Gooooaaaal! Kick's Soccer Shop to open

Being a naturally gifted athlete -- I watch all the major sports -- I'm always interested when new sporting goods shops come to town. The newest one with plans to roll into Cape Girardeau is the cleverly named Kick's Soccer Shop.

The new shop, owned by Eric and Derrick Long, will open in late November or early December at 211 S. Plaza Way behind BG's. The new shop will feature a variety of soccer footwear, apparel, soccer balls and items like shin guards, socks and goalie supplies.

And these guys know soccer. Both of them -- they're twins -- played soccer and high school and at Southeast Missouri State University, when it had a men's soccer program.

They even both went on to coach high school soccer, which Derrick still does in Dexter. Eric quit to run this business. In fact, they've been playing soccer since they were 5 years old.

"It's something we've been wanting to do for a long time," Eric said of the store. "There's never really been a soccer store here. The closest one is in St. Louis and soccer's really growing."

For athletes like Eric, Derrick and me, it's about time.

* ENT Consultants Ltd. relocates: Southeast Missouri ENT Consultants has moved its practice from Doctors' Park to the fourth floor of the Saint Francis Health and Wellness Center, 150 S. Mount Auburn Road.

Dr. Christopher H. Jung said he is excited to be a part of Saint Francis' new endeavor.

"This facility is the premier medical office building in the region and will allow our practice to continue to evolve and offer residents the latest medical advancements," he said.

ENT Consultants has been serving residents of Southeast Missouri since 1974. All medical personnel and staff will relocate with the practice. ENT Consultants specializes in conditions related to the ear, nose and throat, but also offers a multitude of medical and cosmetic services including the latest hearing aid technology, facial plastic surgery, in-office laser surgery, skin resurfacing, endoscopic sinus surgery, chemical peels and allergy screening.

The Saint Francis Health and Wellness Center opened in September 2004.

Meanwhile, expect some interesting developments at Southeast Missouri Hospital's new offices that look nearly completed on Broadway. The hospital expects to make announcements about who's going in before they take possession in November.

* STAR Technologies opens: This is a new company that is based in Cape Girardeau and serves 19 counties in Southeast Missouri, according to president Amanda Kirn.

Kirn assists people with learning disabilities and mobility and visual impairments with the use of technology, mainly computers. Some of the services she offers are adaptive assessments, adaptive training, electronic text conversion, ergonomic evaluations, Web accessibility checks and workstation recommendations.

"Mainly it's computers," she said. "Like hardware and software."

One such service is voice recognition, where someone speaks and the computer types everything out for them.

Right now, Star Technologies is based in Kirn's home, but as she grows she hopes to move into her own office.

* Congrats to the Cape chamber: The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce was recently named the 2005 Chamber of Commerce of the Year by the state chamber.

This award will be presented at the 2005 Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on Nov. 10 at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City.

Congrats to John Mehner and his staff.

* Fantastx to open at mall: There's a cool new kiosk opening at Westfield West Park, especially if you find novelty items for your home or office interesting.

Dr. Nabil Majid, a physician in Dexter, Mo., is opening the new business called Fantastx, which sells colorful plastic ornaments and gifts. He describes the items as ornaments that are filled with colored oils and water with "floaties" in them.

The items are everyday things, like staplers, scotch tape dispensers or just ornaments, that have plastic fish, flamingos, ducks, frogs, etc., floating around in them. There are also items with similar concepts like tooth brushes, soap holders and key chains.

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.