Italian gelato coming to Cape in July

Dr. Michael Jessup wants you to know that his new frozen desert shop that opens in July is not selling custard. (I think a certain Biz Buzz writer may have referred to it as that in a previous column.) It's not even ice cream as you've come to know it.

It's called gelato, an Italian ice cream that is denser, more icy and often more flavorful than American ice cream.

Jessup pointed out that American ice cream is really a lot of air, often consisting of anywhere from 35 to 50 percent air. Gelato has only 1 percent air.

"Not having that much air really brings the flavor back," Jessup said.

The new Cozmo's building is nearly complete at 1929 Independence St. Gourmet coffee, cinnamon rolls and sorbetto -- fat-free gelato -- will also be available along with the 48 flavors of gelato, he said.

Cozmo's will have a "futuristic" decor and will include free wi-fi and will be open seven days a week. He plans to have it open in early July.

Cintas Corp. to relocate, expand: Cintas Corp. will relocate its branch office in Cape Girardeau to 141 Sheridan Drive. The new expanded facility of nearly 6,000 square feet will include operation offices, showroom and warehouse service areas. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs and provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional products, first aid and safety products, fire protection services and document management services for about 700,000 businesses nationwide.

Tom Kelsey, commercial broker for Lorimont Place Ltd., represented the building owner in the lease transaction. Kelsey said the company is relocating from West End Boulevard and Bloomfield Street, the former location of Lynch Fire Protection. Cintas acquired the longtime company recently and incorporated this operation into their fire protection division. Cintas is headquartered in Cincinnati. Thomas M. Meyer of Exit Realty Thomas Meyer Associates represented the tenant.

Cintas operates 351 facilities in the United States and Canada, including 14 manufacturing plants and seven distribution centers that employ more than 30,000 people. Sales last year topped $3 billion. Cintas expects to occupy its new expanded Cape Girardeau office and warehouse in June.

Grass Roots BMW sold: Herb C. Anderson bought Grass Roots BMW at 28 S. Spanish St. from John Simmons. Simmons had owned the BMW motorcycle business for more than two years and had worked there a long time before that, Anderson said.

Anderson, of Murray, Ky., is in the process of relocating to Cape Girardeau. He has been in the motorcycle industry for a number of years, most recently as general manager of Hannigan Motorsports in Murray.

Anderson has about 400,000 miles logged on BMW motorcycles. He started out as a customer of Grass Roots.

"I thought it would be fine to own a BMW dealership," he said. "Then I went on a Mexican riding adventure with John in the fall and we started talking about it."

Grass Roots started out 30 years ago in Carbondale, Ill., and was relocated to Cape Girardeau about 14 years ago, Anderson said. The closest BMW motorcycle dealership, outside of Grass Roots, is in Memphis, Tenn.

Simmons has stayed on with the company and still maintains a partnership position. Dave Hutson of Hutson's Fine Furniture and Andy Adams of Murray are also partners.

Downtown building getting a makeover: Work is continuing this week at 116 N. Main St., the downtown Cape Girardeau building nestled between Kids Wear Again and S Gregg Gallery.

The building has a long history in Cape Girardeau, starting out as the Canz bakery in the late 1800s. Later, it was a First National Bank and for many years it was Vogelsanger Hardware.

After sitting vacant for years, Dennis Vollink and his son, Matt, bought the building a year and a half ago. Vollink is the president of Drury Southwest. The Vollinks have renovated the building, including converting the back area that faces Water Street into three condominium apartments. Then they remodeled the Main Street frontage with the intent of leasing it out for retail or office space.

Because the Vollinks are using state and federal preservation tax credits, the entire structure, including the front facade, is subject to federal standards to maintain the building's historic integrity.

But the state didn't like the exterior work, which was a stucco material.

"They wanted us to remove that," Dennis Vollink said. "It apparently wasn't the right material to use. It's not historic enough. ... There were some communication problems early on."

So the work going on there today -- and for the next two weeks or so -- is essentially to remove the entire front of the building and rebuild it with wood and glass to maintain a historic feel.

But once the work is done, Vollink said, it will be available for lease. The 1,000-square-foot storefront would make a good office or retail spot, he said.

Jus' Teasin': Owner Trina Stephens describes her new business, Jus' Teasin', at 2532 William St. a "spa-like hair salon." The new salon offers colors, perms, cuts, facial waxing, massage therapy, acrylic nails, manicures and spa pedicures. Spray tanning is coming soon as well as facial services like microderm abrasions, skin peels and facial masks.

Sprint store closed: Sprint's corporate offices have decided to close their Cape Girardeau Sprint retail office at 204 N. Kingshighway. Manager Tracy Mapes said that the suits at Sprint feel that the Cape Girardeau market is too small and wasn't bringing in enough money to warrant the retail office here.

Mapes, meanwhile, has taken a job at Connect-Rite, Robin Cole's wireless and voice-over IP telephone provider in Cape Girardeau.

* Antiques and More, a new antique shop at 900 W. Cape Rock Drive, has a regular schedule now. Owner Lenora Widner tells me that they're open Wednesday through Saturday. The store features antiques and crafts.

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.