Business updates

Buffalo Wild Wings to open in Farmington

FARMINGTON, Mo. — A new Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant is set to open on Dec. 7 at 615 Maple Valley Drive in Farmington, Mo. This will be the fifth location for owner Bill Zellmer, who also operates restaurants in Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Mo., Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Carbondale, Ill.

"Wings, beer and sports — it's hard to go wrong with that," said Zellmer, who was named to Business Today's Top 40 under 40 in March 2008. "Even in this bad economy, people still want those three things."

Sikeston mail to be sorted in Cape

SIKESTON, Mo. — As of early October, mail at the Sikeston Post Office is being sorted in Cape Girardeau instead of at the Sikeston location.

"The postal service is seeing declining mail volume, which translates into declining revenue," said Richard Watkins, spokesman for the Kansas-City based Mid-America district, which includes Sikeston. "Financially, it makes more sense to process where we've got the equipment and the work hours available." Due to Cape Girardeau having a larger mail processing facility, in addition to the needed work hours and equipment, the new operation should be more efficient, said Watkins.

Keith Arnold of the Sikeston Post Office said the move will not affect the number of employees at this point, but they will likely see a small drop in the number of hours.

"This is not unique to Sikeston and Cape," said Watkins. "It's happening across the country and across our district."

Grace Cafe closes

Grace Cafe, located at 818 Broadway in Cape Giardeau, closed its doors on Oct. 15. According to owner Grace Parry, the coffee shop was not doing well financially.

"We've cut corners everywhere we can, but it just hasn't worked out," said Parry. "This really needs an owner who can devote 40 to 60 hours a week to this business and since I have a family I can't do it. We don't have extra money to put into this and my family needs me."

Parry has explored other uses for the building, including using it as a meeting space, but has no concrete plans.

Sofas and More closes

Sofas and More, located at 1739 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau, has closed its doors after more than 25 years in business. Store owner is Kevin Jones.

Marcelline's Beauty Shoppe closes after 46 years

ST. MARY, Mo. — One of St. Mary's oldest businesses, Marcelline's Beauty Shoppe, closed on Oct. 3. Marcelline Jokerst opened the business in 1962, when a haircut cost $1.50 and a perm was only $5. She has retired to her home in St. Mary, Mo.

Jackson Pizza Pro moving

Pizza Pro of Jackson, currently located at 117 S. Hope St., will move to 515 W. Main St. in mid-November.

According to owner Dan Cook, the new 2,000-square-foot location will offer dine-in space, faster delivery service, a drive-through window and a parking lot with space for up to 30 cars. The new location will also decrease traffic problems that existed at the current 1,200-square-foot location. New menu items will include sub sandwiches and Greek salads.

Investment firm moves

Edward Jones of Cape Girardeau has moved from 215 N. Sprigg St. to 3095 Lexington Ave., Suite 100.

Pawn shop relocates

Money Time Pawn has moved its operations from 1901 Independence St. to 2112 Broadway in Cape Girardeau. The shop's hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday.

Jackson Diner closes

Krissty and Bobby Steers, co-owners of Jackson Diner, closed the business on Oct. 5. According to Krissty Steers, they closed the restaurant because the dining space was too small. They were also renting the space at 3125 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson until they reached a decision whether to purchase the restaurant. However, the asking price of $1 million was too high.

The Steers also own Fruitland Diner, which they acquired in August. Located at 5841 US Highway 61 in Fruitland, the diner formerly known as L'il Red Barn specializes in breakfast, but also serves a full lunch and supper menu.

Cape recycling center begins winter hours

The Cape Girardeau recycling drop-off facility has switched to its winter hours. The drop-off center will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 2007 Southern Expressway for city solid waste customers. Summer hours will resume on April 4.

Pregnancy Center to move to Park Hills

PARK HILLS, Mo. — The Parkland Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) has found a new home at 815 E. Main St. in Park Hills, Mo. Kim Nash is executive director of the center, and Rev. Jonathan Jones is chairman of the board. The center's current location is at 210 North A Street in Farmington, Mo.

The new building was most recently home to BJC Home Health, but at one time, Nash says it was a doctor's office, so the set-up will be appropriate for the services the PRC offers. The Center hopes to move in January.

The center serves St. Francois and the counties of Ste. Genevieve, Washington, Wayne, Reynolds, Iron and Madison. Nash said she hopes the new center will draw more clients from north St. Francois County, as well as Washington County.

McAlister's Select closes

McAlister's Select restaurant, located at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau, closed in early October.

Gift basket store relocates

Gift Basket Drop Shipping, formerly located in Cape Girardeau, has reloated to an 18,500-square-foot building in Jackson. It was previously an Internet business based in California. Owner Sandra Dansby receives help from her husband, Mark, and three children.

Dansby and her 12 employees ship about 45,000 gift baskets each year to locations worldwide. In addition to the baskets, the business has shipped a number of care packages to American troops stationed overseas. For more information, visit the company's Website at www.giftbasketdropshipping.com.

"She's definitely done something that I never could have done, which is to grow a successful business while caring for three kids right by her side," said Mark Dansby, who is soon scheduled to open Granny B's Treasures and Gift Baskets retail store in what was once office space in the building.

Budget Blinds moves

Budget Blinds of Cape Girardeau recently moved to 718 Caruthers Ave. The business began operation in April l997 and is owned and operated by Cape Girardeau residents Dan and Jeanne Phillips. The company serves homeowners and businesses in the Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois areas, offering complimentary in-home estimates and consultations, professional measuring and installation, and window treatments including shutters, blinds, draperies and shades.

Marble Hill True Value closes

MARBLE HILL, Mo. — After 32 years in business, Fetterhoff's True Value Hardware store in Marble Hill, Mo., is closing. Owner Bill Fetterhoff and his wife, Carol fetterhoff, made the decision so they could retire near the end of the year.

