Checking out the Sears, Toys R Us rumors

There's been some recent buzz on social media — and I've been asked several times in the past couple of weeks — about the status of two vacant properties in Cape Girardeau and whether they might soon be occupied.

While rumors are typically not worth reporting, I thought I'd make a few phone calls to see whether there might be any truth to what I've been hearing, specifically that there might be new tenants soon in the former Sears Grand and Toys R Us locations in Cape Girardeau.

Vacant since the fall of 2019, there has been almost constant speculation about who, or what, would occupy the 150,000-square-foot Sears building on Siemers Drive.

Last July, it seemed the Crossroads Retail Group out of Kansas City was close to reaching an agreement with Sears holding company Transformco, which would have turned the building into a "mini-mall" with multiple retail tenants. A spokesman for the Crossroad group said at the time he expected a deal to be finalized "by the end of August."

That was apparently an optimistic prediction because it's nine months later and there's still no deal.

In fact, I was told last week by a knowledgeable source the Crossroads Retail Group deal "died" earlier this month.

Not necessarily so, I was told a few days ago by another source familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified.

"Transformco has been working diligently with (a) buyer to figure out a solution that works for everyone," the source told me. "The only obstacle is amending the existing OEA (operation and easement agreement) to allow the redevelopment to occur. Transformco is committed to Cape Girardeau and wants the best outcome possible for the community."

As for the former Toys R Us building at the intersection of William Street and Silver Springs Road, I've heard from several sources it's destined to become a Rural King farm equipment store.

When I first heard this a couple of months ago, I called Rural King's home office in Mattoon, Illinois, to ask, point blank, if the company planned to open a store here. I spoke to someone in the company's marketing department who said her office would be responsible for any news releases about new locations and she told me the words "Cape Girardeau" had not crossed her desk.

But starting last week, I began noticing some Rural King advertising in our market as if to build brand familiarity, so I called the company's corporate offices again. It was late Friday afternoon and the marketing department was closed for the day, but the person who answered the phone said he knew several new locations would be announced "in a week or two."

Stay tuned.

New owners at Elite Car Wash

Did you notice the traffic cones blocking the entrance to Elite Car Wash on Route K in Cape Girardeau on Monday last week?

So did I, so I carefully drove between the cones and parked next to the car wash's open office door where I met Jeff Mallette, regional manager for the ICWG, the International Car Wash Group, a division of Driven Brands.

ICWG, Mallette told me, had purchased Elite Car Wash a few days earlier and the new owner was hiring new employees while trying to figure out the Elite Car Wash computer system.

"We've never seen a system like this one," he told me.

The car wash was back in operation Tuesday morning and for at least a while was offering washes free of charge (possibly because the staff was still trying to get the computer system back online).

Mallette said ICWG will be upgrading Elite Car Wash's equipment later this year and its name will eventually change to Take 5 Car Wash.

ICWG is based in Centennial, Colorado, and is one of the world's largest car wash companies, cleaning more than 40 million vehicles annually. It operates more than 900 car washes in 14 countries across North America, Europe and Australia with more than 200 car washes in the United States alone.

Driven Brands, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired ICWG in August. With the addition of ICWG's 200-plus car washes, Driven Brands now has a portfolio of more than 4,000 locations in 15 countries. Among the company's brands are Take 5 Oil Change, Meineke Car Care Centers, Maaco, CARSTAR, and several other aftermarket auto service companies.

Dr. Greg Pursley, right, with entrepreneur Grant Cardone at a recent business development conference.Submitted

Pursley does well in pitch competition

Cape Girardeau chiropractic physician Greg Pursley has a pretty good "pitch" as evidenced by his second-place finish in a business pitch competition he took part in earlier this month.

The pitch competition was part of a three-day online sales and marketing workshop called the 10X Business Boot Camp led by Grant Cardone, CEO of Cardone Enterprises. Pursley said thousands of people participated in the virtual workshop, out of which he was one of 300 invited to submit a brief business pitch video. Out of that group, his video won him a spot among 10 finalists, each of whom was asked to make a live 2-minute pitch about his or her business idea.

Pursley's pitch focused on improving the overall health of America by improving patient outcomes without the use of pain medications and steroids and with limited surgical procedures.

"I do public speaking on a regular basis, but doing a Zoom presentation in 2 minutes in front of a few thousand people was a little different," Greg told me.

For his second-place finish, Greg received a $5,000 prize.

Community Partnership recognizes businesses

Congratulations to RCH Development and John's Pharmacy for the recognitions they received during the Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri's well attended annual breakfast Friday.

RCH Development Inc., represented by company president Chad Hartle, received the organization's Horizon Award in recognition of the development company's work on the Liberty Apartments complex in south Cape Girardeau. John's Pharmacy was presented with the Kasten Award, named in honor of Community Partnership's founder Mary Kasten, for the pharmacy's work during the COVID-19 pandemic. John's Pharmacy co-owner Abe Funk represented the pharmacy in accepting the award.

Also recognized at the breakfast was Girl Scout Troop 71111, represented by Becky Speight, which received the Community Partnership Award in recognition of its many years of community service.

Busch looking for a dog with 'taste'

Dog Brew is made from bone-in pork butt, corn, celery, basil, mint, turmeric, ginger and water.Anheuser-Busch

Does your dog have a discerning palate? Does Fido know the difference between hamburger and filet mignon? More importantly, does he skip the stale water in his dish and opt for a taste of your bottle of Perrier water instead?

If so, your pooch might qualify to be Busch Beer's "chief tasting officer," or CTO, for the company's new Dog Brew brand beverage.

No, it's not a beer for canines. (Actually, Busch reminds dog owners beer and hops are actually toxic for their pets). Dog brew is an all-natural broth made from bone-in pork butt, corn, celery, basil, mint, turmeric, ginger and water. It's nonalcoholic, so dogs younger than 3 years of age are allowed to enjoy it (that's 21 in dog years).

The St. Louis-based brewery introduced the Dog Brew brand last year, but you haven't seen it in pet supply stores (or on grocery store shelves, for that matter) because it's only available online; Google "Dog Brew" and you'll find several sources.

As for Busch Beer's search for a CTO, the company is holding a contest to find the perfect pooch. To enter, dog owners must post photos of their pups on social media platforms with the hashtag #BuschCTOcontest and must follow Busch Beer on their own social media platforms.

Entries will be accepted until April 28. The winner (well, technically, the winner's owner) will receive $20,000, 10 four-packs of Dog Brew, and an $800 prepaid card for pet insurance.

More information is available on the brewery's website or by doing a Google search for Dog Brew Contest.

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