Business notebook: Renaissance owner opens her own art shop

With a brown crocheted poncho over a robin's-egg blue sweater, even Sherry Montgomery's clothes match the interior of her new shop, Sherry Annette Fine Art & Fabulous Finds.

All that's missing is a handwritten tag.

Fifteen years after opening Renaissance at 139 N. Main St. in downtown Cape Girardeau, she's back to focusing on her art, which she said is sort of like coming full circle.

She became interested in art in her hometown of Dexter, Missouri, and did it full-time for 15 years.

"In 1997, I was in a hot-air balloon accident in Phoenix, Arizona, that almost killed me," she said. "I had to re-learn all my motor skills; I couldn't do art, but I still needed a creative outlet."

Sherry Montgomery poses for a photo inside her new shop, Sherry Annette Fine Art & Fabulous Finds in downtown Cape Girardeau.Laura Simon

So helping others express themselves through a home-decor shop would be good, she figured.

She began Renaissance in 2001, in the same space she remembers coveting as a girl. She said she always had faith in the potential for Cape Girardeau's downtown to flourish.

And it has, she said.

"I wanted to be a part of the revitalization of downtown Cape," she said. "I named my store Renaissance. I just saw the vision."

While she said she loved running Renaissance, she struggled to paint as much as she wanted. So while she retains ownership of the spaces where her shop and Renaissance are housed, she sold the business to her former employee Jenna Beussink and opened next door.

The new shop is small, but the feel is bright and airy; sunlight from the shop windows illuminates it well, and the interior is mostly white.

Half rustic, half pearly, one side is covered in antique doors Montgomery has collected over the years.

It's somewhat similar to the home-decor shop next door, except more directly reflective of Montgomery, and more of the merchandise bears her signature.

In her paintings, she seems to favor blues and tans and shades of white. There's a hummingbird in one, liberated from a pretty white cage.

Another is made up completely of blue bird silhouettes, converging on something unseen, a light too bright to make out.

That, as it turns out, is about how Montgomery feels about the coming year in business, personal and artistic terms: undefined but shining with promise.

"The way I start the day is prayer," she said. "I ask the Lord to tell me what to do, and that's what I do. I paint if I need to, do something else if I need to."

She shrugs and points out a small framed quote from Emerson: "Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

"That's it. That's what it's all about for 2016," she said, smiling. "I don't know where that trail will lead me. Just walk on. Trust the Lord for it."

Chinatown Buffet to move, rename

Michael, Jerry and Ying Feng, owners of Chinatown Buffet, will be moving their business to another Cape Girardeau location this spring, according to a news release from the Feng family.

Located at 213 S. Kingshighway Street near Hobby Lobby, the business is heading to 329 S. Kingshighway, near Huck's gas station.

Renovations to the new building, which once housed Pagoda Gardens, are expected to begin soon and be completed in late April or early May.

Speaking on behalf of the Feng family, associate Robert Edwards said the current location will remain open until the new location, to be named China Crown, is ready to debut.

While the new space is smaller than the current one, the owners plan to bring a slightly updated menu to it, keeping their signature buffet but adding a hibachi grill and a sushi bar.

Edwards said the move was prompted after the Fengs were told the lease on their location would not be renewed.

Edwards said the family considered the recent closings of Bob Evans and Ryan's as well as the anticipated opening of Golden Corral in deciding the future of their business. But with more than seven years of business in Cape Girardeau, they decided to stay.

"They decided to stay because of the customer base they've had and the support they've had in the area," Edwards said. "With the new remodel of [329 S. Kingshighway], everything is going to be fresh and new, so they feel that will be good for business."

Business licenses

• Southeast Fun and Fitness LLC, 1923 N. Kingshighway, Unit #5, offers gymnastics and dance instruction. The business, owned by Colette I. Smith, opened in September.
• Caring Palms Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, 819 N. Kingshighway, is a massage clinic owned by Penny Lynne Wheeler. It opened Jan. 1.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627