A new business will occupy the True Value space and sell similar products. The name of the incoming business has not yet been released.

Illinois firm hired to develop Jackson plan

Jackson has hired a company specializing in urban planning. Houseal Lavigne Associates LLC of Naperville, Ill., stood out among a field of 13 companies that applied for the job, according to Janet Sanders, Jackson's building and planning superintendent and chairwoman of the selection committee.

Comprehensive planning is a strategy more cities are adopting to guide long-term growth and development.

Jackson's comprehensive plan will focus on future annexations, land use, parking, community facilities, major street plans with a traffic flow analysis "and just overall future development of the community and redevelopment as it happens," said Sanders.

The consulting firm will be paid $85,000 — $5,000 less than what the city planned to spend — from the 2009 budget, Sanders said. Work on the plan will begin as soon as possible and wrap up in one year.

Sikeston Chinese restaurant relocates

SIKESTON, Mo. — China Buffet, a family-owned restaurant in Sikeston, Mo., recently held a grand opening ribbon cutting at its new location, 1207 S. Main St. The new location features three meeting rooms. Restaurant manager is Linda Lin.

China Buffet is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It features an all-you-can-eat buffet, in addition to lunch and daily specials and other meal choices for dining in or carry out. The phone number is (573) 472-9899.

Marvels & Legends changes ownership

Marvels & Legends, 1030 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, has been sold by Ken Murphy after 12 years in business. He sold the store to Jack and Jennifer Huskey, who will continue with the name of Marvels & Legends.

"I felt like after 12 years, I had done all I could do," Murphy said. "It was time for me and my family to move onto the next step. We're looking forward to what we'll do with the rest of our life."

Murphy will continue to head up the Cape Girardeau Comic Con, which features vendors selling merchandise ranging from figurines to artwork, games and rare comics, and panel discussions between comic book creators.

The store is open from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Big River marketing coordinator has new name

Jennifer VanGennip, marketing coordinator for Big River Telephone in Cape Girardeau, has married and is now Jennifer Pobst. Her new e-mail address is jpobst@bigrivertelephone.com, and her phone number is (573) 651-3373, x114.

Pacific Rim Market now open

Pacific Rim Market, located at 1537 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau, is officially open for business. The store is owned by Robert Wade. Open seven days a week, the store's hours are 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Pacific Rim Market specializes in Indian, Asian and Hispanic foods and has frozen foods and fresh produce, as well.

Regional Credit Union hoping for third location in January

Cape Regional Credit Union plans to open a third location on the corner of Highway 177 and U.S. Highway 61 in Fruitland, Mo.

According to Jim Cauble, president, the credit union hopes to open the branch in January to better serve customers in the Jackson-Fruitland area. "Since a third of our members live in this area, it only made sense to pursue this location," Cauble said. "We're excited about the possibilities once this branch opens."

Its other locations are inside the Procter & Gamble plant and at 2427 Cape Centre Drive in Cape Girardeau.

Crown Hospice has new location

Crown Hospice held a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house at its new location on Nov. 5. The new address is 2858 Professional Court in Cape Girardeau. The ceremony also recognized November as National Hospice month.

BP Financial moves into new building

BP Financial Services has moved to 720 Caruthers Ave. in Cape Girardeau. The new facility includes a state-of-the-art conference room, expanded office space and increased security of financial records by converting them to an off-site paperless document storage system.

Farmington Value City to close

FARMINGTON, Mo. — After weeks of a store-wide sale, the Value City store in Farmington will close its doors for good. The store's parent company filed for bankruptcy protection Oct. 26 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court's Southern District of New York, asking the court to approve an agreement with liquidation firm Tiger Capital Group LLC to conduct closing sales at "substantially all" of its stores.

Spokeswoman Kristin Mack said no decision has been made yet on the timing of the closing in Farmington, but she expected it would close "over the next couple of weeks."

The building at 942 Valley Creek Drive is owned by the Farmington Development Company. A spokesman said they had not been notified the store is moving out and have no potential new tenants. The store opened at that location in 2000.

Holcim team continues to grow

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. — Hiring for Holcim Inc. continues as they announce the newest team members to join their cement plant operations in Ste. Genevieve County. The following individuals started in their new careers in July and August:

Cement techs Tim Jones, Brian Whaley, Jeff Seyer, Jim Thorn, Kurt Gallina, Stephen Cristensen, Garry Moore, Troy Simmerock, Dante Duvall, Travis Layton, Chuck Yount, Craig Jenkins, David Lefarth, Vernie Robertson, Darin Burggraff, Brian McAndrew, Daniel Beaver, Shane Johnson, Seth Street, Daniel Williams, Roger Stephens, Dan Sullens, Keith Kettinger, Scott Mason, Ron Fears, Seth Wachter, Bill Rickels, Randy Boxdorfer, Marcus Schutte, John Mains, Russell Svoboda, Doug Foulk, and Luke Garber.

Power and control techs Kevin Wohlwend, Jay Miget, David Mosqueda, Ken Poncet, and Colin Watson.

Warehouse tech Daniel Veach.

Holcim Inc. is one of the nation's leading manufacturers and suppliers of cement and mineral components. The company operates 14 manufacturing plants and over 70 distribution facilities in the United States. For more information, prospective applicants can visit Workforce Employment Solutions on-line at www.visitworkforce.com.

Sterling Bank opens in Van Buren

VAN BUREN, Mo. — Sterling Bank has added a full service division in Van Buren, where a loan production office was opened in August. Sterling Bank opened its main branch in Poplar Bluff for years ago.The Van Buren branch, located at 407 Ash St., is overseen by Executive Vice President Max Ross.