Business Notebook: County jobless rate steady, but creeping up elsewhere; ice cream franchise returning

The latest county-by-county unemployment numbers from the Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations shows Cape County's jobless rate held steady in November.

However, in most other Southeast Missouri counties, the percentage of jobless workers began inching up from their October levels. Only in St. Francois County did the unemployment rate drop slightly in November.

According to state data released to the Southeast Missourian last week, Cape County's November jobless rate was 3.3%, matching the county's October rate and nearly as low as Cape County's 3.2% unemployment rate recorded in February. That was just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the closure — either temporarily or permanently — of thousands of businesses and cost millions of Americans their jobs.

Although Cape County's jobless rate was unchanged from October through November, the number of county residents who filed initial claims for unemployment benefits increased slightly, from 327 in October to 355 in November. The number of initial claims submitted in November was just a fraction of the record 5,011 filings in Cape County in April, the first full month of the pandemic when the county's unemployment rate hit 9.5%.

November unemployment rates in Missouri counties adjoining Cape Girardeau County were:

• Bollinger — 3.8%, up from 3.6% in October.
• Perry — 2.7%, up from 2.3% in October.
• Scott — 3.7%, the same as the county's September and October rates.

Elsewhere in Southeast Missouri, November unemployment rates compared to October's percentages were as follows:

• Butler — 4.2%, up from 3.8%.
• Carter — 4.3%, up from 3.7%.
• Dunklin — 4.9%, up from 4.6%.
• Iron — 4.6%, up from 4.5%.
• Madison — 3.9%, unchanged from October.
• Mississippi — 4.1%, up from 3.8%.
• New Madrid — 3.9%, up from 3.8%.
• Pemiscot — 5.9%, up from 5.7%.
• Ripley — 5.2%, up from 4.8%.
• St. Francois — 4.1%, down from 4.3%.
• Ste. Genevieve — 3.1%, up from 3.0%.
• Stoddard — 3.8%, up from 3.4%.
• Wayne — 4.3%, up from 3.9%.

Missouri's overall unemployment rate in November stood at 4.4%, down two-tenths of a percentage point from October's 4.6% rate and 5.8 percentage points below the state's peak jobless rate of 10.2% recorded in April.

As of Nov. 30, the U.S. unemployment rate was 6.7%, nearly twice as high as the 3.5% rate measured in February, but less than half the nation's record high rate of 14.7% in April.

Baskin-Robbins returning to Cape

After an absence of nearly 20 years, Baskin-Robbins is returning to Cape Girardeau.

BCAW Enterprises LLC, a family-owned business with three Baskin-Robbins locations in the St. Louis area, confirmed last week it will open a franchise store in Cape Girardeau later this spring. The 1,600-square-foot store will be in the new Broadway West Plaza, formerly the location of a convenience store and Ken's Cape Cleaners, at the intersection of Broadway and Perry Avenue just west of Capaha Park.

"We've always loved Baskin-Robbins and stand behind the brand," said Ashley Newport, BCAW Enterprises' operations director, in explaining how her family came to own Baskin-Robbins stores in the St. Louis suburbs of Florissant, Des Peres and O'Fallon, Missouri.

BCAW, Newport explained, is named after herself and her siblings, Brandy, Charles and twin sister Whitney. The family is originally from the West Coast, but eventually settled in the Poplar Bluff, Missouri, area where Newport's parents still reside.

The Cape Girardeau store will be the family's first Baskin-Robbins location outside the St. Louis area.

Known for its "31 flavors" of hand-dipped ice cream, Baskin-Robbins was a popular destination in the Town Plaza Shopping Center from 1978 until 2002. The store closed when Allied Domecq, an English company that owned Baskin-Robbins at the time, decided Cape Girardeau wasn't a viable market for a B-R location and revoked the local franchise.

Founded in 1945 by brothers-in-law Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California, Baskin-Robbins is now owned by Inspire Brands, headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. The company has 8,000 shops worldwide, including nearly 2,500 in the United States.

Each location, Newport said, features 18 "core" ice cream flavors and rotates several other flavors.

"Some stores carry as many as 48 at a time," she said, adding each store's customers have their favorite flavors.

"It will be interesting to see what Cape's most popular flavor will be," she said.

The Cape Girardeau store has a target opening date of May 1.

Hibachi and sushi restaurant opening soon in Jackson

A restaurant location in Jackson known for many years for having a Chinese buffet has been totally remodeled and will reopen as a Japanese hibachi and sushi restaurant later this month.

Tokyo Sushi Hibachi, 1815 E. Jackson Blvd., will reportedly open sometime between Jan. 10 and 15.

The building is owned by developer Chad Hartle, who said it's been home to a Chinese buffet restaurant dating back to when he built it in 2003. Most recently, it was known as the China House Buffet. It closed in mid-2020 when its lease expired. With the exception of a short-lived attempt to reopen it last fall, it has been closed since.

