Business briefs

__ALLIANCE RECOGNIZED AS 'HEALTHY BANK'__

Cape Girardeau-based Alliance Bank was included on DepositAccounts' Top 200 Healthiest Banks in America 2015 list. DepositAccounts.com covers topics related to depository banking products and evaluates and ranks banks on financial health. Alliance Bank was given an "A+" in Texas Ratio, an indicator of available capital of a bank compared to the value of at-risk loans; the Texas Ratio trend; deposit growth; and capitalization level. Cord Polen is the president and CEO of Alliance Bank. The bank announced plans to acquire Capaha Bank in late 2014.

__GRANDMA BEA'S CLOSES IN PERRYVILLE__

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Grandma Bea's, a retail store in Perryville featuring homemade and all-natural products, closed its doors on July 10. Debbie Hadler Statler owned the store, which opened in 2013 at 1015 S. Perryville Blvd. The store will continue to offer its product line, called Grandma Bea's Natural Products, through delivery and online. The products also will remain available at other area retailers, including Buchheit's stores, and may be available in other retail locations in the future, Hadler Statler said.

__LAW OFFICE MOVES IN JACKSON__

Attorney Mary Eftink Boner moved her office to 608 W. Main St. in Jackson. Eftink Boner has practiced law in the area for 25 years. Her areas of practice include representing business organizations; municipal law; eminent domain; estate planning and probate; family law; and real estate. A ribbon cutting was held Aug. 13 with the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce.

__LEARNING ACADEMY CUTS RIBBON__

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting July 9 for A Child's Journey Learning Academy LLC, 3037 Lexington Ave. in Cape Girardeau.

__JUICE BAR TO OPEN IN POPLAR BLUFF__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Joe Clark planned to open a fresh juice bar by late July in Poplar Bluff, the Daily American Republic reported. The Juice Cafe is in the 900 block of Ida Street next to BeeHive Natural Foods. The cafe and juice bar will serve healthy food alternatives made fresh to order, including smoothies, vegetable juices, granola products, soups, salads and sandwiches.

__INDIAN RESTAURANT OPENING IN CAPE__

Namaskar, an Indian restaurant, soon will open at 1001 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, according to signs posted at the location and recent business license application documents submitted to the city. The restaurant is owned by Sonjay Fonn. The building at the location formerly was a restaurant called Asian Express and a Blimpie restaurant.

__THRIFT/CONSIGNMENT SHOP OPENS IN FRUITLAND__

Class & Sass Resale, a thrift/consignment store at 5943 U.S. 61 in Fruitland, opened in early July. Carol Voelker of Cape Girardeau County owns the shop, which offers home decorating items, housewares, furniture, clothing, antiques and collectibles.

__PERRYVILLE BUSINESSES PLAN RIBBON CUTTINGS__

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Beef O'Brady's, a new restaurant and bar at 1418 W. St. Joseph St. in Perryville, held a ribbon-cutting on July 24, according to the Perryville Chamber of Commerce's newsletter. Jus Teasin, a beauty salon at 10 S. Main St. in Perryville, held a ribbon-cutting on July 31.

__FSCB ACQUIRING CENTRAL BANK__

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- First State Bancshares Inc., the $1.7 billion parent company of First State Community Bank based in Farmington, announced July 9 the execution of a definitive agreement to acquire Central Bank in Lebanon and Conway, the Park Hills Daily Journal reported. Central Bank's five offices added to First State Community Bank's existing branches will expand First State Bancshares' footprint to 50 locations throughout Missouri. The acquisition is subject to approval by federal and state regulatory bodies and is expected to close in the second half of this year.

__HEATING, COOLING FIRMS COMBINE__

Mark Lundy, who owns and operates Lundy Heating & Cooling in Perryville, Missouri, is the new owner of Jaymac Equipment, a longtime family-owned Cape Girardeau heating and cooling dealer and service company for residential and commercial clients. Lundy bought the second business from Larry Jansen, whose father started Jaymac in 1959. The relationship between the Jansen family and Lundy goes back many years, as Lundy's first job in the industry was working for Jaymac. Lundy decided to keep the Jaymac name because of its recognition in the area for quality work, he said. Jansen remains employed by Jaymac, as do all employees who were with the company before the sale. Lundy opened his Perryville company in 1995.

__BOLD MARKETING RELOCATES__

Bold Marketing, a marketing and advertising agency in Cape Girardeau, recently moved its offices and held a ribbon cutting for its new location at 1917 William St., according to local chamber of commerce newsletters.

__BBB DEBUTS 'SCAM TRACKER' TOOL__

An online tool designed to help track and report business-related scams recently was released by the Better Business Bureau. The BBB Scam Tracker lets users report scams and check suspicious phone calls, emails or texts, according to a news release from the organization. Scams can be searched by name or type and can spot trends or track scams using demographic data, the release stated. The tool was developed by nine local offices of the organization and the Council of Better Business Bureaus with a grant from Target Corp. The organization has offices in Cape Girardeau and St. Louis. The tool is available at bbb.org/scamtracker/us.

__BELLE AME BISTRO CUTS RIBBON__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting to officially open Belle Ame Bistro and Catering Co. at 116 N. Broadway. Adrienne Webb owns the business.

__NORTEK LOCATION IN POPLAR BLUFF TO REMAIN OPEN__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Nortek Global HVAC announced on July 2 that the company is shifting its central warehouse operation back to the Poplar Bluff location, according to a news release. While original plans were to move that function to a facility in Mississippi, the company decided to re-establish Poplar Bluff as the central mixing warehouse for the foreseeable future. This summer, Nortek Global HVAC will increase the volume of finished equipment stored and shipped from the Poplar Bluff plant. In early 2016, the company also will move its commercial product warehousing to Poplar Bluff. Nortek Global HVAC cited the quality workforce and central location as two reasons for moving distribution back to Poplar Bluff.

__NUNNERYS OPEN CRUISE ONE FRANCHISE__

Carol and Steve Nunnery of Cape Girardeau completed training to become certified CruiseOne Vacation Specialists, according to a news release. Being part of the home-based travel agent franchise network gives them access to cruise and land vacation deals, as well as CruiseOne's exclusive product and service offerings. To complete the certification program, the Nunnerys participated in in-depth training and workshops including sales and marketing seminars, product briefings by major cruise lines, hands-on computer systems orientation, sales reporting and reservation systems, and onboard ship inspections. Training took place at the CruiseOne training center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

__MARBLE HILL LICENSE BUREAU CLOSES__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Marble Hill License Bureau has closed, the Southeast Missourian reported. The final day of operation was July 31. For future licensing needs, patrons are asked to visit bureaus in the adjacent towns of Jackson, Fredericktown, Perryville and Chaffee, Missouri.

__BANK OF MISSOURI MERGES WITH BANK STAR__

The Perryville, Missouri-based Bank of Missouri announced Bank Star of the BootHeel has agreed to a merger, which will bring Bank Star locations in the Southeast Missouri cities of Steele and Caruthersville to join The Bank of Missouri. As of July 21, Bank Star of the BootHeel had $94 million in assets, and The Bank of Missouri held $1.1 billion in assets, according to a news release. The proposed transaction remains subject to approval by Bank Star shareholders and banking regulatory authorities, the release stated. The merger is expected during the fourth quarter of 2015. The Bank of Missouri also recently announced the opening of a loan/deposit production office in Nixa, Missouri. The bank has 21 total locations in Southeast, Southwest and central Missouri, according to a news release. Community bank president Mick Nitsch said in the release a location in Nixa fills a gap for customers between locations in Republic and Ozark. Tim Cobb will manage the Nixa location.

__TWO RESTAURANTS OPEN IN MARBLE HILL__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- The Woodland Cafe and the Mayfield Cafe, two new restaurants in Marble Hill, opened July 22, according to the Banner Press newspaper. The Woodland Cafe, which replaced the old Woodland Steakhouse, is managed by Kathy Schaefer of Grassy and will offer "home cooking" with specific cuisines on different nights, the newspaper reported. The restaurant will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The Mayfield Cafe is at the Mayfield Cultural Center and will offer items made fresh from locally available produce, along with bakery treats. The restaurant also will offer catering.

__SALE OF VETERINARY SERVICE COMPLETE__

La Croix Pet Hospital, 2984 County Road 620 in Cape Girardeau, is under new ownership. Dr. Ann Seabaugh Kinsey recently bought the veterinary service from Dr. Gwenn Freitag, according to Kinsey.

__HIGHER CALIBER CUTS RIBBON__

A Higher Caliber Firearms Training held a ribbon cutting Aug. 11 at the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, according to a chamber newsletter.

__KEY DRUGS OPENS IN DEXTER__

DEXTER, Mo. -- A grand opening and ribbon cutting were held July 24 at Key Drugs, on West Business 60 in Dexter. Marty and Julita Michel own the business, which also has two locations in Poplar Bluff, according to the Dexter Daily Statesman. Key Drug has a full-sized pharmacy, medical equipment and a drive-thru.

__P.B. CHAMBER HOLDS RIBBON CUTTINGS__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- QC Supply LLC held a grand opening July 23 for its new location at 1911 Speedway Drive in Poplar Bluff. The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce also was present for a ribbon cutting. Mike Lambert is manager of QC Supply, a wholesale distributor and supplier for customers in the livestock, poultry and general agribusiness markets. The chamber also held ribbon cuttings recently for Hallmark; Physio O&P, formerly known as PB Limb and Brace; Southern Roots, an apparel store at 1201 N. Sterling Drive and owned by Gail Fox Dohrman; and White and Associates, 1151 Butler St., owned by Lannie Moore.

__BOLLINGER COUNTY CHAMBER ADDS, HONORS MEMBERS__

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Iron Mountain Railway in Jackson was added as a member of the Bollinger County Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, the chamber honored the Marble Hill Optimist Club as Veteran Business/Organization of the Second Quarter, and Genesis Home Care as Rising Star Business of the Second Quarter.

__ONLINE PROGRAMS GET HIGH MARKS__

Two Southeast Missouri State University degree programs, an online RN to BSN program and online master of business administration, or MBA, with an option in sport management, recently received high rankings. The online nursing degree program was ranked by GreatValueColleges.net as the top program in Missouri and 23rd in the country among RN to BSN online degree programs, according to a news release from the university. The online program for an MBA with an option in sport management was selected by The Best Schools as 17th in the nation and was the only program in Missouri ranked in the top 25, according to a release.

__SERVPRO HONORED FOR REVENUE PERFORMANCE__

SERVPRO of Cape Girardeau & Scott Counties, which offers disaster cleanup, restoration and remediation services, recently earned a franchise award for outstanding revenue performance. The local franchise, owned by Sandy and Richard Hastings, received a MILLIONAIRE'S Bronze award at the SERVPRO Franchise System's annual convention last month in Chicago, according to a news release.