Old Illmo recovers lost commerce with Schock therapy

When the newspapers that had been covering the windows for about three months were finally taken down last week, the public got its first glimpse into the newest incarnation of the old Amrhein Drugs building at 601 E. Second St. in Scott City -- the Illmo Bakery and Cafe.

As the bakery-cafe officially opens for business today, it's already expecting company in the neighborhood. A Mexican restaurant named Maria's Place is scheduled to open Oct. 23 inside the Schock Community Arts Center. The Style Studio, a beauty salon, will open sometime in November across the street from the center.

Not only are these new businesses for Scott City, they are all located in the section of the city known as Old Illmo, an area that was consolidated with Scott City in 1979. Illmo, and specifically Second Street, used to be home to an assortment of businesses, including hotels, shops and theaters at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Marsha Hillemann, the owner of the Illmo Bakery and Cafe, grew up in Cape Girardeau but remembers visiting Illmo as a young girl when more businesses filled Second Street.

"It's changed a lot. There are a lot more empty buildings, but that's going to change," Hillemann said.

A main figure behind the changes in Illmo is Paul Schock, an art instructor at Southeast Missouri State University and owner of the Schock Pub and Schock Community Arts Center. He is also involved in several civic organizations in Scott City.

Schock bought the building that now houses the Illmo Bakery and Cafe about a year ago after he had already purchased the Harmon's Furniture building at the corner of Second and Mar Elm streets and a building at 506 Second St.

He made the furniture store into the arts center and Schock's Pub and hunted for tenants for the other buildings.

Although he had several people interested in renting the building at 601 E. Second St., Schock said he wanted to rent to somebody who would open a business "that would bring back the charm of what used to be the old drug store. The drug store used to be the heart of the community in this area."

Schock felt Hillemann and her baked goods would be the perfect fit.

Hillemann already has a customer base from the baking and delivery service, Log Cabin Bakery, that she and her husband, Kevin, ran out of their home just outside Scott City over the past few years.

At the Illmo Bakery and Cafe, Hillemann will make all the baked items -- brownies, pies, cinnamon rolls -- while breakfast items like frittatas and French toast and lunch items like salads and soups will be made by Katherine Szedenik, who moved to Scott City from New York City four years ago.

" I think we felt we needed a little more than a bakery to draw people from the overpass," Hillemann said.

Hillemann thinks her new business will help bring in people to Old Illmo, not only from other parts of Scott City but outside of it as well.

Maria Cruz, the owner of Maria's Place, also thinks new businesses like hers and Hillemann's will attract people to Old Illmo.

"I think people will like having something different," Cruz said.

Cruz, who moved to Scott City from Baja, Calif., four years ago, will bring Baja-style Mexican dishes to her restaurant, including homemade tamales and tortillas.

Schock said people have been constantly asking him when the Mexican restaurant and the bakery and cafe will open. He said the success of places like these will show what is economically possible in the area.

"This whole main street has a lot of charm and potential. I believe by opening these businesses it shows the potential for future businesses," he said.

Schock is renting out the building at 506 Second St., although to whom he would not say. He did say that business also will help continue to revitalize Illmo.

"I'm tickled about it," Scott City Mayor Tim Porch said of the new businesses. "Any added business we can get in this city is good."

Porch thinks many of the businesses in Illmo fell by the wayside, in part, because they were not near Interstate 55, a sentiment Kevin Hillemann, Marsha Hilleman's husband, echoed. However, Porch said Old Illmo still has quite a few businesses for such a small area, including Roth Hardware, Paradise Flowers and Sportsman's Barber Shop.

In addition to promoting new businesses in the area, Schock has also been instrumental in having Illmo declared an arts and historic district.

In July, the Scott City Council gave its formal approval to the designation, and next month a committee that will oversee the district will be formed. But it will likely be a year or two before any visible changes result from the designation.

One of the first things the committee will work on is getting the state to recognize Second Street as am historic main street, which would make tax credits available.

"By getting the state and federal recognition, it will open a lot of doors for funds," Schock said.

As part of the arts district designation, Schock has talked with artists who are interested in putting up sculptures. He wants to approach the city council about putting sculptures on the sidewalks.

"I love the idea," said Vicki Howell of the arts and historic district designation. "It's boosted my enthusiasm about the area." Howell is Hillemann's niece and grew up in Scott City. She said Old Illmo was in need of a place like the Illmo Bakery and Cafe and wants to see the area become more of an attraction to people from Scott City and beyond.

Howell is also the daughter of Jane and George Albrecht, who donated the Head School building to the Scott City Historical Preservation Committee.

The one-room school was attended by first- through eighth-grade students as far back as 1858 until it was closed in 1940. The school was transported from George Albrecht's farm to Illmo in August and will be refurbished and turned into a museum.

Just as the Head School celebrates the history of the Scott City area, so does the Illmo Bakery and Cafe.

Like the school, the building that now houses the bakery and cafe has an extensive history. It was constructed in 1915 by Ohny Hartner, who operated Hartner's Drug Store out of it until 1947 when it became Amrhein Drugs. It has also served as a bar, a storage facility and most recently a restaurant.

The bakery-cafe's extensively remodeled interior is filled with reminders of Illmo's past. There are photos of Illmo from the early 20th century and a case of Illmo artifacts donated by the Scott City Historic Preservation Commission. The photos include one of the old railroad depot taken in 1908, a photo of the building that houses the bakery-cafe when it was Hartner's Drugs, a photo taken around 1913 of the south side of Second Street that shows a herd of cows, and a photo of the First Eisleben Church choir taken in 1902.

The artifacts include a copy of the Jimplicute newspaper from 1977 and a pamphlet from the Illmo jubilee in 1954.

Thanks to an outdoor sign saved by previous building owner Steve Roth there is even a large reminder of the building's past as Amrhein Drugs.

"It's something nostalgic and something different," Hillemann said of her business.

The mix of the nostalgic and the new applies broadly to the revitalization of Illmo.

The Scott City Area Chamber of Commerce is bringing back Christmas lights to Second Street during the holiday season. Schock, president of the chamber, said the organization has been able to get area businesses to provide financial support for the project.

The lights, which will be strung around the street's light posts, will go up before Thanksgiving.

Something small like Christmas lights helps to make Old Illmo a heart of the community once again, Schock said.

"A lot of people grew up seeing Second Street as the main street, and they want to see that come back. I think a lot of people are very proud of their family heritage there and of what the area use to be like."

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182