Restaurant succumbs to obstacles

A little more than a month ago, I featured two women with big plans and what seemed to be a solid friendship in a story about their new little restaurant on Broadway called Nehemiah's. Several alert readers have noticed the quick demise of the restaurant and asked what happened.

I've been trying to contact one of the partners, Loyce Poole, who put her name on the business license. I didn't have a number for Shauna Watson. The two had good food, understanding landlords and friends pitching in to help. They also seemed to have a solid business plan that included being open for food customers at their location near Sprigg Street late on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Just in time for the college crowd walking back to campus from downtown bars.

Without being able to reach the two ladies, I contacted building owner Craig Horky, who has put the building on the market with Century 21. Even he's not completely sure what happened. "It was a shock to me," he said. "I got it all second-hand."

An apparent falling out between Poole and Watson resulted in a need to go through various city licensing and inspections again, which proved too much of a hurdle, Horky said. "Sometimes partnerships don't work out," he said. "I just put it up for rent or sale and just go from there."

The location was home to Rose of Broadway for a number of years until it closed in 2005. Since then, the space has held two short-lived restaurants. The idea of sandwich shop/deli open late at night sounds pretty good. I'm often up at those hours, seeking out tips that will lead to stories. Well, that's MY story anyway.

Alert readers were the first to notice that Nehemiah's is gone. I've been tracking down leads on a number of reader questions, so here's some answers:

FedEx/Kinko's opens in October: The 1,397-square foot Fed­Ex/Kinko's store on William Street near Interstate 55 will be open on or about Oct. 1, said Dennis Brockmeyer, district manager for the company.

The location will be about one-third the size of a traditional Kinko's location, part of a massive expansion campaign by the company that will put up 300 stores by May 2008, Julia McConnell, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an interview from Dallas.

"There will be less of the self-service," McConnell said. "The smaller center is more aimed for smaller businesses and mobile professionals, kind of a one-stop shop for their needs."

Large jobs will be produced at a central facility in St. Louis, Brockmeyer said. Most jobs will have a fast turnaround, he said, shipped back to the retail store through FedEx, which bought Kinko's in 2004.

NASCAR fans will get a treat when the store opens, Brockmeyer said. The FedEx Kinko's No. 11 racer built by Joe Gibbs Racing will be on hand, although it is unlikely that driver Denny Hamlin will join the car.

In addition to the store in Cape Girardeau, FedEx/Kinko's will open eight more stores in the Southern Illinois, Southern Missouri region in the next 10 months, Brockmeyer said.

The new store will go into the property owned by Drury Development Corp. that will include a Starbucks coffee shop, set to open Oct. 15, and Bening Communications, which is open for business. There's another 1,397 square feet available, said Mark Kohl, development manager for Drury.

• Rowdy's/Krieger's building: The former Rowdy's All American Sports Grill at 2406 William St. will reopen with a new name, a new style and new owners by the end of October, one of the new owners said.

The partners in the new restaurant are Terry Bozzay, who operated Jimmi Yin's Grill and Wok on Manchester Road in St. Louis and Rusty Bean, who helped open the Outback Steak House in Cape Girardeau and more recently ran the Red Robin franchise in St. Louis.

Bozzay, 59, said he's been in the restaurant business his whole life. Bean, 44, will move to Cape Girardeau.

Prior to being Rowdy's, owned by Van Matre Investments, the property was a Krieger's Sports Grill, part of a St. Louis-based chain. The building is less than two years old.

Cynthia Austin of Realty Executives brokered the deal, and I've been pestering her for weeks about it since she put a notice that the property was under contract in the August issue of Business Today. She put the final touches on the deal Monday, she said, and put me in touch with the new owners.

Bozzay said he hopes to open within 60 days, and the partners, working under the name Merriwether Properties LLC, will offer upscale dining to be a counterpoint to the family/sports pub offerings of national chain franchises. He said it won't be white tablecloth dining but it will be an atmosphere of a restaurant with a bar, not a bar that serves food.

"We're trying to put a personal touch on it," Bozzy said.

Austin said she's excited about the new venture. "I am looking forward to seeing what they have to offer us. It is going to be a different thing."

• Meineke comes to Cape Girardeau: A Meineke Car Center will open in Cape Gir­ar­deau on the property between McAlister's Deli and El Acapulco Restaurant on south Mount Auburn Road, said Tom Kelsey of Lorimont Place Ltd.

The car care center will be built on the north end of the 1.3 acre site, Kelsey said, with a two-level office center possibly to follow.

Meineke, founded in 1972 in Houston, today operates 900 locations, mostly franchises. The Cape Girardeau franchise will be owned by Randy Lemotte of Ste. Genevieve, Mo. An opening date hasn't been announced.

• K's Merchandise location: While I had Kelsey on the phone, I asked him whether anything's moving on the old K's Merchandise building at 371 S. Broadview St. The 98,121-square-foot building, on the market for $2.1 million, has been empty since Christmas.

While Kelsey said he's been "working some prospects," there are no takers at this point. The building, or a portion of it, is also available for leasing, he said.

• SMC Electric to hold grand opening: A grand opening for SMC Electric's new building at 2333 Rusmar St. in Cape Girardeau will be held Sept. 27. The building, which opened for business July 9, includes 27,500 feet of warehouse space and 6,400 feet of office and training spaces, the company said in a news release. Founded in 1950, SMC Electric Supply was acquired by Schott Electric in 1998, and has 10 locations in Missouri and one in Kansas.

Final note: Several people have called to ask about the development behind Lynnwood Baptist Church off Route W. It will be a residential development called Walden Park. It will have owner-occupied and rental units, and that's about all I know right now. The company building it, Riverwest Construction, promises a full briefing later this week. Watch the blog, Rude Awakenings, or this space for more.

Rudi Keller is the business editor of the Southeast Missourian. Contact him at 335-6611, extension 126