Florissant man buys Broadway houses

No doubt you've seen them. And if you have, you've seen the for-sale signs.

I'm talking about a row of houses on Broadway in Cape Girardeau, the ones that sit across the street from McDonald's.

There are actually six houses for sale there, and people have been asking me about them for weeks. So when "sale pending" and "sold" popped up on two of them, I made a few calls.

Here's what I found out: A sale is pending for two of the houses, the ones at 2004 and 2014 Broadway. Real estate agent Jo Duff tells me the new buyer, who is from out of town, bought four lots there -- the two houses and the lots that sit on either side.

That adds up to about 200 feet of valuable Broadway frontage.

According to the homes' owner -- former Cape Girardeau resident Frank Masters, now of Jefferson City -- the deal is set to close May 31 to a man named Nicholas Pappas of Florissant, Mo.

Masters said that he doesn't know what the man intends to do with the homes, one of which was built in 1932 and was lived in by his parents until his mother died in 2002.

Pappas' son, Phil Pappas, is a chiropractor in Jackson, and he said his father doesn't know what he wants to do with the property yet.

* Krispy Kreme coming to Cape, Jackson: OK, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are coming to Cape Girardeau and Jackson, but not in the way you think -- not yet.

Drury Southwest announced last week that their D-Mart Convenience stores in Cape Girardeau and Jackson will begin selling Krispy Kremes starting this Thursday. Brad Smith, who supervises the Citgo D-Mart on Farrar Drive and the D-Mart on North High Street in Jackson, said that the company has been looking at selling Krispy Kremes since 1998.

"But they weren't looking at the area then," he said. "But they're doing extremely well in St. Louis and wanting to expand now."

He said a salesman is establishing 14 or 15 stops on Interstate 55 where the doughnuts can be bought. The doughnuts will be delivered daily.

Smith doesn't think this means that Krispy Kreme isn't looking at building a free-standing store here.

"In fact, they indicated they're running these routes to see what kind of market there would be," he said. "They said if it works, within a year, they might put a store in."

I've heard they are also working on deals to sell them at Rhodes 101 and are going to sell some directly from some area grocery stores.

* American Cancer Society moving: The American Cancer Society is holding a ribbon-cutting for its new offices at 106 Farrar Drive, Suite 104, at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. An open house will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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