Business notebook: Local car dealer now takes cryptocurrency

Looking to the future, Cape Cars Auto Group LLC is going where no other Missouri car dealer has gone by accepting cryptocurrency from prospective car buyers.

Cape Cars' Greg Vaughn said his company is ahead of the trend. While neither St. Louis, Memphis nor Nashville has car dealers taking payments in bitcoin, Litecoin or Ethereum, the cryptocurrencies now are accepted at Cape Cars.

Vaughn said the nearest dealer is in Overland Park, Kansas.

He said he knows of only 10 auto dealers in the nation who accept such virtual payments.

"There's only one other business in our region that accepts it, and that's Computer 21," he said.

But, Vaughn added, he believes that's likely to change.

"It's right on the verge of becoming mainstream, I believe," he said. "I have followed cryptocurrency since its inception, but I never took it seriously until the last year, when I saw a lot more activity worldwide dealing with cryptocurrency."

He said world-class investment firms and banks now are having to deal with at least the idea of it.

"If someone who deals with billions of dollars a day starts talking about something out in the open, either positive or negative, you can be sure that they're also talking about it in their backrooms," Vaughn said.

And as the value of a bitcoin has increased, from more than $1,000 in January to more than $4,000 this month, cryptocurrency has continued to become a household concept, albeit a somewhat nebulous one.

The "crypto" in cryptocurrency refers to high-level encryption that makes virtual transactions viable. That encryption, along with the underlying digital infrastructure, allows for strangers to transfer funds safely and anonymously without relying on a conventional third-party institution such as a bank.

"The way it works, you kind of are your own bank," he said. "You can easily turn [virtual currency] back into USD. There are literally hundreds of cryptocurrencies."

Cape Cars will take only bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. Vaughn said the move wasn't prompted by prospective car buyers; it's just looking to be prepared in case it comes up.

"On a business like ours, we're always looking for a differentiator," he said. "You want to maximize the way a customer can come in and get what they want."

And as markets go, Vaughn said there's reason to believe Cape Girardeau may have a cryptocurrency element.

"We have a lot of college students, lots of international college students," he said. "They might not have $1,000 cash for a down payment, but they might have $1,000 in bitcoin."

He likened it to accepting American Express.

"Do we have a lot of people paying with American Express? No," he said. "But it's an option."

Francis lauded for design excellence

Angela Francis, owner of Angela Francis Interiors LLC, netted four Pinnacle Design Awards from the American Society of Interior Designers.

Francis took the top award for kitchen design (over 300 square feet), second place for kitchen design (remodel/renovation) and second and third place for specialty design for a butler's-pantry or laundry-room design and a master-bathroom design.

"I had been notified that I had received nominations in three categories, but I didn't know until that night that I had received two nominations within one of those categories. It is exciting and such an honor to receive these awards and recognition for my work," Francis said.

SoutheastHealth gives out defibrillators

SoutheastHEALTH Ambassadors, an arm of the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation, purchased 10 automated external defibrillators to be donated to local organizations.

"We believe that heart-health awareness is important and after meeting with first responders, learned the vital role AEDs can play in any number of settings," Ambassadors president Kyle Thompson said.

The AED recipients were Horizons Enrichment Center, Trinity Lutheran Church at Egypt Mills, Cape Public Schools Foundation, Trinity Lutheran Church at Friedheim, Doniphan R-1 School District, First General Baptist Church in Malden, Lutheran Family and Children's Services, Old Town Cape, City of Cape Girardeau and Jackson School District.

New site for Southeast Missouri REALTORS

The board of directors for Southeast Missouri REALTORS has purchased property at 78 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau.

The new location will serve as the organization's new headquarters.

The board of directors and relocation committee toured the facility Wednesday to mark the acquisition.

Business licenses

• Travis Cox applied for a license to operate M&M Detailing, an auto-wash and detailing business at 231 S. Ellis St. The application listed the business's opening date as Oct. 6.
• Elizabeth Bandermann Kistner applied for a license to operate Doctors Park Animal Hospital at 63 Doctors Park to diagnose, treat and care for companion animals. It is listed as opening today.
• Cape Electrical Supply LLC applied for a license to operate Southfork Home Center, a home-center retail store, at 495 Kell Farm Drive. It is listed as opening Oct. 1.
• Ashley Lynn Tucker applied for a license to operate Soul Flavors LLC, a food truck.
• John W. King III applied for a license to operate One Stop Contracting LLC at 1815 Cape LaCroix Road.

tgraef@semissourian.com (573) 388-3627