154 NEW BUSINESSES OPEN IN CAPE GIRARDEAU

A few more businesses opened than closed in Cape Girardeau last year, the city staff says.

Based on the number of business licenses issued last year, 154 businesses opened their doors to Cape Girardeau. Based on the number of business licenses that were canceled or weren't renewed, 146 businesses closed their doors.

"That's not surprising," said John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. "And most of the businesses that we're talking about are small businesses."

Small businesses that might have only lasted for a year or two or less filled much of the list of closed businesses, according to the staff in the business licensing office. Many of the businesses were operated out of homes, and the licenses were simply issued with the name of the business owner, listing no description of the type of business.

By the same token, many of the businesses that filled the list of new licensees were the same types of small businesses operated out of homes, providing services ranging from lawn mowing to sewing service and perhaps manufacturing products on a small scale.

The largest company to close last year in Cape Girardeau was Tri-Con Industries. The company once employed as many as 400 people, but when it closed a few months ago 190 people were out of a job.

Company officials said financial reasons forced the closure of the Cape Girardeau plant, which made automobile seatcovers.

Employees at the plant had recently voted to become a union.

"This wasn't good for the people that worked there," Mehner said, "But the city is still in good shape."

Mehner said although the city lost jobs in manufacturing, the rest of the county helped absorb that labor with many of the manufacturing firms outside the city limits. Although those companies aren't figured in the city's statistics, they greatly benefit the people of Cape Girardeau.

With county unemployment about 2.5 percent -- about 1.5 percent less than what the federal government considers to be full employment -- and Cape Girardeau's distinction as a regional retail hub, Mehner said businesses still consider opening here because of the eager-to-drive labor force from other counties in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois.

"People travel for miles to shop and eat in Cape Girardeau," he said. "They also drive here to work."

Mehner said the low unemployment isn't a concern; it is an "explanation point."

Businesses looking at those statistics need to know that the labor force also is drawn from many of the surrounding counties, he said. Many people drive several miles just to work in Cape Girardeau.

Because of its distinction as a retail hub, many of the big-name businesses the city attracts are in retail sales. In 1995, Target, Barnes & Noble, Heavenly Ham, Play It Again Sports, Hastings Books, Music & Video, Colortile and a half dozen restaurants were among the franchise names that opened their doors in Cape Girardeau.