Section of North Kingshighway sees flurry of activity

With all the gloom and doom reported about businesses closing and laying off workers, one area on North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau seems to be bucking the trend. Broker Sandy Helwege of Coldwell Banker Abernathy Realty e-mailed me recently with some interesting news about several of her properties between Casa Mexicana and Sonic.

As I reported in last week's column, Subway is expected to open today at 1812 Carondalet Ave., Suite 103. LA Weight Loss will occupy the vacant space between the sandwich shop and Beef O'Brady's, a family sports pub that opened last fall. Helwege said Casa Mexicana has a long-term lease, which is good news for patrons of the restaurant.

Near that shopping center, Pizza Hut has purchased a 1-acre lot from Helwege and her husband, Gary, for the purpose of building their own free-standing building. This will replace the current store at 215 S. Kingshighway. A company representative said construction will begin in the spring and be complete by spring 2010.

• Super 8 renovations continue: If you've driven by Super 8 Motel lately, you may have noticed the building at 2011 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau is receiving a minor facelift. A crew began replacing the hotel's sign Monday. Additional renovations inside the building include new tile. Super 8's parking lot was repaved last year.
• Spanish Street condo to become a bar: While sifting through the business licenses on my weekly visit to Cape Girardeau City Hall I came across a rather eye-catching name for a new business -- the Library. But it's not what it sounds like.

Owner Catherine Thompson hopes to open the bar on 10 S. Spanish St. by August or September. She's in the process of having the former two-bedroom condo, which she said was a brothel many years ago, gutted and turned into offices on the second floor and a bar on the bottom level.

The bar will feature a look similar to an old-fashioned library, and will include a beer garden and sand volleyball court. The Library will be open 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. A building permit showed the project will cost about $300,000 to complete.

Thompson said her daughter, who attends Southeast Missouri State University and tends bar on the side, plays in a sand volleyball league and complained about a lack of venues where college students can play outside. Thompson and her husband then looked for a location to build their structure.

"My husband and I buy, redo and resell homes, so turning this into a bar isn't too far off the mark for us," Thompson said. "After looking at the statistics of the number of bars available for students to visit, this was a no-brainer.

"But this won't be like any bar," she said. "It'll be a classy bar."

n Jackson resident opens catering business: Southeast Missourians now have one more choice for their catering needs. Jennifer Havill of Jackson started Panache Gourmet Catering in late February, although she has been cooking for family and friends for quite some time.

Though Havill said she specializes in gourmet catering, she will customize any event to clients' preferences. Her catered events include appetizer parties, buffets, seated dinners and box lunches. Some examples of items she offers include chicken breasts with Asiago mousse and pesto cream, garlic herb escargot with Burgundy reduction, wild mushroom tarts with sage whipped cream, drunken cherry tomatoes with olive tapenade and almond mascarpone with raspberries in filo.

"I believe that food is the heart of the party and my goal is to exceed your expectations," Havill said. "I put thought and art into the food presentation. Panache means 'with flair' and that's how I make and present my food."

Panache Gourmet Catering can be reached at 986-8875 or www.panache-gourmet.com.

n Pizza Pro of Jackson holds ribbon cutting today: The Jackson Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. today for the new location of Pizza Pro of Jackson. The restaurant moved from 117 S. Hope St. to 515 W. Main St. on Dec. 10. Owner Dan Cook said the new 2,000-square-foot building has dining room space for 20 to 25 people. Pizza Pro also now offers salads and signature subs, an extended delivery area with an added mile radius and extended hours. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For those wanting to reach Pizza Pro, call 243-2229.

n Upon further review: Last week's Business Buzz incorrectly said the preparation of kebobs at Mediterranean restaurant on Broadway takes 45 minutes. However, the food takes only 25 minutes to make. And we all know how much of a difference 20 minutes can make in our fast-paced society.

Southeast Missourian business reporter Brian Blackwell may be reached at 388-3628 or bblackwell@semissourian.com.