Business Briefs

New podcast by Sikeston

natives addresses obstacles faced by women in workforce and at home

Kelsey Seaman and Kayla Jones, both natives of Sikeston, Missouri, and now residents of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, started a new podcast UnDomesticated.

UnDomesticated covers the specific challenges women face both in the workforce and at home.

Kayla Jones is a C-Suite Executive in banking, and provides advice and guidance for women navigating the work force, and Kelsey is a stay-at-home mom and philanthropist, who gives her advice and guidance on the pressures of staying at home and raising children, while also encouraging moms to create an identity for themselves outside of the motherhood space.

UnDomesticated is off to a successful start with the first three episodes published generating 750 downloads within the first two weeks. It is available on all listening platforms.

Cross Trails Medical Center names new CEO

Cross Trails Medical Center has named Rick Francis as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization. Cross Trails Medical Center has offices in Cape Girardeau, Advance, Marble Hill and Perryville. The organization provides medical, dental and mental health care services.

Francis is currently a State Representative with the Missouri House of Representatives, who is term limited after this legislative session.

Francis is very familiar with Cross Trails Medical Center, having served on the Board of Directors of the organization for eight years, four of those years as President of the board. Francis is succeeding Ron Camp, who after 13 years with Cross Trails Medical Center, recently retired.

Cheryl Mothes named to Top Women Wealth Advisors list

Edward Jones Financial Advisor Cheryl Mothes of Southeast Missouri was recently named to the 2024 Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State in Missouri ranking by Forbes and SHOOK® Research. Criteria that determined the final ranking included client impact, industry experience, best practices, compliance records and assets under care.

“What an honor to be named to such a prestigious list! As a financial advisor, I am reminded of that old adage about how loving what you do means never working a day in your life. Every day, I enjoy quality time with individual clients, collaborating with them to find the possibilities for their lives and then celebrating their successes as we reach their goals,” Mothes said. “And I have the incredible good fortune to lead an amazing team dedicated to the well-being of our clients and our community.”

Marco’s Pizza permanently closes Cape Girardeau location

The Marco’s Pizza location at 1330 Broadway in Cape Girardeau is no more.

Despite the restaurant’s Facebook page being active as recently as 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, less than 24 hours later the store had shuttered.

Calls to the location’s number were met with an automated message detailing the situation.

The message states in its entirety, “Thank you for calling Marco’s Pizza. Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to close this location and we will not be reopening. Thank you to all the Marco’s Pizza fans for your support over the years, and we wish you well.”

Blush Ultra Lounge brings social atmosphere to downtown Cape

“It’s a cocktail bar. It’s a wine bar. We also have beer and spirits. It’s just a place that lends itself more to socialization than a lot of the rowdiness of some other bars,” Blush Ultra Lounge owner Chris Dirnberger said.

He said his wife, Randi, wanted it to be the kind of bar she would want to go to.

The lounge features arcade games, televisions, pool tables and couches and chairs set up for semi-private conversation spaces.

“It’s more of a subdued atmosphere that lends itself to social interaction,” Dirnberger said.

Katy O’Ferrell’s celebrates 10th anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day

Florence Kathryn Ferrell died in 2005, but her legacy lives on in Katy O’Ferrell’s Irish Pub and Restaurant at 300 Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The restaurant celebrated a decade of business with a North Lorimier Street block party Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

The festivities included face painting, an earring vendor, Irish desserts and artisan marshmallows from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Jumper Cables, a local acoustic band, performed Irish songs from noon to 3 p.m. that day.

Urban Kitchen & Bar opens in Cape Girardeau

Urban Kitchen & Bar at 20 N. Spanish St. started its soft opening on Wednesday, March 13.

“We have a passion for our culture and Vietnamese food in general,” co-founder Kha Tran said. “One of my business partners is half-Cambodian, so pretty much we want to have a place for the community where we serve Vietnamese food specifically and Southeast Asian food generally.”

Tran and his two business partners own other businesses around Cape Girardeau, such as Deluxe Nails and Mana Tea, but this is their first time opening a restaurant.

SE MO REDI narrows search for CEO

Local economic organization SE MO REDI is getting ready to hire a full-time leader.

Waverly Partners, an executive search firm based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, hired to perform an executive search, provided a list of some half-dozen candidates SE MO REDI search committee members whittled down. The committee will conduct virtual interviews with them, and then move onto in-person interviews for the finalists to become the organization’s chief executive officer.

The new CEO will be brought on sometime in May or June.

Scott City Camping World celebrates opening day

After more than a year of being vacant, the Camping World location by Scott City at 49 Airport Road finally opened to the public on Monday, March 25.

Lincolnshire, Illinois-based Camping World Holdings announced the recreational vehicle store in December 2021. The building was completed in 2022, but a shift in the opening date meant it was vacant for all of 2023.

“I know customers have been really excited about us opening,” retail sales manager Grace Pry said. “... I think that Cape (Girardeau) and Scott County and the surrounding areas are super excited to have us here and we’re happy to see people.”

Chaffee event center signals new beginning

Chaffee couple, Stevie Williams and her husband, Jake have converted an old newspaper office into a community event center.

They plan to host birthday parties, baby showers, weddings and more at The Signal Event Center, located at 113 S. Main St. in Chaffee.

The event center will open Wednesday, May 1, though rentals are currently being accepted.

“We both grew up in Chaffee, me and my husband, and there’s not really a place there for events for the community,” Williams said. “We like to give back to the community as much as we can and spend time with our family, so it was kind of a no-brainer.”

Jackson boutique born from online business

Megan Senciboy attended Southeast Missouri State University with a major in fashion merchandising. Three weeks after graduating, in June 2019, she started her own online business called Harper James Boutique.

On Friday, May 31, Senciboy will open up a physical storefront for the first time. The boutique will be at 2008 W. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson.

“I’ve always loved shopping online for myself, so I decided to do it as my business and bring those items to other women in the area and throughout the country,” she said.

Seis Express offers Mexican on the go

Seis Express, a new quick service restaurant from the owners of Seis Amigos Mexican Restaurant in Cape Girardeau, has opened at 440 S. Mount Auburn Road, Suite 1.

The Mexican restaurant opened March 8.

“The menu is mostly the same, but we’ve got a few different dishes in here,” part-owner Mario Mendoza said.