Business briefs

__PAPA MURPHY'S OPENS IN SIKESTON__

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Papa Murphy's pizza restaurant is now open at 331 N. Main St. in Sikeston. The new owners are Henry and Herbie Dirnberger, Floyd Ferrell and Yvonne LeGrand, who also serves as manager.

__CAPE GIRARDEAU RADIO SHACK CLOSES__

Cape Girardeau's RadioShack has closed as the nationwide company recently filed for bankruptcy. The store was in West Park Mall's west wing and employed four workers. It was one of the mall's original tenants, opening in 1981. The closing of the Cape Girardeau store is one of nearly 1,800 throughout the country that RadioShack is planning through March 31, The Associated Press reported. Five other Missouri stores on the company's "potential closure list" as of Feb. 9 were in Chesterfield, Columbia, Springfield and St. Louis. The RadioShack company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the first week in February, citing continuing losses in revenue. Through a deal with a shareholder company, Standard General, some RadioShack stores may become "mini-shops" of the wireless carrier Sprint, The Associated Press reported.

__PARENGO COFFEE CELEBRATES SECOND LOCATION__

The Wright Group, Southeast Missouri State University and rustmedia were the three Best of Show winners at the 2015 American Advertising Awards banquet hosted by Tri-State Advertising & Marketing Professionals on Feb. 20. From left, Kristen Martin and Scott Lorenz of The Wright Group, Tonya Wells of Southeast Missouri State University, and Jeff Rawson and Greg Dowdy of rustmedia.

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Parengo Coffee, in partnership with The Knead bakery, held a ribbon cutting and open house for its second Sikeston location at 1205 E. Malone Ave.

__MOTEL 6 COMING TO P.B.__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Motel 6 awarded a franchise to MBM Lodgings LLC of Poplar Bluff to build a 73-room facility one mile north of Poplar Bluff on Highway 67, the Daily American Republic reported. MBM Lodgings is a corporation formed by Mike Bridges, owner of Bullwinkles Rustic Lodge; Ken Maddox, owner of Maddox Investments; and Midas Hospitality of St. Louis. The new motel will sit on 2.7 acres and consist of three floors with nine extended stay rooms available. Construction will begin in early 2015 the motel is expected to open for business in late 2015. It is projected to employ 10 to 15 people.

__BLOOMSDALE EXCAVATING HONORED BY IDOT__

BLOOMSDALE, Mo. -- Bloomsdale Excavating received the Contractor of the Year Special Recognition Award from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for the Route 336 project in Macomb, Illinois. The $33 million project was Bloomsdale Excavating's first IDOT project. The full project was for creating a four-lane divided highway on Routes 336/110. The project consists of pre-grading and drainage structures on a new alignment of Routes 336/110 and reconstruction of County Highway 14 west of Macomb, according to Bloomsdale Excavating's website. The bid was awarded in July 2013, and work was scheduled to begin in August 2013 and be completed by July 2015.

__MARQUETTE BUILDINGS GOING BACK ON MARKET__

The downtown Cape Girardeau Marquette Tower and Centre soon will go back up for sale after the properties were bought in a January foreclosure auction by the Springfield, Missouri, bank that held the loan on both buildings. Kelly Polonus, a representative of Great Southern Bank, said in an email to the Southeast Missourian in early February the bank plans to market and sell the buildings. Until January, the buildings were owned by G&S Holdings, a real estate company that ran into financial problems and couldn't pay the mortgage on them after tenants moved from the Marquette Tower building. In the final weeks before the foreclosure sale, a G&S Holdings representative reported working with prospective buyers, but no deal came through in time. The bank was the sole bidder in the auction, although a few others showed interest in placing a bid or working out a purchase from the bank the day of the auction.

