for Regional Brain & Spine's video direct mail. Honorable mentions were awarded for the United Way of Southeast Missouri's 2013 New Year's Eve REVEAL campaign and for SEMCO Outdoor's website.

HOBBY CENTER UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

Tailwinds R/C Hobby Center, 1 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau, now is under the ownership of Jack "Mitch" and Patty Mitchell. The hobby supplies store will continue to sell radio-controlled aircraft supplies, as well as supplies for R/C cars, trucks and buggies, Patty Mitchell said. She said they hope to expand and sell more products in the future.

TWO SHOPS OPEN IN BELLMAN BUILDING

ALTENBURG, Mo. -- Nicole Moore and Sandy Oberndorfer opened two businesses in the Bellman's Hardware Store building at 8515 Main St. in Altenburg, the Southeast Missourian reported. The building had been vacant for decades and has been renovated and updated. Reclaimed Home Furnishings and Gifts, owned by Moore, and Trinkets and Treasures, owned by Oberndorfer, celebrated their stores' openings Dec. 15 with an open house. Reclaimed Home Furnishings and Gifts sells refinished furniture and decor among other handmade crafts and products, and Oberndorfer sells custom-sewn and -embroidered pieces at Trinkets and Treasures. The two also will collaborate on projects, Moore said, and they plan to offer their services at weddings and special events after the first of the year. They also plan to teach creative classes in a large classroom in the building, including children's art classes, sewing, flower arranging and refinishing furniture.

SOUTHEAST AMONG TOP TEACHER EDUCATION COLLEGES

The College Database has named Southeast Missouri State University among its top colleges in the state for teacher education, according to a news release from Southeast. The list, titled "Top Colleges in Missouri: Shaping the Next Generation," highlights postsecondary institutions in Missouri that produced the most education graduates during the 2012 school year. The database ranks Southeast No. 7 in the state for producing education graduates in 2012.

HARPS FOODS STORE TO BUILD IN POPLAR BLUFF

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Harps Foods of Springdale, Ark., purchased approximately five acres in the Cripple Creek Development for the construction of a 30,000-square-foot grocery store with a gasoline station, the Daily American Republic reported. J. Max Van Hoose, vice president of store planning, said the company hopes to begin construction in late spring and open in the fall of 2014. The store will be between Shelby Road and the Kindergarten Center. It will face the south, with the main entrance on the south side. Van Hoose expects 80 employees to be hired in Poplar Bluff. Harps Food has 74 stores in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, including Doniphan, Dexter, Malden and Kennett, Mo., with plans to add four to six new stores per year, said Van Hoose. This is the second grocery store to be built along Shelby Road in 2014. A Walmart Neighborhood Market will be built at the northwest corner of Shelby and Oak Grove roads in the Eight Points Development.

NEW BUSINESS TO OPEN IN N'ORLEANS BUILDING

A Cape Girardeau restaurateur plans to open a new business this spring in the building that housed the Royal N'Orleans restaurant, city records show. Mark Dirnberger filed an application Dec. 11 for a business license to open a prepared food and beverage business called Katy O'Ferrell's in the long-vacant space at 300 Broadway. On the application, Dirnberger, who owns Bella Italia, 20 N. Spanish St., and is part owner of D'Ladiums, 1127 Broadway, listed March 1 as his estimated opening date. Since its construction in 1868, the building has been an opera house, a meeting place for German immigrants, a Masonic temple, a grocery store and a production facility for the Daily Republican, which later became the Southeast Missourian. The building has been empty since the Royal N'Orleans closed in June 2009 amid reports of tax problems. In April, the building's owner, a company called Culinary Arts Specialties LLC, had the structure cleaned and repaired to prepare it for potential buyers.

