Business Notebook: Wink's near SportsPlex, StevMark relocating to S. Kingshighway, new interim dean named at SEMO

This week's Business Notebook covers a wide range of topics, from an update on a new manufacturing operation in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to recognition of an alpaca ranch in Southern Illinois.

You'll also find news about the relocation of some Cape Girardeau businesses, plans for a new development at the junction of Interstate 55 and U.S. 61 near the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex, several promotions and hirings and the recognition of a municipal utility.

In recent weeks, we've carried news about several new restaurants that have either opened or will open in the near future, including Rosati's, Mary Jane bourbon + smokehouse and Bandana's Bar-B-Q. We've also been keeping an eye on the development of the Top of the Marq rooftop lounge and restaurant on the top floor of the Marquette Building in downtown Cape Girardeau. Top of the Marq's managing partner told us last week he's "getting really, really close to being able to announce a target opening date" and will be hiring staff soon. Watch for that news in an upcoming edition of the Southeast Missourian.

Winks coming to Midamerica Crossing

Midamerica Hotels Corp. has signed a lease agreement with H & S Investments for the construction of a 5,300-square-foot Winks Convenience Store on a 2-acre tract within an area to be known as Midamerica Crossing, located between U.S. 61 (North Kingshighway) and the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex. Announcement of the lease signing was made Friday by Diane Drury, Midamerica Hotels' vice president of real estate.

"We are very excited to add this quality operation to the Crossing," Drury said.

Kevin Stanfield, whose family owns two other Winks convenience stores, said the new business will be very similar to the Winks Convenience Store in at the intersection of Route K and Highway 25 in Gordonville.

"We plan on breaking ground this summer, maybe in July," he said, "and we're hoping to have it open in the spring of 2020."

The Stanfield family also owns My Daddy's Cheesecake in Cape Girardeau. Stanfield said the new Winks will offer a "grab and go" selection of My Daddy's muffins, pastries, desserts, cheesecakes "and even some of their sandwich lines and the My Daddy's Cheesecake coffee."

He said the new convenience store will face east along Limbaugh Lane at the intersection of U.S. 61 just east of Interstate 55.

StevMark moving to South Kingshighway

StevMark home decorating center, now in the 2100 block of William Street in Cape Girardeau, will move in early June to 610 S. Kingshighway.

"Our target date to reopen there will be June 10," according to Carol Harvell, who, with her husband, Mike, purchased the building on South Kingshighway from Rent One.

"We will be moving from a lease situation, which will allow us to do what we want on the inside and outside of the building," she said. "The new location will also give us better visibility and access because we're going to be right on Kingshighway."

StevMark offers paint, wall coverings, window treatments framing, cabinets, closets and some home furnishings.

"And we have designers on staff, which sets us apart from other places where you could get framing done or buy paint or buy fabric," Carol Harvell said, and noted the new location will include a contractor entrance designed to make it easier for painters and other contractors to pick up their supplies.

Originally known as Cooley Paint Company, the store was a long-standing business at 16 N. Spanish St. in downtown Cape Girardeau. The business was purchased in 1954 by Val Mueller. It continued to operate downtown and eventually opened its current William Street store. The name of the business was changed to include the names of Mueller's sons, Steve and Mark, who sold the business to the Harvells in January 2016.

The new StevMark location on South Kingshighway was originally the Kingsway Skateland roller-skating rink when it was built in the 1970s.

StevMark will occupy approximately 6,000 square feet of the building. The Harvells will lease the building's remaining 4,000 square feet to another retail business, which will be announced at a later date.

SEMO names interim dean

Joe Pujol, chairman of Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Recreation and professor of exercise science, has been named interim dean of Southeast's College of Education, Health and Human Studies. His appointment will be effective June 1.

Joe Pujol

Pujol, a Southeast faculty member for 23 years and department chairman for 15 of those years, will serve as interim dean through June 30, 2020. He replaces Diana Rogers-Adkinson, who is retiring from the university.

Southeast has also announced Jason Wagganer, associate professor of exercise science, will replace Pujol as interim chairman of the Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Recreation.

Pujol joined the Southeast faculty as an assistant professor of exercise science and was promoted to associate professor in 2001 and full professor in 2005. In 2003 he was appointed chairman of the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation and he became chairman of Kinesology, Nutrition and Recreation last year as part of the university's academic reorganization.

Pujol has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and five book chapters and has presented more than 100 papers at professional conferences. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, is past president of the Central States Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and serves as that organization's executive director.

He is a member of Cape West Rotary Club and was the club's president in 2016-2017. He serves as district governor for Rotary District 6060.

He and his wife, Kelley, live in Cape Girardeau and have three daughters.

Empire Comfort Systems coming to Poplar Bluff

Empire Comfort Systems, an Illinois-based manufacturer of heaters and fireplace inserts, announced plans last week to build a 140,000-square-foot factory in the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park.

The family-owned company operates a 550,000-square-foot plant in Belleville, Illinois. The company expects to begin operations in Poplar Bluff in August, initially employing a staff of about 30, expanding to 75 in 2020 and potentially as many as 200 employees in the next five years.

In addition to heaters and fireplace inserts, the company said it has plans to begin making cast-iron stoves, grills and other items.

Tourism office recognizes Artist's Studio, Alpaca Ranch

The Illinois Office of Tourism has added 18 businesses in the state to its "Illinois Made" program.

