Phoenicia to reopen in mid-May

Almost two years to the day after it closed its doors, a new owner will open Phoenicia in mid-May, offering up the same Middle Eastern cuisine while adding a few touches of his own.

Sam Massarweh, who has been in restaurant management since 1986, tells me he is planning to reopen Phoenicia at 1000 N. Sprigg St. The restaurant closed in 2004 when owners Emad and Mimi Salamy moved to Canada after running it for 12 years.

Then, you'll remember, a Bavarian-style restaurant was there for a few minutes before it, too, closed.

Massarweh said that Emad Salamy, who owns the building, contacted him recently to see if he was interested in reopening Phoenicia. He was. He said his version of Phoenicia will include old favorites that Phoenicia fans enjoyed: gyros, hummus, baba ghannouj, falafels and baklava.

And Massarweh is getting some help from somebody who knows Middle Eastern food. Emad Salamy will be back in town for a while to help Massarweh prepare the menu and open the restaurant.

But Massarweh, whose resume includes Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel, Golden Corral and others, is adding a few vegetarian plates and American fare like chicken fingers, sandwiches and prime rib.

"I'm looking forward to everybody coming in," Massarweh said. "I want to continue the reputation that Phoenicia had."

* N'Orleans closed for lunch to remodel: One person asked me if the Royal N'Orleans had closed for good. To those of you who had dinner there last night, you already know the answer.

But it has been closed for lunch recently, owner Ed Radetic told me last week. It will continue to be closed for lunch the rest of this week for some light remodeling on the interior, he said. Radetic has crews doing some painting, changing equipment behind the bars and in the kitchen.

He's also tweaking the menu. He's rotating some less popular dishes out to make room for items like a new bone-in ribeye steak and a couple of new pasta items.

Radetic also gave me a few more clues on his new venture in the old Rufus Muddsucker's building on Main Street. He said it's not going to be a cocktail lounge, it's going to be a restaurant.

"It's going to have American cuisine in a more casual environment than N'Orleans," he said.

No exact timetable on when it's going to open, but Radetic said if he had to guess, it would probably be in mid-May. He's also working with an advertising agency to come up with a name.

* Schwabs sell Capetown RV: After more than 25 years of ownership, Jerry and Phyllis Schwab have sold Capetown RV Sales in to a Kentucky-based company, Youngblood RV Sales.

Longtime observers know that Jerry Schwab was partners with Richard Schockley. In the mid-1970s, they started a full-service car wash -- was it a Sinclair's? -- at Kingshighway and William Street where Illustrious Jack's is now.

In about 1980, they started selling folding trailers. Later, they started a "filling station" at Independence Street and West End Boulevard and got into the RV business.

In 1987, Capetown RV moved to Airport Road just off Interstate 55 and became a full-line trailer and motor home dealer. In 1993, the two men split, with Schockley taking the gas stations and Schwab taking the RV sales.

"So it's been growing and thriving," said general manager Don Hill. "But Jerry's in his early 60s now, and he's been wanting to retire."

About a year ago, he contacted Roger and Jerry Youngblood to see if they were interested in buying Capetown RV Sales.

The Youngbloods, who have RV sales in Paducah and Mayfield, were interested, said Roger Youngblood.

"It seemed like a good marriage with the product lines we have," he said. "As markets have grown, there is more competition in both areas. It was just a market we felt we could do something with. It had a good reputation, and it was already established. It had some strengths and operated the same way we do -- as a customer-service-oriented business."

Hill said it's been a good transition since the deal was finalized Jan. 3. All 17 employees have stayed on. Customers shouldn't notice many changes, he said.

"The only thing that's changed is the people who write the checks," he said.

* New Web business: Owners Gavin Page and Wesley Smith opened Netwide Webs last week in the Imperial Building at 1217 N. Kingshighway. It's a new Web site design company that also has created a Yellow Pages-type site. Check it out at www.semoyellowpages.com. That site hasn't been launched officially, but you can still visit and see what it is.

The site offers businesses a chance to list information about their business, pictures and a link to their own business Web sites from one site.

"There's nothing like this out there," Page said. "We're trying to build a better mousetrap."

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.