Cape's Main Street loses clothing store

Downtown Cape Girardeau is losing The Woman's Store, the only firsthand clothing store on Main Street.

While the loss of a single store isn't usually anything more than a footnote in this space, it caused me to pause and consider whether the demise is evidence of decline. While the neighbors lament the loss, as does Chris Hutson, chairman of Old Town Cape, both see a lot of positive activity in the downtown area, especially along Main Street and Spanish Street.

"Businesses are going to come and go for various reasons," said Hutson, one of the owners of Hutson's Fine Furniture at 43 S. Main St. "But downtown has been thriving the last few years."

The Woman's Store, 113 N. Main St., can trace its history to when it was one of five Hecht's stores in downtown Cape Girardeau. Owned by Larry and Bettye Payne, the store is closing because they want to retire, said Susan Dean, manager of the store.

The store, an upscale women's clothing store, for years focused on serving the needs of women in their 30s and older. The line was expanded about 18 months ago to include smaller sizes for young women and teens, Dean said.

But while the store prided itself on having higher-quality goods than can be found in department and mall stores, customers said they had difficulty finding good parking nearby and that hurt business, Dean said. She also cited a fatigue factor from the constant upkeep required to maintain the store's appearance.

"I've had days where the night life has run into the day life and I have to clean up messes in the foyer and windows where people spill drinks and spit on the windows," she said. "It is just not a good location for me. We do take great pride in our windows; we feel were an asset to downtown. I love the downtown and believe in it, but it is just not right for me."

Dean and her husband have a long history with downtown business, at one point owning Fleece Inc., a factory outlet store for fleece and knit active wear, in the 1980s and 1990s.

The loss of the clothing store will hurt next door at Brown Shoe Fit Co., said Jason Longwith, owner and manager of the 40-plus-year-old store. "Losing anybody is definitely going to hurt business, at least for a while, if not permanently," Longwith said.

That doesn't mean the shoe store is considering a move or closing, he said. "It is something you are always talking about, what you can do better for your business. We've looked at it but not on a serious basis."

Longwith, who took over the Brown Shoe store about 2 1/2 years ago, said he's impressed with the amount of business activity downtown. "I've worked in retail in many other downtowns in the country, and this is the best of many others," he said.

For Hutson, who works to keep the family furniture business flourishing, the key to success downtown is to create an identity that makes a business a destination for customers. "The retailer makes the store. Where we are, you have to give people a reason to come to your store."

The Woman's Store will be open during a going-out-of-business sale that will last into July, Dean said.

• Drug warrior: Rocky Everett and his wife, Laurie, met while they were stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army. Between them they have had tours of duty in Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and other hot spots. When the time came to put down their uniforms, Rocky Everett followed his wife to Cape Girardeau, her hometown, and they purchased Annie Laurie's Antiques at 536 Broadway.

Now Rocky Everett has a new business, the Code, or Complete Occupational Drug Exams LLC. Founded in February, Everett has already landed contracts to handle the drug screening for several companies and plans to compete for additional business by offering on-site sample collection and by working with Dr. Michael Givens of Givens Family Chiropractic to provide comprehensive physical and drug screening for employers.

"I am offering a one-stop shop," Everett said.

Trucking companies are required to conduct drug screening under federal law. And many businesses can benefit by making sure workers they hire are not arriving on the job with the lingering effects of drug use that can create hazards for the workers and their fellow employees, he said.

"You want people to show up for work safe," he said. "This helps weed out the bad, basically."

Everett set up shop for the Code at 1417 N. Mount Auburn Road.

n Mazzio's gone: Mazzio's Pizza in Jackson was killed by a combination of rising costs and consumer cutbacks as fuel prices pinch paychecks, owner Dan Chandler told me.

I caught up with Chandler on Thursday as he and some helpers were loading up equipment and supplies from the recently closed business. Chandler operated the Mazzio's for 11 years and said the time had come to call it quits.

"It is time to move on," he said. "It has just been sagging sales the last couple of years, so I decided to move while I have the opportunity."

The placement of a Pizza Hut restaurant across Jackson Boulevard didn't seem to cost him a lot of customers, Chandler said. Mazzio's offered a daily pizza buffet at lunch that the Pizza Hut did not.

He said he tried different things, "but it wasn't enough. There are a lot of reasons, prices, fuel, and not just the cost of food. Traffic patterns are changing, with not as many people going out to eat."

The result was a slimmer and slimmer margin that squeezed the business, he said. "You can only raise prices a certain amount," he said.

The building at 2259 E. Jackson Blvd. is for sale. Chandler said he's not looking for a new location for the Mazzio's franchise and instead will concentrate on his other business, building and remodeling restaurants.

• News releases: An in-house recognition for the Cape Girardeau J.C. Penney store is the only item in my news release file this week. The West Park Mall store, under the direction of store manager Sarah Grigatis, was named one of the chain's top 125 performers and given the Chairman's Award at a banquet May 2 in Dallas. Only the top 15 percent of stores qualify, and the local store was one of five in Missouri to earn the recognition. "The managers and teams receiving the Chairman's Award delivered exceptional results in an increasingly challenging environment," said Myron E. Ullman III, chairman and chief executive officer, in the prepared statement.

Rudi Keller is the business editor for the Southeast Missourian. E-mail him at rkeller@semissourian.com or call 335-6611, extension 126.