Business briefs

__FIRST STATE COMMUNITY BANK COMPLETES REMODEL__

First State Community Bank recently completed a building expansion project, remodeling the Cape Girardeau location at 2527 William St. The new space houses employees of First State Insurance Agency, First State Financial Management and First State Community Bank. A ribbon cutting was held July 29. First State Community Bank used Brockmiller Construction for the project, which started in late 2015.

__ELEMENT 74 LANDS CONTRACTS WITH STATES__

Cape Girardeau digital production company Element 74 recently developed a web-based software platform that allows state domestic-violence coalitions to manage their organizations and measure outcomes more efficiently. It has announced the acquisition of contracts for the states of Wyoming, Washington and Hawaii. The Coalition Manager program collects mission-critical data and allows coalitions to use the information to manage members, conduct trainings and generate reports for grant applications. Element 74 has contracted with a total of 11 states to provide Coalition Manager and ongoing custom development services.

__KENNETT CHAMBER CUTS RIBBON FOR NEW STORE, SALON__

Cutline-Body Copy:A stream of drive-thru customers Wednesday, Aug. 3, welcomed back KFC in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

KENNETT, Mo. — The Kennett Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting in July for Circa at 208 S. Main St. The business offers clothing, airbrush makeup, hair coloring and treatments, extensions, men’s cuts and more.

__MIDAS HOSPITALITY TO MANAGE NEW SIKESTON HOTEL__

SIKESTON, Mo. — A 92-room Hampton Inn will be the second tenant to join the new 100-acre Cotton Ridge Development in Sikeston, the Standard Democrat reported. The development is at the intersection of Highways 61 and 60. Midas Hospitality, a hotel management group, is set to develop the 60,000-square-foot hotel at 1240 Commerce Drive. A groundbreaking will take place in December, and the hotel is scheduled to be completed by late 2017. The $10 million hotel will sit on 2.75 acres and will include an indoor pool, meeting room and fitness center. The Cotton Ridge Development currently has one tenant, Malco Theatres, an eight-screen movie theater.

__PEPSI BREAKS GROUND IN POPLAR BLUFF__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Pepsi MidAmerica held a groundbreaking in July to celebrate the construction of its new facility at 665 W. Outer Road in Poplar Bluff, the Daily American Republic reported.

__EZ PORTABLE BUILDINGS OPENS IN DEXTER__

DEXTER, Mo. — The Dexter Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting June 30 for EZ Portable Buildings, 1503 W. Business 60. The business manufactures durable, handcrafted buildings for sheds, garages, cabins, tiny houses and barns. Carole Sims owns the business.

__PAPA JOHN’S OPENS IN SIKESTON__

SIKESTON, Mo. — Papa John’s Pizza opened July 12 at 225 N. Main St. in Sikeston, next to Buffalo Wild Wings. A ribbon cutting was held with the Sikeston Regional Chamber of Commerce.

__CAPE BOARD OF REALTORS ADDED TO MLS__

MidAmerica Regional Information Systems announced the Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors as part of the regional Multiple Listing Network. The Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors spans Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties. This conversion adds almost 300 new members to the regional MLS and pushes MARIS to nearly 11,300 members.

__AREA REALTORS ATTEND EDUCATION SESSIONS__

Several Southeast Missouri Realtors recently attended education courses hosted by the Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors. The courses focused on managing the expectations of millennials, representation agreements, common transactional mistakes to avoid, the Dodd-Frank Act, economic expansion and the National Association of Realtors Code of Ethics, according to a news release. Professional development is a top priority for Realtors, along with community involvement and property owner advocacy, the release stated.

__HASTINGS CLOSING IN CAPE, POPLAR BLUFF__

Entertainment retailer Hastings is closing its stores in Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The store’s parent company, Draw Another Circle, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June. Officials indicated they had hoped to find a buyer to carry on the business, but according to a statement from Hastings Entertainment Inc., the company was purchased by a joint venture that will “oversee a liquidation of our stores to ensure we are maximizing the value of all of our remaining merchandise and assets as we prepare to close.” According to the statement, the bankruptcy court was expected to approve the agreement between Hastings and buyers Hilco Merchant Resources LLC and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC on July 22. When the store liquidations are complete, all 123 Hastings locations, as well as its online retailer and corporate offices, will close. Hastings opened its first store in 1968. The company has served Cape Girardeau in its Town Plaza location since 1995. A representative of the local store declined to comment when reached by a Southeast Missourian reporter. When the Cape Girardeau Hastings closes, it will leave behind a 22,000-square-foot space that will be available to lease. A closing date for the Cape Girardeau Hastings store has yet to be determined. In Poplar Bluff, the 18,500-square-foot Hastings store opened at 950 N. Westwood Blvd. in 1995, taking over the former Kmart store, the Daily American Republic reported. The closing date is uncertain for the Poplar Bluff store.

__GOLDEN CORRAL COMING TO CAPE__

Golden Corral, a buffet-style restaurant, will open in the old Ryan’s building on Vantage Drive in Cape Girardeau. Golden Corral developer Lisa Parker said the Ryan’s building will be “re-imaged” to follow the style of other Golden Corral locations. The renovation work has not begun, and an opening date for the local restaurant has not been determined. Parker said the company may hire up to 100 people before opening day. According to the restaurant’s website, there are nearly 500 Golden Corral restaurants across 40 states.

__P.B. INDUSTRIAL SITE COMPLETED__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce announced on July 12 the completion of a 10-acre industrial site on South 11th Street, the Daily American Republican reported. Poplar Bluff Industries Inc., the economic development division of the chamber of commerce, oversaw the project. It is the first Missouri Department of Economic Development Certified Site in Southeast Missouri. Certification is performed through a comprehensive review of items including the availability of utilities, site access, environmental concerns, land use performance and potential site development costs, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development website.

__MOTEL 6 OPENS IN P.B.__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — The Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting in July to officially open Motel 6, 4101 N. Highway 67. Rehenda Anthony is general manager of the motel.

__CAPE TO GET RIDE-SHARING SERVICE__

Cape Girardeau soon will have CarGO, a locally developed small-market ride-sharing platform. Traverse Ventures, a local venture fund that invests in early-stage tech startups, developed the company. The app was developed by a team at Codefi. CarGO works in a similar fashion to other established ride-sharing programs, but Codefi founder James Stapleton said the new app has features that are less feasible for large metro regions. Each driver, before joining the program, will participate in an hours-long “driver day” to help ensure his or her own safety, as well as the safety of potential riders. During these driver days, the potential driver will undergo extensive background checks and interviews. A unique feature of the CarGO app will be the riders’ ability to “favorite” drivers and schedule rides ahead of time with said drivers. Riders also will be able to see a photo of the driver and the car when it is en route to the pickup location. The drivers will be independent business owners, using their own cars, and will be provided with customer service training and incentives. Aggressive recruitment of drivers will begin in August, Stapleton said, and the service should begin running in September, offering 24-hour ride-sharing services within a 25-mile radius of Cape Girardeau. After the Cape Girardeau launch, the developers intend to launch CarGO in other markets.

__ALLIANCE BANK COMING TO JACKSON__

Alliance Bank recently announced it is adding a new branch at 2320 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson. Joining the bank are Wade “Pee Wee” Bartels as community bank president — Jackson and Amy (Pohlman) Thomas as mortgage loan originator. Additionally, Molly Davidson will relocate from the Cape Girardeau branch to serve as a new accounts representative/teller in the Jackson branch. Bartels and Thomas will work from a temporary modular facility in Jackson until construction is completed on a permanent facility.

__KFC REOPENS IN CAPE GIRARDEAU__

After a sudden closing and several months of construction, Cape Girardeau once again has a KFC. The restaurant quietly closed in February with little fanfare. The employees were laid off, and the building, along with several surrounding houses, were razed. All this was done with the intent of building a bigger and better KFC. General manager Brent McHugh said the restaurant received a makeover and has nearly doubled in size, though the menu itself has not changed. Former employees of the Cape Girardeau KFC were told to reapply for their positions if they wished to return. McHugh said no former employees were hired for the grand opening, however. Instead, 40 new employees are manning the stations of the restaurant, which reopened on Aug. 2.