Repairs on Chan's start today

Good news for all you Chan's junkies -- work is beginning today to repair the popular Cape Girardeau Chinese restaurant that was damaged by a fire in January. The extensive construction work is expected to be finished in September.

The work is being done by Denali Construction, a Drury-owned company. Ed Thompson of Denali said that a realistic time frame for the work is about two months. It should open shortly after that.

Building permits were approved by the city last Tuesday, he said. So much damage was done to the building at 1159 N. Kingshighway that plans had to be redrawn to make sure the building met all city codes.

"The damage was so severe, we couldn't just build it the way it was," Thompson said. "We had to update what was there to bring it up to existing codes. ... It's a very time-consuming process."

The fire happened about a year after Peter Chan retired and leased the building to Nicky Liu, a cook at Chinatown Buffet who had taken over and changed the name to the New Chan's. Liu is in New York, Thompson said, and I couldn't reach Peter Chan.

By the way, the fire started when an outdoor neon sign was left on overnight and caught fire. Right after the fire, Chan -- who still owns the building -- told me the cost would be about $200,000. He's still in the country until the work is done and he plans to then return to Hong Kong.

* Eugene's closed: Saturday marked the last day for Eugene's Total Care Salon and Spa in Cape Girardeau. Owner Martha Parsons said she simply was ready to move on to something new.

Her husband of 25 years, Eugene, the spa's founder, died about a year and a half ago. Parsons said it was difficult personally to work at a business that reminded her so much of her husband. When he died, her heart went out of it.

"I was just ready to do something different," she said. "This was Eugene's."

Don't be surprised to see her doing something else in a similar business, she said. But for now, she's going to look for a job doing something else.

* LoDo's on again?: It seems I may have prematurely reported the death of LoDo's last week. While co-owner Mike Risch did suggest to me that the chances seemed slim of the closed-down martini bar reopening again, the other business owner, LoDo's spokesman Brad Pool, said it will happen, perhaps by the end of the year.

Stay tuned for details.

* Unemployment rates drop: The Missouri Department of Economic Development is reporting that statewide unemployment has reached the lowest level since May 2001.

According to the DED, Missouri's unemployment fell two-tenths of a point to 4.4 percent in May, the lowest unemployment rate since May 2001.

Missouri saw this decrease in most areas across the state in May with more than half of the counties experiencing larger unemployment rate decreases than the state percentage. May unemployment rates were:

* Columbia: 2.9 percent (May 2005 -- 3.6 percent)

* Jefferson City: 3.5 percent (May 2005: 4.4 percent)

* Kansas City: 4.4 percent (May 2005: 5.5 percent)

* St. Joseph: 4.1 percent (May 2005: 5.8 percent)

* St. Louis: 4.6 percent (May 2005: 5.4 percent)

* Springfield: 3.3 percent (May 2005: 4.3 percent)

Here are some some more relevant local stats:

* Cape Girardeau County: 3.8 percent (May 2005: 4.6 percent)

* City of Cape Girardeau: 4.3 percent (May 2005: 5.0 percent)

* Perry County: 3.2 percent (May 2005: 4.3 percent)

* Bollinger County: 5.0 percent (May 2005: 6.0 percent)

* Food prices drop slightly in second quarter: Retail food prices dropped nationwide according to the American Farm Bureau's Marketbasket Survey, an informal survey of grocery store prices.

Compared with the first quarter of 2006, food prices in the second quarter were down 82 cents overall for 16 standard food items, and 1.5 percent less than the second quarter of last year.

"Missourians paid even less in the second quarter than the national average," said Diane Olson, director of promotion and education for the Missouri Farm Bureau. "Here in Missouri, food prices dropped $3.13 since the first quarter, making the same 16 food items $2.77 less than the average of the rest of the states."

Nationally, 11 of the 16 food items decreased in price during the second quarter. Cheddar cheese showed the largest decrease, down 38 cents to $3.51 a pound. Other food items decreasing nationwide were ground chuck, mayonnaise, whole milk, corn oil, sirloin tip roast, flour, vegetable oil, large eggs, pork chops and bacon.

Food items to increase in price on the national level were russet potatoes, up 27 cents for a five pound bag; white bread, up nine cents for a 20 ounce loaf; apples, up eight cents a pound; and whole fryers, up five cents a pound. The only item not to change from the first quarter nationally was toasted oat cereal.

"Americans spend less than 10 percent of their disposable income on food," Olson said, "which is the lowest average of any country in the world. Farmers, meanwhile, receive only 22 cents of each food dollar."

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.