Taking care of business in Cape

Five weeks. That's how long my bosses think it takes a reporter to become acclimated to Cape Girardeau enough to write a decent business column. Let's hope they're right.

Let me start with a little background. I was raised in a small town of 312 people in Miller County in central Missouri. My father owned one of two convenience store/markets in town. As far as other business, it was mostly farming. That's probably why when I got to college at MU in Columbia and found out I could have food I didn't have to kill delivered cooked to my door, well ... let's just say my freshman 15 turned into 40. All right, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not as much as you'd think.

Anyway, to make a long story short: journalism school to freelance writer to married to a fellow former journalism student to smalltown weekly newspaper to Cape.

So what qualifies me to be your business columnist? Here's what I have to offer.

Business experience: In addition to being a lifelong consumer, my family owned and ran its own business. This means I know the basics. I know that it's not a good idea to spend more than you make, especially when your next meal depends on it.

Business education: I'll be honest. Econ 4 was the only C minus I got in college. As a result, it was also the only business-related course I took at MU.

Business opinions: We all have them, I'm no exception. I don't like it when my meal's overcooked or when I pay too much for gas. But even though this is an editorial space, you won't see a lot of my opinions in this column. This space is for you, the readers, and the area business community. Be it a mathematical certainty or a rumor you heard, if you get it to me, I'll do my best to verify it and get it in here.

So without further delay, here's what I know now:

Saffron owner buys former home: Su Hill, owner of Saffron, recently bought the building her Thai eatery, Manee Thai, had previously occupied on the 1300 block of Broadway in Cape Girardeau. Hill merged Manee Thai's menu with that of Saffron and vacated the building last summer. The new landlady said that she has no reason to think that her new tenants, Cafe Azu and the Air Force Recruitment Center, will be going anywhere anytime soon, but said she doesn't rule out the possibility of using the facility for her own business interests if the opportunity should arise in the future.

Hill also said that her plans for the old Keys Music Store building at 121 Broadway, which she also bought last year, are still at least a year away from materializing. She said she plans to open a pub-style restaurant in the first floor, and turn the upper floors into a boutique hotel.

A bigger Yellow Book: Yellow Book USA, a national phone book publisher with regional offices in the Lorimont Place development, will more than double its operational headquarters in Cape Girardeau. Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place Ltd., who handles the leasing at the development, said the company will move down Mount Auburn Road from 244 to 258. Its office space will expand from 1,136 square feet to 2,660 square feet.

Wright's is movin' on up: Tom Kelsey also mentioned that Dean Wright's Garage will move into the old Jiffy Lube building at 460 S. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Kelsey handled the sale and said that owners Dean and Mary Wright expect to be moved out of their present location at 916 Elm Street and in the new facility within the next two months.

Tony Rehagen is the business editor for the Southeast Missourian. Send your comments, business news, information or questions to That's What They Tell Me, 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699, e-mail trehagen@semissourian.com or call 335-6611, extension 137.