WAL-MART NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNED FOR CAPE

A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market -- a much smaller version of the related supercenter -- is planned for Cape Girardeau, potentially restoring the property to its original use in the 1960s when a major grocery store was there. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is listed as the developer in a subdivision plat application filed with the city of Cape Girardeau for the site of the former Plaza Galleria, which stood at 2001 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau. The development proposal still must be approved by the city. The applicant was listed as Buescher Frankenberg Associates Inc., a consultant, engineer and surveyor company from Washington, Mo., according to the company's website. The Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission approved the application for the Galleria Plaza Subdivision plat at its meeting Dec. 11 after surveyor Mark Frankenberg spoke on behalf of the application regarding the market. The item was to be added to the Dec. 16 Cape Girardeau City Council agenda for its first reading. Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets range from one-fourth to one-fifth the size of traditional Wal-Mart Supercenters and offer amenities such as fresh produce and a bakery. The Plaza Galleria opened as a Kroger Family Center in 1969 and later was expanded and changed to a Kroger Sav-On. After the store closed, Dr. C.R. Talbert and his wife Betty bought the building in 1984. The year before, construction began of a glass atrium, a 160-by-70-foot ice-skating rink and a retail outlet with more than 20 stores and food shops. The ice rink and many of the businesses operating in the Galleria closed in 2003. Pockets, a pool hall and tavern that was the last business operating in the Galleria, closed in 2005. The building remained vacant until mid-2013, when it was demolished. Tom Kelsey, broker and president of Lorimont Place Ltd. in Cape Girardeau, is the broker handling the property for the Talberts.

OLD TOWN CAPE PHOTOS CHOSEN FOR CALENDAR

Photos submitted by Old Town Cape to the Missouri Main Street Connection were chosen for the Boys on the Block 2014 calendars that feature Main Street communities from Missouri. Old Town Cape and other Main Street communities in Missouri submitted two photographs earlier this year that featured historic buildings in downtown districts as a backdrop for local male personalities, according to a news release from Old Town Cape. Old Town Cape chose to feature the Southeast Missourian building, 301 Broadway, in a photograph with Cape Girardeau police officer Joseph Hann and Cape Girardeau firefighter Jamie Hann. The other photo featured the Julius Vasterling building that houses Merci, 637 Broadway, with four fathers and their sons: Charles and Warren McGinty, Trent and Clark Summers, Joey and Brady Keys and Matt Davis and Payton Beussink. Attendees of the Missouri Main Street Connection Conference in July were asked to vote for their favorite photos, and both photos submitted by Old Town Cape were among the 12 included in the black-and-white calendar. The calendars are $10 and may be purchased at Merci or the Old Town Cape office, 418 Broadway, and all proceeds benefit downtown revitalization.

CTS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS EARNS AWARDS

CTS Technology Solutions, a unified communications provider with an office in Cape Girardeau, received one of Technology Assurance Group's top awards at STAR CON, which was held in October in San Diego. Technology Assurance Group, an international organization of independently owned unified communications companies in the United States and Canada, chose CTS as the winner of the Presidents Award for Exceptional Economic Achievement for the fifth year running, according to a news release from the company. The award is given out once a year, and winners are selected based on economic performance and customer satisfaction.

SUSHI, HIBACHI RESTAURANT OPENS IN FARMINGTON

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Shogun's restaurant opened Dec. 13 in Farmington, the Park Hills Daily Journal reported. Joon Kim owns the restaurant at 729 Sunset Drive, the former Warehouse Barbecue location. Shogun's offers authentic Japanese sushi and steak, as well as several hibachi cooking stations. Kim, who has been preparing sushi for almost 30 years, previously owned a Shogun restaurant in Kentucky.

SCHNUCKS COMING TO FARMINGTON

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- A vote by the Farmington City Council has set in motion the steps toward Schnucks Market Inc. investing $14 million into redeveloping the former Value City property into a grocery store, the Park Hills Daily Journal reported. Approximately $10 million will go toward land purchase, plus hard and soft cost, such as engineering expenses. The other $4 million will be for equipment and fixture costs for the building. The store is expected to open in December 2014. David Fontanta, vice president of real estate for Schnucks, said the store will be a 55,000-square-foot full-service store. The actual size of the building is 77,000 square feet. The additional space available in the building is to be developed for other retail tenants, Fontana explained.

MEXICAN RESTAURANT CUTS RIBBON

El Sol Mexican Restaurant, 1105 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, held a ribbon cutting Dec. 12.

BG'S HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING

BG's Old Tyme Deli held a ribbon cutting Dec. 9 under new ownership. The restaurant is at 205 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau.

