Employees told Barnes & Noble going to mall

What I reported as speculation a few weeks back appears to be fact -- Barnes & Noble is moving to Westfield West Park. Or as less high-falutin' folks around these parts call it, the mall.

Don't believe me? Do what I did. Just call B&N and ask. I did, without at first identifying myself as your friendly, neighborhood business writer.

"We sure are," said the young-sounding gentleman who answered the phone.

Then, even after I told him who I was and he identified himself as one of the managers, he confirmed it.

"Yeah, we've got an open date projected as Nov. 2, 2006," he said. I'm not identifying him so his overprotective bosses don't fire him for being too honest. He said employees were told last week of the decision.

Those bosses are a little less forthcoming. Carolyn Brown, a spokeswoman for the book chain behemoth, said Barnes & Noble isn't prepared to make any public statements.

"But we're always looking in every market to see if there's a better location or bigger location," she said. She went on to add it's B&N policy not to release information until a lease is signed. Same goes for the folks at Westfield.

So it appears I got this prediction right, which will come as a surprise to regular Biz Buzz readers. Does this make up for my dead-wrong forecast that Sears would move to the mall?

* Chick Fil-A closing: Speaking of the mall, Chick Fil-A will close Oct. 22. This is devastating news to me, but others I told were less shocked. The more common reaction was a resounding ho-hum.

"The place that sells deep-fried chicken sandwiches?" said one co-worker. "Too bad."

But I'm telling you, those sandwiches made spending time with my kids at the playland bearable.

Chick Fil-A spokesman Mark Baldwin called it an "easy decision." He said their lease is coming up and Chick Fil-A is moving away from malls and into free-standing locations.

"We're putting more focus into the St. Louis area," he said.

Just what we Southeast Missourians like to hear.

He said the new free-standing stores are outpacing the mall stores. Typically, they are opening between 60 to 70 new restaurants a year and almost 100 percent of them are free-standing.

They have no plans to build such a store in the Cape Girardeau area, he said. "Not right now. Not to say it's not going to happen."

He said malls also don't like Chick Fil-A's policy of closing on Sundays.

* Academic Answers: Dr. Brad Robinson, a Cape Girardeau psychiatrist, has opened a separate business that is housed in his practice. It's called Academic Answers, and director Sandi Hendricks tells me it's a service for students who struggle in school and their families.

The business offers remediation and tutoring to help students get caught up.

"Families who struggle don't know where to turn," he said.

They have hired highly experienced teachers. They also provide a parent education program to work with parents who can help their children process the information.

* Trucking service in new location: Ron Gjerstad, president of Buchheit Truck Service, announced the relocation of its Biehle Trucking Service to its new location in the former SuperValu building, located in Scott City.

"Our new facility allows us to offer expanded trucking, logistics and warehouse leasing services," Gjerstad said. The property is on a 52-acre tract, features over 266,000 square feet of warehouse space, including refrigerated storage up to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit and currently offers 46 dock doors. An open house is planned once the staff has settled in to its new home.

* John's Rx: John McMullin of John's Pharmacy has announced plans for a separate business called John's Rx. John's Pharmacy has always provided retail and nursing home services. Now, the nursing home side will be its own business, located in the building next door at 2003 Independence St.

"We can provide better service with additional space," McMullin said.

The new venture should open in a couple weeks, he said.

* Broadway Books and Roasting Co.: Here are a few more details on the new bookstore that I announced last week. The store will be owned and operated by Janet Woods and Jo Ann Bohnert.

Bohnert said they will roast their own coffee. They hope to sell retail but also wholesale to restaurants and hotels. They'll also take online and phone orders. They plan to get their coffee from a variety of equatorial regions, such as Africa, Costa Rica and Colombia.

As to the bookstore side, Bohnert said they will have new and used books and she promises some unusual titles. They also have to have nonfiction and out-of-print books.

They had plans originally to put the store in the old osteopathic hospital, but instead went with the Robertson Photography building on Broadway.

The adjoining business will be the River Town Guest House, which they also plan to have open and ready for business Dec. 1, the same day they hope to open the bookstore/coffee shop.

Scott Moyers is the business editor for the Southeast Missourian. Send comments, business news, information or questions to Biz Buzz, 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699, call 335-6611, extension 137 or e-mail smoyers@semissourian.com.