ANTIQUE BUSINESS PROSPERS; DOWNTOWN PROVIDES HOME TO MANY SHOPS

Old is suddenly "in" in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Travelers on Interstate 55 and other highways in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois are turning their attention to a number of businesses in the downtown area as they search for everything from Depression-era glassware to Elvis and, or, Marilyn Monroe memorabilia.

Business is booming at Heartland Emporium, a large building which stretches a full block between Main and Spanish in downtown Cape Girardeau. The structure is filled from wall to wall with antiques and collectibles.

When Greg Hahs opened the antique emporium near the Mississippi River in November, 25 dealers leased space in the mall-like facility. Six months later there are 31 dealers, and Hahs is anticipating opening the second floor of the two-story building, which at one time housed JCPenney and later the Rivertown Center mini-mall.

Downtown merchants were pleased to see the new business open in their area.

"All of a sudden it seemed like you woke up one day and there were a couple dozen of new shops in the downtown area," said Evelyn Boardman, a former antique dealer who decided to renew her antique acquaintance with a shop in the new mall. Boardman also operates a specialty-gift and fashion-accessories retail store at 31 N. Main.

Fellow antique shop owners say a spirit of cooperation exists between Heartland stores and other antique businesses that encourage their customers to visit other shops in the immediate area.

"We have the Heartland operation and three other antique-collectible operations within a block of each other," said Harlan Smothers, who operates Smothers Antiques, 221 Independence. "This is good. People who hunt antiques usually look for the oldest section of town in their search. The more shops they can find the better."

Smothers' shop is the oldest antique store in the downtown area.

"I opened here eight years ago," he said. "We welcome the Heartland operation."

When one antique store doesn't have what customers are looking for, shop owners and employees usually direct them to other stores that carry the items.

"If we don't have it, we'll send consumers to other shops in the area," said Hahs. "Even if we have items a customer wants, we'll suggest that they visit other shops before leaving the area."

A small area of downtown Cape Girardeau is devoted to antiques. That includes Heartland, which is the city's first and largest antique mall, at 5 N. Main or 5 N. Spanish, and Smothers.

Within throwing distance of these two operations are Croxton's Antiques, 109 Independence, owned by Geraldine Croxton, and Hansen's Collectibles, 210 Independence, which opened recently.

Also in the immediate area are Second Act, a consignment operation at 2 N. Main that features many items, including some antiques and collectibles; and two baseball card and memorabilia operations, Baseball Cards Unlimited, 113 Independence, and Broadway Sports Cards on North Main.

"Downtown is where the action is," said Lee Ann Hansen. "We opened our shop three weeks ago and like the traffic we're getting." Hansen and Tim Hansen are owners of the new shop.

Croxton, who opened Croxton Antiques almost three years ago, likes the downtown area.

"A lot of people visit the downtown area looking for antiques," she said. "It's great to see people coming back downtown."

Smothers agreed: "People look for antiques, collectibles, specialty shops and restaurants in the downtown area. With Cape Girardeau being located on the river, that makes us even more attractive.

"The concept of the antique mall is simple and clear," said Hahs. "It gives the chance for dealers to find a haven from high, store rents and the hassle of running a shop. "They can leave their collectibles here, we'll sell them, and the dealers have more time to go out and find more collectibles."

Another big asset to the dealers and customers is that with so many dealers under one roof, collectors of everything from dolls and military collectibles to vintage clothing and porcelain, primitives, books, and other paper memorabilia are likely to attract larger crowds.

"It helps when other antique shops can be found nearby," said Hahs. "Here in downtown Cape Girardeau, shoppers can find more than 30 dealers in our place, and go to three other dealers within a block."

The large, downtown mall has room for 50 or 60 dealers, said Hahs.

Heartland has been in operation four years. Until November 1991, it was at the intersection of William and Sprigg, where space limited the operation to about 18 dealers.

"We have more than 13,000 square feet on the first floor in the new operation here," said Hahs. "We have another 13,000 square that we can open on the second floor."

Hahs said he tried to achieve a good mix of antique dealers. "We have dealers who specialize in glass, and others who specialize in paper items, furniture, toys and a number of other items."

Not too far away from the immediate downtown sector are other collectible operations: Attic Treasures, 318 S. Sprigg; Cooper's Collectibles, 320 S. Sprigg; and Country Pride Antiques, 715 Broadway.

Consumers can compare shop to shop, thus providing a highly specialized range of collectibles at a fair prices.