Co-owner of Perryville Re/Max buying Cape branch

Denise Glass, a 15-year real estate agent, thinks Re/Max can have an even bigger presence in Cape Girardeau.

But it would be hard for her to make that happen from her offices in Perryville, Mo., at Re/Max Realty Experts. That's why she and her two daughters -- Brandy Balsman and Tracey Hagan -- are in the process of buying Re/Max Achievers in Cape Girardeau.

The deal is expected to close Thursday, when they will buy the 10-agent company from Gary Streiler and Bruce McClard. (Glass and her business partner, Donna Meyer, will still own the Perryville operation.)

The new Cape Girardeau Remax will be called Re/Max Realty Experts. The business will retain all 10 agents, but the offices will be relocated from 107 S. Broadview St. to the former spot of Eugene's Day Spa at Crossroads Village near the corner of Independence Street and Kingshighway.

Glass and her daughters will work out of the Cape Girardeau office full time.

"We just saw an opportunity for the Re/Max system to expand in the Cape Girardeau area," she said. "We felt it needed a stronger presence."

* Starr's closing ... not Rogers: I can understand how some advertisement watchers were confused last week.

The ad, which ran a few times in the last two weeks, is an open letter from "Rogers Jewelers & Starr's Jewelers." The ad says that eight Rogers and Starr's Jewelers are going out of business after a short sale.

Well, at West Park Mall there are a couple of jewelry stores.

There's a Starr's.

And there's a Rogers.

So managers at both locations have been getting calls asking, Are you the store that's going out of business?

Here's where it gets confusing. (I'll try to be succinct, never an easy chore for me.) But the answer is that Starr's is the mall store that is going out of business, along with other stores owned by the same company in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.

The ad mentions Rogers because that is the name of the company that owns the Starr's Jewelry store. When the company came to town, there already was a Rogers store at the mall, so it called the store Starr's.

Meanwhile, the OTHER Rogers, the one that was already here, the one that is actually NAMED Rogers at our mall, is based in Middletown, Ohio.

"I would think the same thing if I lived in that city," said Richard Isroff, executive vice president of operations for Rogers Jewelers. "But we're not going anywhere."

In fact, Isroff said the company is making a profit at West Park Mall.

"I don't want to mislead; retail is not a picnic," he said. "We'd like to see more growth. But we're running in the plus for the year. Overall, it's very good."

So to recap: Starr's is closing. Rogers isn't.

Glad I could clear that up.

* More on Wendy's in Jackson: I reported a rumor last week. It seems there was some truth to it. (I love when that happens.)

I talked to Andrew Jordan, an operating partner of the Wendy's in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, and he informed me that Wendy's had no negotiations with Arby's.

"The fact is the landlord sold the real estate to another investment company, and that released us from our lease," he said. "So we opted not to renegotiate with the new owner for a new lease. The rumors were out there that we sold to Arby's, and we didn't."

Jordan said it was his understanding that the new land owner is going to release the property to an Arby's restaurant group.

Technically, Jordan said, the Jackson Wendy's must be vacated from the property no later than Nov. 2, but the Jackson Wendy's will close before that. He said the Cape Girardeau Wendy's will remain open. Jordan would not reveal who the past owner of the property was and said he didn't know what Arby's group bought the property.

I'll share more as I learn it.

* New Country Pride owner: Michelle Elmer has taken over Country Pride Antique Mall in Benton, Mo., from previous owner Delano Hobbs, who has retired. Elmer said she has been there working for Hobbs since it opened more than a year ago.

"My personal reason for wanting to own it is that I helped build it up," she said. "I want to take it to the next level."

That includes putting antiques on the mall's new Web site, www.countryprideantiquemall.com. The deal was effective March 1.

* Studio Design under new ownership: Studio Design, a styling salon at 229 S. Broadview St., has been purchased by Sarah Puls, who bought it from Jeanne Pruitt and took over about a week ago. Puls most recently worked at Eugene's until it closed.

Pam Glastetter, a hairdresser and nail technician there who worked at J.C. Penney's for 14 years, also tells me that they've added a new private manicure and pedicure room.

Scott Moyers is the business editor of the Southeast Missourian. Send your comments, business news, information or questions to "Biz Buzz," 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699, or e-mail them to smoyers@semissourian.com or call (573) 335-6611, extension 137.