__WOODLAND INN TO REOPEN IN MARBLE HILL__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Woodland Inn in Marble Hill is undergoing renovations and will reopen after several years sitting vacant, the Banner Press newspaper reported. A Marble Hill couple, Kelly and Wanda Francis, came out of retirement and bought the property, which includes the Woodland Inn and Steakhouse. The couple told the newspaper they don't plan to reopen the restaurant, but are willing to talk to anyone who wants to open one there. Their granddaughter, Kyla Choate, will manage the motel. It is expected to reopen by April 1.

__STORAGE BUSINESS OPENS IN SEDGEWICKVILLE__

SEDGEWICKVILLE, Mo. -- Brune Storage was opened by Tyler Brune in Sedgewickville, Missouri, the Banner Press newspaper reported. The storage rental building is close to Highway 72. Brune told the newspaper he may expand the business in the future.

__36 RESTAURANT OPENS ON MAIN STREET__

A new restaurant offering American-style fare with French and Italian influences opened Feb. 14 at 36 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau. 36 Restaurant & Bar is owned and operated by John Eric and Vanessa Klein of Cape Girardeau. John Eric Klein said space for private parties is available on the restaurant's second floor. The couple spent about six months renovating the building that now houses the restaurant. Access to the restaurant is available from Main Street in the front and Water Street in the back, where Klein said tables may be added to a deck for outdoor dining once warmer weather arrives. The restaurant has a 15-person staff. Houston Sutton is the restaurant's executive chef.

__GRASS ROOTS DEBUTS REMODELED SHOWROOM__

Grass Roots BMW Husqvarna Motorcycles at 28 S. Spanish St. in Cape Girardeau held an open house Feb. 27 to introduce its newly remodeled showroom.

__HAIR WORKS CELEBRATES 25 YEARS__

Hair Works, a beauty salon at 1231 Old Cape Road in Jackson, is celebrating 25 years in business. The salon is owned by Cathy Barks and offers styling, cutting and perming services.

__ARCHITECTURE FIRM EXPANDS TO CAPE GIRARDEAU__

Architect Craig Milde, a Jackson native, recently returned to the area to head a new office of Dille Traxel Architecture. Milde has 25 years of architectural experience, including 20 years working with sports and mixed-use developments for an international design firm based in Kansas City, Missouri. Milde, according to a news release, joined Dille Traxel to help build the firm's base in the Cape Girardeau area. Milde is senior architect and director of the Cape Girardeau office, which opened Dec. 30 at 266 S. Mount Auburn Road. The firm also has an office in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

__BERTRAND OPENS LAW OFFICE__

Attorney Trae Bertrand started his own firm and opened a new office in downtown Cape Girardeau. His practice areas include divorce, criminal defense, business law, personal injury and estate planning. He has been practicing civil and criminal law in Missouri and Illinois for 10 years. Before he started his own firm, he was a partner at Bradshaw, Steele, Cochrane & Berens in Cape Girardeau. The Bertrand Law Firm opened Jan. 1 at 625 Broadway.

__LOCAL BUSINESSES HONORED WITH ADVERTISING AWARDS__

Local businesses and students were recognized Feb. 20 for their advertising creativity at the Tri-State Advertising and Marketing Professionals' American Advertising Awards Show. A total of 140 print, interactive, broadcast and multimedia advertising projects, all created, published or aired in the Cape Girardeau; Paducah, Kentucky; and Harrisburg, Illinois, markets in 2014, were considered in this year's competition. Of those entries, 13 Gold ADDY awards, 22 Silver ADDY awards and 22 Bronze ADDY recognitions were presented, according to a news release. An additional 16 student ADDY Awards were distributed to students from Southeast Missouri State University. The judges awarded a special citation for technical skill to Acclaim Press Inc. in Sikeston, Missouri, for photography in the entry "Buffalo Trace." A second citation was awarded to Southeast Missouri State University for editing in the entry "Fall for Dance" video. Both also received Gold ADDY awards. Three professional Best of Show recognitions also were awarded. An award in the print division went to Southeast Missouri State University for the "Fall for Dance" poster produced for Southeast Missouri State River Campus. In the multimedia/broadcast division, a Best of Show ADDY was awarded to rustmedia in Cape Girardeau for "Ciao Ristorante + Enoteca Launch" produced for Ciao Ristorante + Enoteca in Cape Girardeau. Rustmedia is owned by Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian. In the digital/interactive division, the Best of Show went to The Wright Group of Cape Girardeau for "Lucent Window and Door Website" produced for Lucent Window and Door of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. Additionally, Nancy Bray was honored with the American Advertising Federation's Silver Medal Award. Local gold winners are eligible to compete in the second level of the three-tiered American Advertising Awards Competition, the District 9 competition. District judging will be conducted in March and includes entries submitted throughout Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. District 9 winners will be eligible for the ultimate competition -- the national ADDY -- in June.