COLLEGE BREAKS GROUND ON HUMANITIES, SOCIAL SCIENCE BUILDING

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Three Rivers College held a groundbreaking Dec. 18 for the new humanities and social sciences classroom building on the Poplar Bluff campus, according to a news release from the college. The 40,000-square-foot classroom building will include the college's first lecture hall, 16 state-of-the-art classrooms and three computer labs. The structure will also contain a two-story FEMA-certified safe room capable of withstanding 200-mile-per-hour winds. The building will be on the east side of campus by the Academic Resource Commons and Westover Administration Building. Construction is expected to cost $6.3 million and be completed in spring 2015. The project will be partially funded by a $2.6 million federal FEMA safe room grant, with the remainder provided through the fundraising efforts of the Three Rivers Endowment Trust and a bond issue.

AT&T BRINGS 4G LTE TO POPLAR BLUFF, SIKESTON

AT&T has added its 4G LTE network in the areas of Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Sikeston, Mo., according to a news release from AT&T. This addition also covers the Missouri communities of Advance, Benton, Chaffee, East Prairie, Matthews, Morehouse, Oran, Parma, Risco and Scott City. This is part of an overall statewide investment of more than $2.4 billion since 2009. With 4G LTE, people can use the Internet, stream video, upload pictures, play games and more at faster speeds.

LUCENT HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- A grand opening and ribbon cutting were held Dec. 10 for Lucent Window and Door, the Ste. Genevieve Herald reported. The business, at the site of the former BiltBest facility at 175 S. Tenth St., manufactures high-end wood and wood-aluminum-clad windows and patio doors. Lucent acquired the complex, which includes 14.6 acres of property and buildings totaling 220,000 square feet, along with its equipment Aug. 22. The company's first day inside the facility was Aug. 26.

LAYOFFS PLANNED BY NORANDA

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- On Dec. 18, Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. announced planned workforce reductions involving approximately 190 employees and contract workers, the Sikeston Standard Democrat reported. The workforce reduction plan includes approximately 75 employees in the company's Primary Aluminum business, which includes the plant in Marston, Mo. The reductions are expected to generate approximately $15 million in savings from 2014 to 2016. The majority of reductions were expected to occur through terminations before the end of 2013. The plan includes 30 to 40 employees each in its Alumina, Bauxite and Flat-Rolled Products businesses, and approximately 10 employees in the company's corporate function. As of Nov. 30, 2013, Noranda employed about 2,500 people.

SUNDOWNER GETS SALES AWARD

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Sundowner Marine at Wappapello Lake received the Presidential Award from Lowe Boats at the firm's annual Lowe dealer meeting. The award was based on Sundowner's sales and customer service records over the past year.

RAINBOW ROCKS CUTS RIBBON

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Rainbow Rocks, 904 Vida St., owned by Kevin and Lori Allind.

MISSOURIAN TAKES THIRD IN NEWSPAPER CONTEST

The Southeast Missourian won third place in the Local Media Association Newspaper of the Year contest. According to its website, the LMA is the only not-for-profit, professional trade association specifically serving the suburban and community newspaper industry. The Southeast Missourian finished third in the 30,000 circulation and under category, placing behind newspapers in Lawrence, Kan., and Rapid City, N.D. Both newspapers are significantly larger than the Southeast Missourian in circulation. Judges said the Southeast Missourian provided good watchdog journalism in its coverage of the 8th District special election. They also wrote that the front pages have "a nice mix of local coverage. Nice to see an emphasis on local business on Page one. Local coverage is solid throughout government." Judges also complimented the records page, a mix of local columnists and features, and said the "paper has a handsome design. Nice use of charts." According to its website, LMA contests are competitive and judged by "esteemed experts in the field." This year's contest was judged by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Mo.

MARCO'S PIZZA OPENS IN CAPE GIRARDEAU

Marco's Pizza, which is being constructed adjacent to Family Video, 1330 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, is set to open Jan. 5, according to Family Video district manager Brent Lavigne. Family Video partnered with the pizza chain and is opening hundreds of Marco's Pizza restaurants nationwide.

MALDEN DRUGSTORE CUTS RIBBON

MALDEN, Mo. -- The Malden Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Dec. 17 for Mitchell Pharmacy's new location at 1128 N. Douglass St. in Malden.

MERCANTILE JOINS BOLLINGER COUNTY CHAMBER

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Hellebusch Mercantile, owned by Kimberly and John Hellebusch, joined the Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce in December. The grocery store and Nutrena feed store is at the junction of Highway 51 and Route M near Patton, Mo. The store also sells household items, gift baskets, toys, resale clothing and more.