VA clinic to occupy former Pier One Import building

Come September, a local building that has remained unoccupied for a while will have a new tenant.

An official at the City of Cape Girardeau inspection office said a Veterans Affairs clinic will move into the building that once housed Pier 1 Imports at 3051 William Street.

* Plaza Tire plans new store: By the fourth quarter of this year construction will begin on a new Plaza Tire Service store at 1710 N. Kingshighway, between World of Honda and Immediate Healthcare. Once the new 7,000-square-foot store is finished by mid-2010, the store at 1634 N. Kingshighway will be demolished.

"We're in a need-based business and have seen growth in our business," said owner Scott Rhodes.

Vernon Rhodes began Plaza Tire Service in 1963, when it was known as Plaza Car Wash. Before long the company began offering auto clean-up and detail service for area auto dealerships. The business eventually expanded to include tire sales. From that modest start, the business has recently opened its 50th store in Chesterfield, Mo. No other stores beyond the new location in Cape Girardeau are planned at the moment.

* McIntyre is expanding operations: Darrell McIntyre is planning an expansion of his used furniture store operation. The owner of Peddler's Corner at 18 N. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau, McIntyre told me he plans to open Discount Corner at 610 Independence St. by mid-June. Discount Corner will be more like a thrift store, McIntyre said.

The store will be nearly twice the size of the 5,000-square-foot Peddler's Corner, which he plans to keep open. Discount Corner will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Its phone number will be 334-6530.

Tom Kelsey of Lorimont Place Ltd. handled the deal. He said that the building originally housed Horton Sales Co. and for several years was the location of the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Kelsey said he handled the lease transaction with Peddler's Corner for the building owner, L.R. Roper Trust. Kelsey said warehouse space is available for lease in a separate area of the building.

* Element 74 plans relocation: Element 74 is planning to move from 2845 Independence St. to 113 Silver Springs Road, which is the former Kinder Kare building just north of Saint Francis Medical Center.

President and chief executive officer Chris Edmonds said his business has outgrown its current space and he will be adding additional employees to its staff of 10.

"The new floor plan will be much more conducive for our website development team and we will also have a state-of-the-art conference room for client meetings and training sessions," Edmonds told me.

Element 74 will use 2,300 square feet and will lease the remaining 2,200 square feet. The expected move date is the last week of June, with an open house planned in July or early August.

* John Deere dealer to hold groundbreaking on Scott City building: William Nobbe and Co., a local John Deere dealer in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, is holding a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday at 10 a.m. Off exit 89 in Scott City, the new 38,000-square-foot building will feature a larger showroom, service department and an expanding meeting room.

The operation will combine its Cape Girardeau and Jackson locations. The anticipated opening date is Dec. 9.

"We are beginning a new facility so that we can better serve our current and future customers," said William Nobbe and Co. human resources manager Julie Stern. "I know the economy is hurting and so many are losing their jobs due to layoffs or closures.

"This just makes us realize, even more, how lucky our industry is to be able to not only to remain in business, but to have the opportunity to improve by building a new facility for our Cape and Jackson stores to move into," Stern said.

* Father and son team opening sports bar: Randolph and Will Rhymer have always wanted to open a bar together, but things never panned out. This week their dream comes true with the opening of Rhymer's at 10 Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau.

Will, Randolph's son, said the sports bar will have 11 beers on tap, including three from Missouri.

Other features are five televisions, including one 55-inch high-definition television showing games featuring the St. Louis Cardinals or other Missouri-affiliated teams, dart boards, 10 patio tables on the patio along with sound from the ballgames for those customers and pool tables.

Will, who previously worked at Buffalo Wild Wings as a bartender, said he hopes to start pool leagues and tournaments.

"It's been interesting," Will said of the father-son combination. "I've been giving my dad bartender lessons and he's been taking online courses at night to learn the ropes better. We're excited about what lies ahead."

Rhymer's will be open 8 a.m to 1:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday. The phone number is 334-5157. The bar is in the area known as Independence Center, a 27-unit shopping center behind the Town Plaza.

* Lender expands into Cape Girardeau: Tower Loan, a lender serving more than 150,000 customers in 125 cities, has opened an office at 121 S. Broadview, Suite 9, in Cape Girardeau. The company makes loans ranging from $500 to $50,000.

Headquartered in Jackson, Miss., Tower Loan began in 1936 when consumer finance was relatively new. Tower Loan can be reached at 332-1919.

Southeast Missourian business reporter Brian Blackwell may be reached at 388-3628 or bblackwell@semissourian.com.;