__1st CLASS TRAVEL AWARDED FOR GROUP SALES__

1st Class Travel of Cape Girardeau was awarded Top Travel Agency in Group Sales for Missouri by Collette Vacations. The award recognizes the topmost travel professionals for their expertise and sales performance with Collette Vacations in 2014, according to a news release.

__KIDS ACADEMY OPENS IN SIKESTON__

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Creative Kids Academy of Sikeston opened Jan. 5 at 138 N. Prairie St. Mary Stoner, who owns the business with her husband, Jeff Stoner, told the Sikeston Standard Democrat the facility works on a creative curriculum and focuses on education and creativity activities. The state-licensed facility can accommodate 76 children ages 2 to 12, along with eight infants. The center also offers after school and summer school programs. Andrea Pratt, director of the center, has an associate degree in child care guidance and a bachelor's degree in child development from Southeast Missouri State University. Pratt has more than 25 years of experience, Stoner said.

__LEX BOUTIQUE OPENS IN BENTON__

BENTON, Mo. -- Lex Boutique is now open at 335 N. Winchester St., in the former M&M building in uptown Benton. Lexie Holder owns the shop, which specializes in women's shoes, jewelry and clothing. A grand opening was held March 7.

__AREA ENTREPRENEURS WIN FELLOWSHIPS__

Claire Bruce of Sloan+Themis in Cape Girardeau and Colby Williams of Parengo Coffee in Sikeston, Missouri, were winners of the first round of the Delta Challenge, a multistate pitch competition that will send them to New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. Bruce handcrafts and sells jewelry at her downtown Cape Girardeau store. Williams runs a coffee roaster and cafes in Sikeston. The Delta Challenge, led by the Delta Regional Authority, a federal-state partnership that promotes small business growth and economic development, recently held the first of four competitions in Cape Girardeau that lead up to New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. Winners of the local pitch competitions being held in four states will receive a fellowship worth $1,500 and take part in a special segment during the week of March 25, according to a news release from the authority. The local competition was held in partnership with the Missouri Innovation Corporation at Southeast Missouri State University.

__VASTERLING PROJECT RECEIVES AWARD__

The Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation recognized a Cape Girardeau project at its annual awards ceremony March 4 in Jefferson City. The Preserve Missouri Award went to Cara Naeger and RJ Clements for their rehabilitation of the A.C. Vasterling building at Fountain and Broadway streets in Cape Girardeau. The rehabilitation of the building included removing a stucco front to expose original stone, which was cleaned and repaired, and creating retail space and modern apartments inside, according to a news release from the organization. The Preserve Missouri awards recognize outstanding efforts and projects in historic preservation and restoration around the state.

__APPRAISAL CONSULTANTS MARK 20 YEARS__

Appraisal Consultants, a Scott City company that offers professional appraisal services, is celebrating 20 years in business. Kathy J. Schlosser owns the company.

__STATE FARM OFFICE RELOCATES__

Nick Hogan State Farm Insurance moved to a new office at 980 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau from its previous location on Mount Auburn Road. The move comes as the office is expanding.