STRICTLY BUSINESS: HE `THROWED A ROLL' IN 1976; REST IS HISTORY

SIKESTON -- Sikeston's best known restaurant has been nominated for Missouri's top tourism award.

Lambert's Cafe, known nationwide as the "Home of the Throwed Rolls," is a nominee for the Missouri Travel and Tourism Hall of Fame Award.

Lambert's Cafe has attracted tourists by the busload and from all over the nation to Southeast Missouri.

"This is one of the top tourist attractions in the whole state," said Megan Looney, administrative assistant for the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce, which nominated Lambert's for the honor.

The Hall of Fame Award is the most significant award to be presented this month at the Missouri Governor's Conference on Tourism, to be held Jan. 24 through 26 at Jefferson City.

The Hall of Fame honor is reserved for individuals-businesses who have been active in tourism for many years and who have made substantial contributions to the state's $9.2 billion tourism industry.

"Norman Lambert's Cafe has done this," Looney said. "The cafe and Norman Lambert have been long-time contributors to the Sikeston and Miner economy. They have brought a lot of attention to a small Missouri town."

Lambert's Cafe has been around the Sikeston area for more than 50 years, but it wasn't until 1976 that the first roll was thrown.

Agnes and Earl Lambert opened the cafe March 13, 1942, on South Main Street in Sikeston. It remained at that site almost 40 years, moving into the larger War Drum Restaurant building on East Malone Street in 1981 .

The restaurant moved into its present building at 2525 E. Malone in June 1988.

The first "throwed roll" is recalled in a booklet prepared on the history of the restaurant.

It was May 26, 1976, and the old restaurant on South Main Street was crowded. A patron asked for another roll.

"Just throw it," the patron said.

Norman Lambert tossed the roll.

The rest is history.

Lambert's Cafe bakes an average of 520 dozen rolls a day for its operation at Sikeston, That's more than 6,000 rolls a day, and more than 2 million rolls a year.

Lambert recently opened a second "throwed rolls" restaurant at Branson.

Previous Hall of Fame award winners include Silver Dollar City at Branson, Meramec Caverns and Six Flags over Mid America. An individual winner, in 1992, was Lyn Muzzy, who was then director of the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"The Hall of Fame award is presented to individuals who have been active in tourism for many years, and who have made substantial contributions for the betterment of the industry as a whole," said Marjorie Beenders, Missouri tourism director. "We receive more than 100 nominations a year for the award."

The Hall of Fame award is one of seven presented during the tourism conference. Others are:

"Wake Up Award -- presented to an individual business or organization that has supported the state's "Wake Up to Missouri" tourism promotions. More than one of these awards could be presented.

Missouri Spotlight Award -- presented to an individual, business or organization not usually considered part of the travel industry, for noteworthy contributions in promoting Missouri tourism.

Emory Melton Service Award -- presented to an individual in recognition of career contributions in support of Missouri's travel industry.

Golden Coach Award -- presented to an individual business or organization that has supported Missouri's group travel marketing programs.

Trailblazer Award -- presented to an individual whose long-term leadership has contributed materially to the growth of Missouri tourism.

Legislative Service Award -- presented to a member of the Missouri General Assembly, or to members of a legislative committee, for outstanding support of issues vital to Missouri tourism.

D&K on a growth pattern

D&K Wholesale Drug Inc. has signed a letter of intent to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Krelitz Industries Inc.

Krelitz Industries, based in Minneapolis, owns and operates the Twin City Wholesale Drug Co. and Vikings Computer Services Inc.

Twin City Wholesale is a drug distributor to hospitals, clinics, chains of independent pharmacies and other retail outlets throughout the upper Midwest. Viking provides computerized order entry, point-of-sale, inventory and other processing systems to pharmaceutical customers.

Krelitz, founded in 1933, reported sales of $110 million during its 1994 fiscal year, which ended April 30.

This is welcome news for the Cape Girardeau area. D&K, headquartered in St. Louis, has announced it will move a branch operation to a new building in Cape Girardeau.

The company serves independent and retail chain pharmacies, hospitals, managed care facilities, alternative care centers and other customers in 17 states throughout the Midwest and Mid-South.

"Krelitz has an impressive position in the markets in which it operates and we look forward to the opportunities of combining its resources with those of D&K," said J. Hord Armstrong III, chairman and chief executive. "We expect that the acquisition of Krelitz will be an excellent complement to our recent acquisition of Northern Drug Co. and will enhance our presence in the upper Midwest Region."

D&K is on a growth pattern. It recently completed the acquisition of Northern Drug Co., a Duluth, Minn.-based wholesale drug distributor serving care facilities in Minnestoa, Wisconsin and the upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The newest acquisition is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 1995 and is subject to the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement as well as customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

D&K announced in November it was looking for a location in Cape Girardeau, to relocate its Cairo, Ill., branch facility to this area. The Cairo facility employs about 125 people.

"Many of these people are salesmen on the road and won't be affected by the move," said George Bray, D&K Cairo division president. "And we hope to retain all of our employees. Some of the employees already live in or near Cape Girardeau, and others will move into the area or commute."

"We want to construct our own building," Bray said, adding that the company will build an 85,000-square-foot facility. "We hope we can have everything in place to start construction by the end of the year."

D&K was founded in Cairo in 1965 as Delta Wholesale Drug Inc., with corporate headquarters at St. Louis. The company later became D&K Wholesale Drug Inc.

The company has acquired two additional drug distribution companies over the past year -- Northern Drug Co. Inc., and the Drug Distributors Unit of Fleming Companies Inc., a Malone & Hyde Inc. subsidiary in Memphis.

With the purchase of the Drug Distributors Unit, D&K expanded its relationship with Super D Drug Stores and positioned itself as its primary supplier of prescription pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs.

D&K announced net sales of $211,198,000 for its fiscal year ending April 1, up 25.8 percent from the $167.9 million sales of the previous year. Northern reported sales of $55 million the past year and D&K estimates that revenues from the Drug Distributors Unit will be between $40 million and $50 million annually.

"Last year's earnings represented a high-water mark for D&K," Armstrong said. "And the company's performance was achieved during extremely competitive conditions within our industry."

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Elsewhere

SIKESTON -- Manpower Temporary Services has moved to a new site here.

Mary McBride, branch supervisor, announced recently that the company office was located to 820 N. Main, Suite B, inside the Roosevelt Bank Building.

Manpower, which provides temporary workers to employers throughout the nation, also has an office at Cape Girardeau.

ST. LOUIS -- Embassy Suites, the hotel division of Promus Companies Inc., headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., recently opened the Embassy Suites-St. Louis Airport hotel, near the Interstate 70-Lindbergh intersection a half-mile west of Lambert International Airport.

The new 159-suite facility offers a 90-seat restaurant; 3,300 square feet of meeting space, fitness center and 24-hour airport transportation. The hotel is also served by the Metrolink Rapid Transit System.

SIKESTON -- Sikeston's Triangle Wire & Cable Inc. has earned recognition as a leader in quality.

The manufacturing company, which produces copper electrical wire and cable, steel conduit and galvanized strip products, received the ISO 9002 certification.

The certification follows an intensive procedural audit conducted by ABS-Quality Evaluations Inc.

Triangle has six manufacturing facilities and more than 100 sales offices and warehouse operations in North America.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Construction is under way here on a new Drury Inn Hotel.

The new hotel, at Interstate 70 and Highway 41, is expected to open in May.

Drury Inns Inc. also plans to convert an adjacent Days Inn into a Pear Tree Inn.

Drury owns and operates more than 60 Drury Inn, Pear Tree Inn by Drury, Thrifty Inn, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in 11 states.