Landscape Magic offers mulch made from tires

smoyers

Landscape Magic, Cape Girardeau's new wholesalers in a new kind of mulch, has opened at 1204 Meadowbrook. Owner Barbara Howard said that the business is unusual because it offers Rubberific mulch.

This kind of mulch is made from 100 percent recyclable tires. The product has been tested and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, so it is safe for landscaping use, Howard said. This product has also been approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for the use on playgrounds; they deemed this the safest material as it has the best fall rate of any surfacing, she said.

The mulch was created to help keep landscapes fresh looking year-round without the hassle and costs of re-mulching every six months. Several years of research resulted in this non-toxic, environmentally safe product.

It can be purchased in 1,000-pound boxes or 16-pound bags, she said.

"It's a relatively new product," Howard said. "It's going to just replace the woodchips completely because you don't have to replace it."

She said it comes in seven colors and minimizes dust, retains ground moisture and is five times heavier than conventional mulch.

Howard predicts success.

"Once I get the word out, and people trust it's going to do what I tell them it's going to do, it will take off great," she said. "I'm getting a good response now."

Deal closes on Mr. K's

The First Assembly of God has closed the deal that makes them the owners of the 60,000-square-foot building at 254 Silver Springs Road that used to be Mr. K's Food Center and Shop 'n' Save before that.

David Donley, a member of the church currently at 750 N. Mount Auburn Road who also is brokering the sale of the property, said the church took possession of the property Thursday. Donley is also a real estate agent at Commercial Real Estate Specialists Inc.

Donley said most of the preliminary architectural drawings are done and a contractor has been hired and work should start in the next two weeks to turn the former grocery store into a 1,100-seat sanctuary.

"We're gutting it and starting all over," Donley said. "Our day care is going to move there and we're going to be building Sunday school classrooms and meeting rooms."

Quickly

B&H Performance Automotive has opened at 209 S. Sprigg by co-owners Willard Bolt. The shop will do auto repair and detailing, Bolt said.

Strickland Engineering in Jackson, Mo., has moved from its old address to 113 W. Main in a move to triple its space for the growing business. The 20-year-old Jackson business is a consulting engineering firm for mechanical, land surveying, plumbing, electrical and civil engineering.

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