The list of newly-added businesses includes Alto Clay Works in Alto Pass and Rolling Oak Alpaca Ranch in Makanda.

Alto Clay Works is the studio home of local artist Stephen Grimmer, which offers pottery classes, artist studios and a gallery for short-term exhibitions. At the Rolling Oak Alpaca Ranch, visitors learn about alpaca farming and shop at the farm store, which features various alpaca products, including yarn, soaps, shawls, socks, toys and more.

Launched in 2016, Illinois Made spotlights people, products and "authentic experiences" tourists can enjoy in the state. There are 147 listings in the program. More information is available at www.enjoyillinois.com/illinoismade.

Missouri Public Service Commission announces rate changes

The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved filings from Union Electric Co., dba Ameren Missouri, which will adjust the fuel and purchased power adjustment charge (FAC) as well as the energy efficiency investment charge (EEIC) that appear as separate line items on monthly bills of Ameren Missouri electric customers.

Under the filings approved by the PSC, a typical residential customer will see the FAC drop from a current refund of approximately $0.19 a month to a refund of approximately $1.76 a month. The change is expected to take effect May 24. The EEIC will increase by approximately $4.04 a month from approximately $0.54 a month to $4.58 a month, effective May 25.

Ameren Missouri provides electric service to approximately 1.26 million electric customers in Missouri.

Awards and recognitions

Jackson is one of a handful of communities in Missouri to receive national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability over the past year. The recognition, presented at last week's Jackson Board of Aldermen meeting, comes from the American Public Power Association, a trade group in Washington, D.C., that represents more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned utilities.

Only 12 other Missouri communities, and just 143 public power utilities nationwide, have been recognized this year by the APPA. The Missouri municipalities are all members of the Missouri Public Utility Alliance.

The American Public Power Association helps its members track power outage and restoration data and then compares the data to national statistics tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all types of electric utilities. According to the APPA statistics, the average public power customer in the United States experiences power outages less than half the time as customers of other types of utilities.

"We are proud to receive this recognition," said Don Schuette, Jackson's director of electric utilities. "It is a testament to the hard work of all of our staff to ensure that the lights stay on for all our customers."

People on the Move

Just more than 1,400 Southeast Missouri State University students received degrees and certificates Saturday during the university's spring commencement exercises. While it would be almost impossible to list all the career paths the new graduates are following, Southeast has spotlighted several graduates of the university's Harrison College of Business and Computing:

Chris Gibbons

Chris Gibbons of Pacific, Missouri, earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in finance and will join Boeing in St. Louis this spring as a procurement agent.

"I will be responsible for establishing proper price points of contracts and then negotiating the contracts on weapon systems," he said in material provided by Southeast. "Boeing has one of the best training programs in the country, which makes it an excellent place to jump-start my career."

Gibbons credits the knowledge and skills he gained at Southeast as well as the confidence he acquired through student organizations and practicum experiences that have positioned him for his role at Boeing.

Connor McGarr

Another College of Business and Computing graduate, Connor McGarr of Cape Girardeau, will begin his post-college career as a cybersecurity consultant with the Big Four accounting firm of Ernst and Young in Houston.

"I will be traveling all around the United States and the world to provide the services our clients have purchased," he said in the release. "My team and I will be bettering our client's cybersecurity posture."

McGarr said he chose Southeast for his undergraduate education, in part, because of the reputation of its cybersecurity program, which is one of only four in the nation to hold accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) under its program-specific criteria for cybersecurity. Southeast is also one of just three four-year institutions in Missouri and one of only 250 nationally to be designated as a National Center for Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Skyler Neels

Skyler Neels from O'Fallon, Missouri, graduated with a finance degree from the College of Business and Computing and will start his career with Commerce Bank on June 10, taking part in the bank's Ascend Training Program in St. Louis where he will hone skills he acquired at Southeast performing credit analysis and credit underwriting.

He will return to Cape Girardeau in December to work full time at the Commerce Bank branch on Broadview Street.

"I'm incredibly excited about my future and what excites me the most about my career at Commerce Bank is I'll be helping people achieve their financial goals," Neels said. "The experiences I gained while at Southeast have been instrumental in preparing me for my career."

Missouri Department of Conservation agent Andrew Mothershead has been named to replace Scott County conservation agent Leother Branch, who retired in February.

"We're confident he will be a great fit for the people and wildlife resources of Scott County," MDC's Protection Division regional supervisor Russell Duckworth of Mothershead said in a news release.

A native of Benton, Missouri, Mothershead has served as a conservation agent for eight years, working assignments in Saline and Mississippi counties and has worked as an outdoors skills specialist in Cape Girardeau. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Science in fisheries and wildlife sciences.

He has received recognition as the 2013 Central Region Hunter Education Instructor of the Year, the 2014 Missouri Waterfowl Officer of the Year and the Southeast Region's Most Outstanding Conservation Agent in 2017.

"It's been my career goal to come home and serve as a conservation agent assigned to Scott County and I look forward to representing the Missouri Department of Conservation, our natural resources and all the communities in Scott County in that role," Mothershead said in the release.

Business licenses

Rick White of Weldon Springs, Missouri, has applied for a business license to operate Bandana's Bar-B-Q at 156 Vantage Drive in Cape Girardeau. The restaurant's anticipated opening date is July 15.

Got a Person on the Move at your business? Submit online at www.semissourian.com/forms/peopleonthemove.

jwolz@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630