Renaissance store in downtown Cape taken over by a former employee

Sherry Yaeger’s Renaissance is having a renaissance all its own.

While the business initially was intended to showcase her art, Sherry Yaeger, with her husband, Mike, watched Renaissance transform over the years. The gallery became a life and style boutique offering vintage-inspired items, home décor, gift product lines and Yaeger’s artwork.

But recently, the Yaegers chose to take a step back, and they sold the boutique to Jenna Beussink, a former employee with a background in business and design with sights on owning a business in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Beussink worked for the Yaegers for several years before taking over the boutique. She spent several years in the corporate world, she said, “but I always knew I wanted to own my own store.”

The pieces, Beussink said, fell into place, when she found out the Yaegers were interested in selling the business she had grown to love over the years, just as she was seeking out the opportunity to make a place of her own in Old Town Cape.

Renaissance in downtown Cape Girardeau is seen Friday morning, April 15, 2016.Laura Simon

“They were ready to make some changes at the store, and I was the perfect fit for them as someone they would want to have involvement in the store,” Beussink said.

She had been looking at a few businesses, she said, “but Renaissance was always my first choice.”

The store will keep its name, and the product lines the Yaegers brought to the shop will remain.

Beussink will add to the offerings. New lines have been introduced, and others have been extended. The store itself has seen a light redesign, with themed rooms.

Many “masculine” touches have been added, Beussink said, pointing out the High Cotton line of ties and suspenders in an effort

to reach a new demographic.

“The feel of the store will remain the same; it will just feel fresh and rejuvenated,” Beussink said.

Yaeger’s artwork will continue to have its place in Renaissance, and Yaeger herself won’t be far away. She intends to focus on her art and has opened her own creative space next door to the boutique.

Beussink looks forward to her continuing relationship with the Yaegers and to seeing what the future holds for the store.

“I’m very lucky to have stepped into this opportunity with a turnkey business that I can put my own spin on,” Beussink said.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

139 Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO