Holiday Inn in Cape to be razed, replaced

By Scott Moyers

Special to Business Today

During a celebration of Holiday Inn's 40-year existence in Cape Girardeau on Jan. 7, MidAmerica Hotels Corp. announced it would tear down the hotel and replace it with a $6 million Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites.

"We are going to retire this facility," company president Dan Drury told a roomful of guests. "So if you have any fond memories, you'd better look around."

Plans call for closing the 188-room hotel and replacing it with a Holiday Inn Express that will have 102 rooms at the same location at 3257 William St. The existing Holiday Inn - which opened in 1962 - will close the week of Sept. 1 and construction will begin shortly after that, Drury said. The opening for the new Holiday Inn Express is targeted for late 2004.

Drury said they were building a hotel that is smaller than the present one because of "demand needs."

"The express facility is right for this market," said Joel Neikirk, vice president of operations. "There is still development room should we need to expand. We think this facility will run much more efficiently. It's really as simple as that."

Neikirk called the new hotel proposal "a real shot in the arm" for the community.

"People should realize that this shows our commitment to the community and is our first hotel development in eight years, and it's in Cape Girardeau," Neikirk said.

MidAmerica Hotels Corp., owned by Cape Girardeau resident Jim Drury, also owns and operates the full-service Holiday Inn South I-55 in St. Louis and a Holiday Inn Express in Paducah, Ky. The family-owned business, which employs 1,400 people, also operates the Victorian Inn Hotel & Suites in Cape Girardeau.

MidAmerica also owns and operates 38 Burger Kings in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Kentucky.

The Holiday Inn Express will be four-stories tall and will include restaurants and potentially new hospitality venues. The Holiday Inn will be razed "immediately" after the closing. The nearby convention center will remain, Drury said.

Holiday Inn Express is a quick-growing brand in the hospitality industry. There are 1,200 Holiday Inn Express hotels worldwide.

During 40 years of operations in Cape Girardeau, the Holiday Inn has served national political leaders, celebrities, mayors, business leaders, conventions and seminars. The hotel is making plans for what it describes as a "gala celebration" of the hotel's rich history before it closes.

Dan Drury said it was time for a change with the Holiday Inn.

"The world has changed since the Holiday Inn opened in 1962," Drury said. "This Holiday Inn Express will set the standard well into the future, just as the existing Holiday Inn has done for the past 40 years."

Scott Moyers is business editor at the Southeast Missourian.