New business with familiar name to open in old building in downtown Cape

Editor's note: This story has been edited from its original version to include the Family Learning Center in the building's timeline.

Alan Koeppel adds a fresh coat of paint to a wall on the second floor of the Indie House, Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

The building at 605 Broadway used to make Laurie Everett sad.

"I would stand up in our apartment across the street and look over here and just cry every time I would see it rain, because there are shingles missing on the roof for, like, years, and years of damage was happening to this plaster," Everett said.

But now Everett has breathed new life into the historic building.

Everett, owner of Annie Laurie's Antiques, also on Broadway, has puchased and renovated the large brick structure, which most recently housed Broadway Books and Roasting Co. It now is called The Indie House.

"This is going to be a multi-use property," Everett said. "The first floor will be used for retail spaces, and then there will also be a private party room."

Everett said the second floor will be used for artists' studios and office space, while an apartment occupies the third floor. A cottage behind the main building will open soon as a guest house, and a restroom and party room at the back of the building are works in progress.

"So we have a lot of moving parts," Everett said.

Everett and her husband, Rocky, bought the building about two months ago. She said the building, which had sat vacant for about four years, was in rough shape. All the radiators had to be removed because they were rusted through, and all the plumbing and wiring had to be replaced.

"When we turned the water on, it was shooting through the walls," Everett said.

Even though renovating a historic building poses a number of challenges, Everett clearly is up for it.

The Indie House is the third historic property the Everetts own, along with Annie Laurie's, formerly the Brinkopf-Howell Funeral Home, and a rental property on Middle Street.

"So I kind of know what's involved when it comes to these older homes, but I have a love affair with them," she said. "I just see their potential. ... Just because it was oringially built as a residence doesn't mean it still can't function in a different way and be enjoyed by a lot of different people."

Everett's own retail space in the building will be called Mother Earth by Annie Laurie's, reviving the name of a previous business to occupy the space.

Mother Earth, a plant store owned by Debbie Martin, moved into the building in 1979. Shortly after that, Martin, who lived in an upstairs apartment in the building, was killed.

The case remained cold for nearly 30 years until Max Allen Ellison Jr., a former Stoddard County sheriff's deputy, was charged with first-degree murder in April 2009.

Ellison died in August that year, before the case could go to trial.

Everett said she thought it would be neat to revive the name Mother Earth because so many people remember Martin's business.

"I live an an old funeral home across the street, so that stuff doesn't really bother me," Everett said. "It happened here, but I feel like by reviving Mother Earth, we're doing a service to Debbie."

Everett calls her version of Mother Earth a "curated mix of goods. All things Bohemian: plants, clothing, jewelry, essential oils -- just kind of all the things that I love."

The party room will be available for all types of parties, such as children's birthdays, showers and office gatherings.

Everett said the party hosts can have catering brought in, but she is looking at options for providing catering in the future.

In the meantime, she offers the space plus optional design services such as flowers for the parties.

Other businesses already planned to occupy space in The Indie House are Free Spirit Mosaic, a counselor's office and a jewelry manufacturer.

Mother Earth's soft opening is Saturday, with a grand opening planned for Dec. 19. Its hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

The other businesses in the building will keep their own hours.

"It's so exciting," Everett said. "I just can't wait to share this with everybody, because it's a property that needs to be seen and shared."

Building history

The Queen Anne-style house was built in 1891 by William Coerver, a future four-term Cape Girardeau mayor. The Cape Girardeau Weekly Democrat newspaper at the time called the home "the finest residence built this year."

Over the intervening decades, the building has served many purposes.

Coerver sold the house in 1916 to Dr. G.B. Schulz, who lived there until he converted it to Schulz Surgical Hospital in 1923.

With the opening of Southeast Missouri Hospital in 1928, Schulz converted the building back into a residence.

The house sat vacant several years after the death of Schulz's wife, Alice K. Schulz, in 1966.

Since then, the building has housed The Gourmet Shop, The Gingham Square, Mother Earth, the Family Learning Center, Robertson's Creative Photography and Broadway Books and Roasting Co., with occasional periods of vacancy.

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3646

Pertinent address:

605 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO

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605 Broadway timeline

• 1891 -- William Coerver builds house.
• 1916 -- Dr. G.B. Schulz purchases house.
• 1923 -- Schulz converts the house to the Schulz Surgical Hospital.
• 1928 -- Schulz converts the hospital back to a residence with the opening of Southeast Missouri Hospital.
• 1968 -- The house is vacant following the death in 1966 of Schulz's wife, Alice K. Schulz.
• 1973 -- The Gourmet Shop, owned by Lawrence A. and Daryl G. Thompson Jr., opens.
• 1974 -- The Gingham Square, a hobbies and antiques store, opens.
• 1979 -- Mother Earth, owned by Debbie Martin, moves to the building, sharing space with The Gingham Square. Martin and Harry and Louise Springmeyer, owners of The Gingham Square, also are listed as living at the address.
• 1979 -- Martin is killed in the house.
• 1980 -- The house is vacant after Martin's death and The Gingham Square's relocation.
• 1981 -- Family Learning Center opens in the building.
• 1987 -- Robertson*'s Creative Photography relocates to the building.
• 2006 -- Broadway Books and Roasting Co. opens.
• 2011 -- Broadway Books and Roast Co. closes, leaving the building vacant.
• 2015 -- Rocky and Laurie Everett, owners of Annie Laurie's Antiques, purchase and renovate the building to house multiple retail, studio and office spaces.