The owners of Jimmi's Restaurant and Bar and Stevie's Steakburger have put their restaurants up for sale, but the future for both eateries is uncertain.

Owner Terry Bozzay said 2008 was a roller-coaster year for Jimmi's.

Since he opened the Cape Girardeau restaurant in late 2007, Bozzay has retooled his business approach to adapt to the recession. The restaurant at 2406 William St. has eliminated lunch to cut costs and rented out space for private parties to increase its profits.

"The economy isn't treating our industry well," Bozzay said. "It's had its ups and downs. But we are losing less money than in the past."

If the economy doesn't improve, Bozzay wants to be prepared. Bozzay recently put his building up for sale with an asking price of $1.4 million.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.comCustomers fill the booths at Jimmie's on Tuesday, December 11, 2007.

"I'm taking a long-term view at it," Bozzay said. "I want to keep my options open and get the restaurant ready in case it takes a year to sell."

Another area restaurant owner who recently listed his eatery for sale is Steve Majeed, owner of Stevie's Steakburger in Cape Girardeau.

Majeed said the decision was based on a family matter and not the recession. Majeed's wife, Toni, plans to return to their native Pakistan in May with the couple's two children, Hassan, 7, and Maha, 6. Majeed wants to join them as soon as possible and is planning to either lease or sell the fast-food restaurant at the corner of Broadway and Frederick Street.

Stevie's Steakburger closed for the winter months in late November and is set to reopen April 1. The asking price for Stevie's is $199,000.

"We're moving back to Pakistan so our kids can experience the culture that we grew up in," said Majeed, who also plans to sell SEMO Gas at 40 N. Sprigg St. "I want to get this taken care of as quickly as possible so I can join my wife and kids back in Pakistan."

The National Restaurant Association predicts that sales nationwide will reach $566 billion this year. While overall sales are expected to increase by 2.5 percent compared to 2008, the association said those numbers translate to an inflation-adjusted decline of 1 percent.

Bruce Domazlicky, director of the Southeast Missouri State University Center for Economic and Business Research, expects 2009 to be a challenging year for the restaurant industry.

"As the recession deepens, eating out is one of the items people will cut back on," said Domazlicky, who also serves as an economics professor at Southeast. "As evidence of their challenges, we find many restaurants offering specials such as two meals for one and coupons to attract customers. This trend may very well continue for much of the year as restaurants struggle to get customers."

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce executive director John Mehner is optimistic about restaurants' future in Cape Girardeau, citing a 4.71 percent increase in July to December 2008 sales receipts compared to the same six-month period in 2007. However, those numbers do not reflect whether the restaurants attracted more customers or if that increase was due to a rise in the cost of food.

"The restaurant industry is one that continues to be strong overall," Mehner said. "Obviously, there are many things that figure into individual business success in any category and restaurants are no different. Overall, because of our regional nature and vast choice of great eating places, I expect our restaurant business to continue to do well."

Broker Cynthia Austin of Realty Executives of Cape County is handling future transactions for both of the properties. Austin can be contacted at 979-7653.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

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