Girls' fashion store moves into West Park

With the recent news of Steve & Barry's, Dollar Plus Boutique and McAlister's Select leaving West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau, it was encouraging to learn of a new store scheduled to move into the shopping center Nov. 18. Justice Just For Girls offers exclusive fashions and accessories for girls ages 7 to 14. Spokesperson Barbara Kennedy said she plans to hire 10 to 11 part-time sales associates at the location. The store will keep normal mall store hours, which are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

* VA Clinic plans to relocate in 2009: The VA Clinic plans to move out of the Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau and into its new space at 3035 William St.

Viviane Rains, administrator for the Cape Girardeau facility, said the move from 2400 Veterans Memorial Drive may not happen until June 2009. She told me the physician and clinical staff are moving into the facility that has been empty since October 2006, when Barnes & Noble left for its current location in West Park Mall. Sid Smith, the vet services officer, will remain stationed at the Veterans Home.

At this point, Rains said that while the Veterans Home staff has explored different options, they have no immediate plans on how to best use the space once the outpatient clinic moves out of its current location.

n Pet products business opens in Cape: Stacy Busch has opened Busch Pet Products & Care, a web-based business offering a variety of items for dogs and cats. Busch's parents were breeders of show-quality beagles for more than 40 years, and Busch spent many weekends on the road with them. A few years after college Busch decided to merge a love of animals with shopping to create the online business.

The website, buschpetproducts.com, which opened for business Oct. 24, offers a selection of items for both cats and dogs. Products include bowls, blankets, collars, kitty frocks and leashes.

The online store is an extension of Busch's pet-sitting business. Customers with questions can e-mail customerservice@buschpetproducts.com or call 335-4076 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

* Ribbon cuttings scheduled today: Two businesses relatively new to the area are planning ribbon cuttings for today. Cotner K Electric will hold one at 11 a.m. and Southeast Missouri Food Bank's will be at 1:30 p.m. (see related article on this page).

Cotner K Electric moved May 30 to 779 Enterprise Drive when two brothers split their ownership of Cotner Electric Inc., which still operates at 2049 Southern Expressway. Keith Cotner owns Cotner K Electric and Ron Cotner owns Cotner Electric Inc. Open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Cotner K Electric specializes in commercial and residential electrical work.

* Tell me what you know: It's happened more than once. An owner wants to submit news about his or her business but believes there's a cost. That's not the case. I welcome any news about new business starts, relocations or renovations. Send me an e-mail or call me with information about your business. My contact information is at the end of this column.

While I won't publish word-for-word the information submitted, I include the following info if it's a new business start:

The business name, when it opened or will open, what the business entails, why the owner opened the business, store days and hours of operation, phone number and website address (if applicable). I may include other information as well.

If the news is about a relocation or renovation, I'd like to know the reason, the date or expected date of completion, a one- or two-paragraph history of the company and other relevant information.

Business reporter Brian Blackwell can be reached at 388-3628 or bblackwell@semissourian.com.