The new restaurateur, Hartle said, is coming to Jackson from Mississippi and is completely remodeling the facility.

"It's going to be totally different," he said.

According to Hartle, Tokyo Sushi Hibachi will be the first — and only — hibachi and sushi restaurant in Jackson.

Survey details views on pandemic and job skill needs

The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) released results of its annual statewide employer survey last week, corresponding with its 2020 Missouri Economic & Workforce Report published a few weeks earlier.

The Economic & Workforce Report tracks the state's economy and workforce by fiscal year (July 2019-June 2020), while the employer survey focuses on several notable data points, including job growth, hiring trends, barriers to expanding employment, skill shortages and job-applicant shortcomings.

This year, the survey was delayed several months to ensure maximum employer participation and to gather feedback regarding the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the state's workforce. Responses were gathered from Missouri companies with five or more employees and included 400 employers in metropolitan areas and 290 from elsewhere in the state.

According to the study, employers said COVID-19 was the main driver for significant increases or decreases in employment in 2020 and 56% of survey respondents said they expect staffing levels to be unchanged in 2021.

"It's clear from the data the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent economic impact presented major challenges for Missouri businesses," said Veronica Gielazauskas, assistant commissioner for performance and strategy with the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development.

"However, the fact that most employers anticipate retaining employment levels over the next 12 months, and that a greater percentage of employers plan to expand employment next year gives reason for optimism moving forward," she said.

Among other survey findings:

• 62% of participating businesses report concerns about the workforce becoming ill.
• 60% have experienced supply-chain disruptions because of the pandemic.
• One in five respondents said COVID-19 was a barrier to expanding employment.
• The largest barrier to business growth, they said, was a shortage of workers with appropriate knowledge and skills.

The employer survey and the Economic & Workforce Report may be found online at www.meric.mo.gov/economic-research/mo-regional-economic-reports.

Construction firm opens branch office in Cape Girardeau

S.M. Wilson & Company recently leased office space at 145 S. Mount Auburn Road, formerly occupied by VNA, the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Missouri.Submitted

A St. Louis-based commercial construction management firm, S.M. Wilson & Company, has opened an operations office at 145 S. Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau.

Founded in 1921 and celebrating its centennial anniversary this year, S.M. Wilson specializes in large commercial, educational, health care, senior living, industrial and retail projects. It was the general contractor and services manager for Century Casino Cape Girardeau when it was built nearly a decade ago.

Nick Martin, a Southeast Missouri native with an extensive construction background, serves as senior project development manager at the Cape Girardeau branch office.

S.M. Wilson's office location on Mount Auburn Road was formerly occupied by VNA (Visiting Nurse Association) of Southeast Missouri, which relocated to 2311 Bloomfield St., Suite 103, in Cape Girardeau at the end of July.

Tom Kelsey with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate represented the Mount Auburn Road building ownership in the lease arrangement with S.M. Wilson, which was represented by Jacob Fish with Realty Executives Edge.

Lottery payments to Missouri businesses top $1.3 billion

Retail businesses in Missouri have earned more than $1.35 billion in commissions from the Missouri Lottery program since it began in 1986.

An audit report issued last week by Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway gave the Missouri State Lottery Commission the state's highest overall performance rating. In addition to giving the commission an "excellent" rating, the audit report characterized the state lottery as "very well managed."

In addition to the retailer commissions, the Missouri Lottery has also generated more than $6.5 billion in support of Missouri public education and has awarded more than $15 billion in prizes over the past 35 years.

More information about how Missouri Lottery money is used may be found at www.MOLottery.com.

People on the Move

Mikaela Blissett

Mikaela Blissett has joined the marketing and advertising team at The Wright Group as a digital marketing specialist and media buyer.

In her new position, Blissett works with clients and prospective clients of The Wright Group to develop strategic and effective marketing solutions for their promotional needs while also delivering verifiable results.

Blissett is Google Ads certified in search, display, measurement and analytics. She is a graduate and former student athlete at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, where she played women's basketball and earned a master's degree in business administration with a marketing emphasis.

The Wright Group is an advertising and marketing firm based in Cape Girardeau. Among the firm's clients are SoutheastHEALTH, Buchheit Corp., Ameri-Chicken, TG Missouri and Cap America.

Chamber Notes

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry will present a virtual program previewing Missouri's 2021 legislative session from noon until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The interactive gathering of business leaders, industry experts and government officials, titled "Capitol Insight: Preparing You for the 2021 Legislative Session," will include the latest legislative insights, updates and more.

Registration details, including fee information, is available online at www.missourimococ.wliinc35.com//events.

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The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will host is January First Friday Coffee program online at 7:30 a.m. Friday on the chamber's Facebook page. The event, normally held on the first Friday of each month, has been rescheduled to the second Friday to avoid New Year's Day.

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