Strip club opens in East Cape

These poles aren't for firefighters.

The Big Blue Martini opened last week in East Cape Girardeau, Ill., as more than 200 bleary-eyed patrons shelled out five bucks a pop to get an eyeful of our area's newest strip club. Plus tips.

"It was awesome," said manager Carol Kellison.

I'm sure it was.

Kellison said her boss, owner David Capps, told her it was the biggest opening night he'd had at any of his clubs. Capps and his wife, Stephanie, who live in Paducah, Ky., own several strip clubs throughout the Midwest.

And Kellison knows how to drum up some business. I asked her how people knew that the strip club was opening. I hadn't seen any advertisements, and it wasn't mentioned in any news story I had seen. Kellison went around to all the downtown Cape Girardeau bars and told the bartenders.

"You tell all the bartenders and you really have told everybody," she said.

Brilliant.

They've also provided a way for people to get there for free. They have a contract with Designated Driver. Hop in one of the taxi service's vans, and they'll take you there and back. For free.

The official grand opening is at least a month away. Kellison told me some of the interesting ideas for the grand opening, though she said it was off the record for now. Trust me, it's a little different.

The Big Blue Martini is also working to book some "big names" to come to the club, including adult film stars and magazine pin-ups.

No judgment from me. The East Cape Girardeau mayor says he didn't object because the town needs sales-tax revenue. And I'm sure that's the reason most of the people are going.

* Kerasotes remodeled: If you've been to the Kerasotes movie theater at the Town Plaza in Cape Girardeau lately, you've noticed a lot of work going on. Tim Johnson, director of operations for the 79-theater company, said all five auditoriums have received new wall furnishings, screens, digital sound systems and new carpet.

"It's not completely done yet," he said. "There's some interior wall work being done. We're refurbishing all the seats, and we've installed cup-holders."

Kerasotes has also repositioned the seats, Johnson said, to give better viewing angles. The rest rooms have gotten a touch-up, too, with new vanities.

So I asked Johnson if the remodeling work snuffs out the possibility of a new Kerasotes theater here, which has been long rumored.

Johnson said it doesn't.

He pointed out that last week the company opened a 12-screen theater in Springfield, Ill., two years after doing a remodeling job.

"This does not mean the other thing is out of the question," Johnson said. "We just didn't see it in the forseeable future."

* K's Merchandise opens Cape distribution warehouse: It appears Cape Girardeau will benefit from the reorganization of K's Merchandise by gaining a distribution warehouse on Nash Road.

Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place, Ltd. announced the retailer had leased warehouse facilities at 4780 Nash Road. The newly organized 50-year-old family-run business will occupy 56,500 square feet there to receive, store and ship merchandise -- primarily furniture -- to some of its retail locations, including Cape Girardeau, Paducah, and Carbondale, Ill.

Kelsey said the company had been working for about three weeks on the lease transaction, which was finalized just over a week ago. He confirmed the first trucks arrived on last Monday to begin using the Cape Girardeau warehouse, a portion of the former Nestle Purina distribution center that was used by the company's Kitty Litter division for many years. The 278,000-square-foot warehouse is owned by Penzel & Co. Inc. and contains several other industrial tenants. Kelsey represents the warehouse owner, and Debbie Jennings with RE/MAX Achievers represented K's in this lease transaction.

The Decatur, Ill.,-based retailer operates 17 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Kentucky. Gordon Brothers Group, a Boston-based merchant banking and finance company, announced last week that an out-of-court settlement between K's and its creditors is imminent. It was unclear how many jobs the new Cape Girardeau distribution warehouse would create.

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.