EAGLE ONE ACQUIRES LOUISIANA TERRITORY

A Missouri company is expanding into Louisiana Territory.

Eagle One Inc., headquartered in Cape Girardeau, has acquired the Louisiana territory of New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette for its Eagle Snacks food products.

Eagle Snacks, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc., founded in 1979, has established itself as one of the fastest growing and most innovative firms in the snack food industry.

Eagle One Inc. was founded in 1991 by James Rust, representing Eagle Snacks as the regional distributor headquartered in Cape Girardeau.

Three other partners Mike Edwards and Clyde Nenninger of Cape Girardeau and Mike Watson of Jackson joined Eagle One in 1992.

"We're very optimistic about the potential in Louisiana," said Edwards, vice president of Eagle One. "It has been a neglected area.

"We see a wonderful opportunity in the Louisiana territory," added Edwards. "There's lot of room for growth and we're thrilled to be a part of that growth."

Rust, president of Eagle One, and Edwards are spearheading efforts in Louisiana.

"We'll be visiting the area frequently, talking with old customers and prospective new customers," said Edwards.

The newly acquired Louisiana territory has a population of 2.8 million, and is currently serviced by eight Eagle Snack routes.

The Cape Girardeau-based Eagle One company is one of the only Eagle Snack operations in the U.S. which owns its own over-the-road tractor trailers.

The air-ride suspension system provides superior delivery of products, resulting in less breakage of chips and products. Eagle One picks up full trailer loads twice a week at Fayetteville, Tenn.

The population of the Cape Girardeau-based territory is about 250,000 and is supported by six Eagle Snack routes. Eagle Snack's market share in this territory represents about 20 percent.

Eagle One's Missouri territory includes seven counties and a portion of three additional counties, ranging from Cape Girardeau County to most of Jefferson County in South St. Louis.

Kenny Rayfield, who has worked at Eagles Snacks since 1987, is general manager for the Missouri Territory. Rayfield, who has been in the snack food industry since 1984, is a native of Ironton. He and his wife now live in Cape Girardeau.

The new Louisiana territory includes 25 parishes in southern-most Louisiana. With the new territory, Eagle One plans include a second tractor trailer to service the New Orleans-based territory.

Eddie Bowman has been named general manager of the Louisiana Territory. Bowman, a native of New Orleans, has worked for Eagle Snacks since 1988 and has been in the snack food industry for 15 years. He and his wife live in Metairie, La., near New Orleans.

The Eagle One Louisiana Territory office is situated on West Airline Highway in Kenner, La.

The Eagle Snack story has been a successful one. The snacks were initially distributed in taverns and lounges by Anheuser-Busch beer distributors and later expanded to airports for sampling on major airlines.

In 1982, Eagle Snack's distribution was tested on a limited basis in grocery and convenience stores. A broad distribution effort to all stores east of the Rockies was started in 1985, and today the company distributes a full line of snack foods to grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants and mass merchandisers.

Eight years after the introduction of national distribution, Eagle Snacks has positioned itself as the second largest manufacturer of salty snacks in the U.S.

Laura Younghouse, executive vice president with Cutmart Industries for more than a dozen years, is president of a new corporation -- Midwest Energy.

The corporation operates Ye Ole House, a collectibles and gift shop at 120 Broadway, as well as the seven former Cutmart stores in Missouri.

"We'll be marketing the previous Cutmart stores under the name, Amerimart," said Younghouse, who leased the Cutmart operation from Wesley Investments of Cape Girardeau when the president of that corporation retired.

The new gift shop opened Friday in downtown Cape Girardeau, on the first level of the old Kage House. The top two levels of the three-story building is utilized as corporate and accounting offices.

"We have porcelain and Santa Claus dolls in our collectible line," said Younghouse. "Among the gift items are music carousels, all types of figurines, jewelry, western wear and unique sweatshirts and holiday jackets."

The Amerimart operation will include seven Missouri stores, including locations in Cape Girardeau, Fredericktown, Fruitland and other communities.

Another company included in Younghouse's operation is All Star Transportation, a four-truck operation which hauls fuel into four states.

The Sewing Basket has opened at West Park Village in Cape Girardeau.

The new business, formerly Pat's Fabric Outlet, was purchased during the summer by Corena Miller and Doris Koeberl. The fabric outlet store had been in business 12 years at a location on Highway 61, between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. Since September it has been located at 2504 William.

The business offers a complete line of sewing accessories, including sewing machines, fabrics and notions.

"We also offer sewing classes," said Miller.

Business hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Blockbuster Video is coming to Cape Girardeau next month.

The video rental and sales business will occupy more than 5,400 square feet in West Park Village, along William.

Blockbuster has more than 3,200 stores. The local store will offer some 10,000 video titles for rent and about 2,000 titles for sale.

Jeff Rosenberg, vice president of the franchisee, Florida-based Bluegrass Video, said the store will stock videos in six categories, including 1,000 different games.

Glik Stores, a 96-year-old family owned apparel company headquartered at Granite City, Ill., opened its 37th store in Rolla last week.

The new store, which features sportswear for men and women, is located at Forum Plaza.

The company operates stores throughout Missouri and Illinois under the names of Glik's, Glik's Ltd., Glik's for Guys, Glik Sports and Glik's $10 and less.

Two more stores are expected to open this month, at Farmington, Mo., and Decatur, Ill.

A Glik's Ltd. store is situated in West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau.

Kowloon Chinese Buffet has opened in Cape Girardeau.

The new restaurant, located at 2146 William and owned by Sonnie Lam, features a variety of more than 20 different varieties on its buffet. Lam also will feature special orders from Kowloon's menu of Mandarin, Szechwan, Hunan and Cantonese style foods.

The building, which previously housed Ponderosa Restaurant, has been completely refurbished with Chinese decor, including Chinese chandeliers, wall hangings and ceiling tile. New carpets have been installed, along with three large aquariums housing Chinese fish.

Direct Maytag Home Appliance Center opened in Cape Girardeau last week.

Gerald Flood and his wife, Connie, of Cape Girardeau are owners of the new business at 1407 N. Kingshighway. Direct Maytag features a complete line of Maytag home appliances refrigerators, stoves, wall ovens, microwave ovens, garbage disposals, washers and dryers.

The new store will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

A fast-food Chinese Restaurant will open at 1731 Broadway in Cape Girardeau in the near future.

A Carbondale couple has purchased the property and are in the process of renovating the building. Bob Price of Cape Realty handled the transaction.

Design Associates, a former Cape Girardeau firm, has been purchased and is being moved to Jackson, One-Price Clothing and Pretzel Time are new additions at West Park Mall, and Pier One Imports has undergone a complete remodeling at West Park Mall. Permits also have been issued for a new restaurant and a seven-bay car wash facility on Mt. Auburn Road. I also understand that the Body Shoppe will be moving to downtown Cape Girardeau this month. More details on these happenings later.