Plans are percolating for barista businesses

Coffee connoisseurs rejoice.

Two new drive-through coffee outlets are set to open in Cape Girardeau this fall, augmenting the city's growing list of coffee shops, beverage franchises and breakfast eateries.

As I've previously reported, a new Scooter's Coffee drive-through is under construction on North Kingshighway between Cory's Ace Hardware and the new McDonald's that opened earlier this month (which, by the way, also features an impressive list of "morning" beverages on its "McCafe" menu).

Bart and Keri Vandeven, who opened their first Scooter's in Jackson last year and their second one a few weeks ago in Perryville, Missouri, say their North Kingshighway location will open by mid-September.

Meanwhile, ground has been broken along William Street just west of Kingshighway for another Scooter's that will be owned by franchisees Bobby and Elizabeth Gray of Cape Girardeau and Darren and Autumn Pettit of Jackson.

"We anticipate build completion and opening in late September or early October," Elizabeth told me last week. "They go up fast!"

This will be the second Scooter's franchise for the Grays, who opened a Sikeston, Missouri, location last October. Together with the Pettits, they plan to open seven more — about one every nine months — with most of them in Western Kentucky (three in Paducah, and one each in Murray, Madisonville and Hopkinsville) and one in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Project updates

While this is far from an all-inclusive list, here's an update on a few construction projects underway in Cape.

Jay Cox of Bootheel Striping & Asphalt Sealing in Sikeston, Missouri, paints parking spaces Wednesday in front of Watami Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse, 45 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. The Japanese restaurant is expected to reopen in the near future following an expansion and remodeling project that began early this year.JAY WOLZ

Site work is underway Thursday on Deer Run Estates, a 55-acre residential development near the intersection of Hopper, Old Hopper and Kage roads in Cape Girardeau.JAY WOLZ

• Watami — The sushi and hibachi steakhouse at 45 N. Kingshighway has been closed since last winter to accommodate extensive interior and exterior renovations. The project is reportedly nearly complete and a reopening date should be announced soon.
• Mount Auburn Center — Located behind the Scooter's site on North Kingshighway, construction on this 11,000 square foot retail strip center will be complete by late October, according to developer Scott Rhodes. No tenants have been announced for this project.
• Auburn Center — Not to be confused with the aforementioned Mt. Auburn Center, the Drury Southwest development just east of Chili's on William Street will house AT&T's retail outlet and other tenants that have not been named. It is on track for a late fall opening.
• Deer Run Estates — Have you noticed the dirt work west of Old Hopper Road near the intersection of Hopper and Kage roads? That's where developer Brandon Williams plans to build Deer Run Estates, a 55-acre, multiphase residential subdivision. The first phases will be single-family homes. The third phase, he tells me, will include villa-style housing for residents age 55 and older.

Naturally, we'll have updates on these and other commercial developments as we learn about them.

Good news, bad news

First there was the good news. In April, Cape Girardeau was rated as one of the best small cities in the nation to start a business.

And now, the bad news. The same organization that rated Cape high on its list of the best places to start a business has now ranked Missouri among the worst states to start one.

The personal finance website WalletHub released results of its study last week in which it ranked states across 28 key indicators of startup success ranging from financing accessibility and office space affordability to human capital availability and COVID-19 cases.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about a fifth of all business startups don't survive past their first year of operation and nearly half never make it to their fifth anniversary.

If the WalletHub study is accurate, the odds are even slimmer in Missouri. The study ranked the Show Me State the nation's seventh-worst state for business startups.

The best state? Texas, followed by Georgia, California, Florida and Idaho. (Really? Idaho?) Ranked at the bottom of the study was New Jersey, which had the nation's highest business costs. Illinois ranked in the middle of the pack at No. 29.

The complete study, including an explanation of methodology and scoring, may be found by going to the WalletHub website, www.wallethub.com, and searching for Best & Worst States to Start a Business.

Still waiting ...

For those of you keeping tabs, it's been 43 weeks now since we ordered our refrigerator, the final piece of our kitchen renovation.

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