Business briefs

SERENITY SPA HOLDS GRAND OPENING

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Feb. 7 to mark the grand opening of Serenity Spa, 1411 N. Westwood Blvd. Maria Francisco-Tinsley owns the business.

COTTONS UNLIMITED CUTS RIBBON

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Feb. 14 for Cottons Unlimited Transportation Co., 2657 Watson Drive in Jackson.

ROBINSON RECOGNIZED FOR SAFETY PERFORMANCE

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Robinson Construction Co., which has its headquarters in Perryville, was recognized for safety performance on two construction projects, earning the Safety Saves Award for a project in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and the Award of Excellence for a project in Bloomfield, Mo.

AT&T EARNS HIGHEST RANKING FROM J.D. POWER

AT&T earned the highest ranking in the J.D. Power 2014 Wireless Customer Care Full Service Study for the second time.

CVS PHARMACY HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING

CVS Pharmacy, 2161 William St. in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting Feb. 10.

SEYER COMPLETES NEW GARAGE

Seyer Garage, 2334 Rusmar in Cape Girardeau, celebrated the completion of its new garage with a ribbon cutting Feb. 10. The garage specializes in auto and truck repairs including air conditioning systems, exhaust systems, brakes and towing.

ENDLESS SUMMER TAN, HEALING RAYS OPEN NEW LOCATION

Endless Summer Tan and Healing Rays-Phototherapy Clinic, 1403 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, marked the opening of its new location on Feb. 11. Endless Summer Tan is a tanning salon with two Mystic tan booths. Healing Rays-Phototherapy Clinic provides medical treatment for psoriasis, eczema and other chronic skin diseases using UVB light therapy.

SMOKE SHAK CUTS RIBBON

Smoke Shak, 3441A William St. in Cape Girardeau, celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting Feb. 7. The store offers natural tobacco, smoke accessories, Hookah tobacco and supplies, pipes and wild berry products.

HOPKINS OPEN PUBLISHING COMPANY

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Bill and Sharon Hopkins of Marble Hill, known for their mystery novel series, are now accepting submissions from other mystery writers as Deadly Writes Publishing LLC, The Banner Press reported. The couple founded Deadly Writes in 2011 to publish their own novels. They are now ready to receive manuscripts from other mystery writers to publish in print and e-book formats. Deadly Writes LLC is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association.

GROCERY STORE TO OPEN ON WILLIAM STREET IN CAPE

Ruler Foods, a subsidiary of Kroger, is moving ahead with plans to build a store in the former Dushell's Furniture building, 2103 William St. in Cape Girardeau, city manager Scott Meyer confirmed Feb. 10. At the end of last year it was announced that Kroger planned to open a Ruler Foods store, a no-frills subsidiary of the company, at the site of a former grocery store in Sikeston, Mo., according to a news release from Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place Ltd., who handled the sale. Ruler Foods stores strictly are grocery stores and have no pharmacy or fuel centers. Much like ALDI in Cape Girardeau, customers will bag their own groceries and will be able to "rent" shopping carts. About 80 percent of the products available at the store will be Kroger or Kroger Value items, and the store also will have fresh meat and produce, dairy, frozen foods, nonperishable food items and pet and baby items available for purchase. The typical Ruler Foods store is about 20,000 square feet, or about one-fifth the size of a regular Kroger Marketplace store, according to the release about the Sikeston store.

BRIGGS & STRATTON COMPLETES REMODEL

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Feb. 17 for Briggs & Stratton, 731 Highway 142, to celebrate the company's remodel.

DRESS SHOP OPENS IN PORTAGEVILLE

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- The Portageville Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Feb. 6 for A Touch of Sass, a new dress shop in downtown Portageville.

COMMERCE NAMED TO FORBES LIST OF BEST BANKS

For the fifth consecutive year, Commerce Bank appeared on Forbes' annual list of America's 10 Best Banks.

FLORIST OPENS IN DESLOGE

DESLOGE, Mo. -- The Desloge Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Amy Ann's Florist, 1136 N. Desloge Drive, Suite D in Desloge. Amy Frago owns the business.

BROADWAY PROJECT RECEIVES ENGINEERING AWARDS

The project that revamped Broadway in Cape Girardeau has received recognition from state engineering and landscape organizations, the Southeast Missourian reported. At the Cape Girardeau City Council meeting Feb. 17, Mayor Harry Rediger announced the city received the 2014 Engineering Excellence Honor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri for the Broadway Corridor Project. City engineer Casey Brunke attended the awards banquet in February to accept the award on behalf of the city. She said it was one of 15 to take home that award. Brunke said the city worked with Horner & Shifren, the consultants hired for the Broadway project, on the application for the competition last fall. Because the city is a municipality and not a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies, she said Horner & Shifren submitted the application. Because the city was the client for the project, however, she said it received an honor award with the consulting firm. Kuhlmann Design Group took home a Grand Award for their work on Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. The project was one of 11 to receive that honor. The city received a second award for landscaping. SWT Design, the firm hired for landscaping for the Broadway project, submitted an application to the St. Louis Chapter of the American Society of Landscape and Architects. Both the city and the landscaping firm received awards at the group's annual awards celebration Feb. 22.

TAQUERIA JALISCO CLOSES IN CAPE

Taqueria Jalisco, 1740 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, is closed.

PITTERS CAFE CHANGES NAME

Pitters Cafe and Lounge in Cape Girardeau changed its name to Pitters Barcade and Performing Arts Center, according to the business' Facebook page, and reopened Feb. 22 after a remodel.

LIFE-STYLE DESIGN HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING

Life-Style Design, 135 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, celebrated the opening of its new location with a ribbon cutting Feb. 27.

LIFE-STYLE DESIGN GETS 'BEST OF HOUZZ' AWARD

Life-Style Design of Cape Girardeau was awarded the "Best of Houzz" by Houzz, a home remodeling and design platform. The kitchen and bath design firm, owned by husband and wife Mike and Carole Harvell, was chosen by more than 16 million monthly users of the Houzz community, according to a news release from Life-Style Design. The award is given in two categories of customer satisfaction and design.

SOUTHEAST RANKED BEST BUY FOR ONLINE PROGRAMS

Southeast Missouri State University's online MBA program was ranked No. 1 in affordability among AACSB online MBA programs in the country by GetEducated.com, a consumer group that reviews and ranks online universities for cost, quality and credibility, according to a news release from the university. Southeast's online master of business administration/general management program was independently reviewed and ranked by GetEducated.com as a "Best Buy" for students seeking a high-quality, low-cost online MBA degree. This is the second time for Southeast's online MBA program to be ranked No. 1 in affordability by GetEducated.com. The rankings were calculated by comparing tuition and online learning fees at 93 AACSB-accredited online universities in the United States that offer 147 distance MBA degrees.

BOLLINGER COUNTY CHAMBER ADDS NEW MEMBERS

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce added the following new members in February: Dowd Contracting LLC, owned by Dustin Dowd; Tri-State Recyclers of Sturdivant LLC; Allen Moss Attorney at Law; and Michael E. Gardner.

JACKSON CHAMBER HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting Feb. 28 for 24Seven, a new business at 111 N. Missouri St. in Jackson. The business is locally owned by Dana Hukel and Jaime McCoy and employs four full-time and two part-time employees. It offers call center technology and software adaptable to any business need for inbound and outbound call solutions.

STRICKLAND ENGINEERING GETS SERVICE AWARD

Strickland Engineering was honored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri for 35 years of service with the Distinguished Service Award.