Plans for Wal-Mart market proceed; opening date uncertain

Sabrina and Bob Hardy didn't plan on closing Trish's Place in Cape Girardeau. But a letter giving them 30 days to move out of their location along Independence Street to make room for a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market told them otherwise.

Though they had heard rumors and speculation about what the former Plaza Galleria property would become, they didn't know for sure until they got the letter.

"That really took us by surprise," Sabrina Hardy said Monday.

Until the couple are able to find a new location, all the bar's contents have been stored away.

The Hardys operated Trish's Place for more than six years, and the property, formerly known as Brothers Lounge, was used as a bar for the past 47 years. The couple changed the bar's name to Trish's Place in honor of a friend and employee who died of breast cancer.

Bob Hardy, co-owner of Trish’s Place, sings “Ring of Fire” on Saturday during the bar’s final night of business at its location west of the former Plaza Galleria in Cape Girardeau. Hardy and his wife, Sabrina, have owned Trish’s Place for the last six years. (Laura Simon)

Saturday was the bar's last night, with a standing room-only crowd, she said. The couple and their patrons, many of whom became close friends, packed and moved everything out of the building Sunday.

"It was a rough day yesterday," she said. "Seeing it go from the little business that it was just to this empty building. ... There was tears. There was definitely tears."

Some customers had been coming to Trish's Place long before the Hardys took over. It didn't matter who owned it, Sabrina said. It was "their bar."

The wheels on the Wal-Mart

Neighborhood Market project began turning late last year, after the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission approved the application for the Galleria Plaza Subdivision plat in December.

Wal-Mart closed on two parcels May 23, confirmed Cape Girardeau city planner Ryan Shrimplin, and the two properties acquired include the 6.86-acre commercial lot where the Plaza Galleria once stood at 2021 Independence St., as well as the strip center on the west side of the lot, containing Trish's Place, Fenny's Mexican Grocery and previously Hair-Port, among other businesses. The strip center is owned by Nick Sakarelos, owner of Grecian Steak House.

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets range from one-fourth to one-fifth the size of traditional Wal-Mart Supercenters and offer amenities such as fresh produce and a bakery.

The former Plaza Galleria opened as a Kroger Family Center in 1969. Dr. C.R. Talbert and his wife, Betty, bought the building in 1984. The year before, construction began of a glass atrium, a 160-by-70-foot ice-skating rink and a retail outlet.

The ice rink and many of the businesses operating in the Galleria closed in 2003. Pockets, a pool hall and tavern that was the last business operating in the Galleria, closed in 2005.

The building remained vacant until mid-2013, when it was demolished.

Construction on the project thus far has been moving at a slower pace, said city manager Scott Meyer, and there hasn't been any indication of when the market will open.

The strip center, now empty of all businesses, will be demolished as part of the market's site plan, Shrimplin said.

Hardy hugs regular and friend Steven Lutrell as he prepares to leave for the final time Saturday. (Laura Simon)

The plans also show one entrance off Independence Street.

The Hardys spent part of their day Monday packing up the last of their mementos. Paper decorations still hung from the ceiling, and the brick walls and worn carpet were bare.

"Pretty damn sad," said Bob Hardy as he squatted on the ground, taking in his now-empty bar.

Where and when Trish's Place will open again is hard to say, the couple said, because they aren't sure whether they will find another location or rebuild.

No matter where they end up, Sabrina Hardy said she knows their friends will follow.

"They called it a family and that's what we were -- a family."

ashedd@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent addresses:

2023 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO

2021 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO