STRICTLY BUSINESS: RETAIL `WISH LIST' OF AREA CONSUMERS

The wish list includes banisters and buses, dance clubs and danishes.

As a center of retail growth, Cape Girardeau annually welcomes more than 150 new businesses.

And according to area consumers, there's room for more.

Several weeks ago, we asked readers to get in the "shop 'till you drop mode," and let us know what business additions would be the icing on our retail cake.

Responses were well thought out and varied. All you entrepreneurs out there take note of readers' suggestions.

-- An architectural salvage yard with doors, flooring, windows, locks, moldings and more.

-- A "complete fabric store," defined by one reader as a store that carries primarily fabrics for clothing, including designer fabric.

-- Chain food stores such as White Castle or Crystal Hamburger Palace, Dunkin' Donuts and Popeye's Fried Chicken

-- An authentic German restaurant.

-- A gourmet kitchen shop, perhaps with cooking lessons.

-- For "chocoholics," a chocolate shop.

-- Curtain up on a dinner theater and/or big band dance club.

-- How much is that doggie in the window? A pet shop offering puppies and kittens for sale.

-- A riverboat gambling casino. That one is still a roll of the dice. Boyd Gaming says it plans to locate in Cape Girardeau, probably opening in 1997, but there is no city contract as yet.

-- A bed and bath shop with designer linens and towels and coordinated accessories for bed and bath.

-- A working mom would love a carry-out dinner service offering nutritious (and delicious) main dishes.

-- A tall women's clothing shop.

-- A Greyhound bus depot in Cape Girardeau. The current Greyhound station is in Jackson. Greyhound buses rolled into Cape Girardeau for more than 40 years until 1990 when the Union Bus Depot closed. Since then, the bus company has had six depots in the county in five years, four at Cape Girardeau and the latter two at Jackson.

-- Additional house cleaning services (those already here seem to be booked up, said one reader).

-- A small appliance repair service for home appliances and lawn mowers.

-- More "small job" contractors willing to do bathroom updates, room additions and the like.

-- A "set the table" to "scoop the crumbs" party service featuring theme parties, from planning to invitations, to refreshments, entertainment and cleanup.

-- Additional yard workers for mowing, leaf raking, etc.

-- A first-class hotel in downtown Cape Girardeau, preferably with a river view.

Thanks to all of you who shared your ideas -- and good luck to the ambitious folks who might try to meet some of these requests.

New business in the region

As a center of retail growth, Cape Girardeau annually welcomes more than 150 new businesses a year.

These new entries on the retail scene represent an impressive mix -- restaurants, clothing, service stations, antiques and much more.

But most communities have to keep running just to stand still. Although hundreds of new businesses open, hundreds of others close every year.

A study by the Census of Business shows that nationally only 57 percent of the businesses that operated in 1982 were still in business five years later.

But 48 percent more businesses were started and there was a net increase nationally of 430,000 businesses during the five-year span. The percentages improved during the three-year period from 1987 to 1990, with only 24 percent of new businesses closing during that three-year period.

Economists tell us that attracting new businesses is of primary importance to the economic health of a community.

New businesses create more new businesses. If a new factory or any business that employs people opens, the workers will stop for coffee and doughnuts on the way to work, buy gas for their cars and purchase clothing and food for their families.

New businesses, expansion of existing ones and closings are common in Southeast Missouri, said Ron Steele, regional economic development planner for the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission.

"The business scene throughout the area, especially in Cape and St. Francois counties, is a busy one, and that's a good economic indicator," said Steele, who keeps tabs on business openings and closings in the commission's seven counties of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Iron, Madison, Perry, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve.

Although totals for 1995 haven't been compiled, the third quarter was a busy one on the business scene, with a total of 55 new businesses in the region, creating approximately 346 jobs, most of them in the retail sector. Twenty-three of the new business are retail operations, with 30 offering services and two manufacturing companies -- Metal Cutter of Cape Girardeau and HyHo Inc. of Farmington, which produces custom-made cabinets and employs seven people.

Only five business closings were reported in the third quarter, leaving a gain of 50. Cape Girardeau County led the regional with 25 new businesses. Madison County was second with 19.

Casino adds to capacity

The Missouri Gaming Commission has not taken action on Casino Aztar's request for dockside gambling and more gambling positions, but the Caruthersville-based company has found a way to add to its capacity on the riverboat casino.

The gaming floors have been reconfigured on the "City of Caruthersville" riverboat, making room for more people, said Red Wooten, vice president and general manager. With the changes, the passenger capacity has increased from 600 to 800.

The U.S. Coast Guard gave Casino Aztar the approval to increase the passenger load in late December.

With the increase, the riverboat casino should be able to accommodate most passengers, even during peak cruises on weekend, Wooten said.

The riverboat is an authentic reproduction of a 19th century paddlewheeler. It is equipped with 445 slot machines and 27 gaming tables. This is a reduction of 55 slots and one gaming table.

Aztar has petitioned the commission for permission to add gambling positions on its landing barge, and allow the riverboat to remain dockside.

"The City of Caruthersville" has dockside operations at night, but cruises through the day.