NEW BUSINESS: HECHT'S OPENS EIGHTH STORE

The Hecht Co. has opened its eighth store in the area at the Illinois Center Mall at Marion.

The store's dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony was part of a giant mall party, held at the center Sunday night.

The annual Illinois Center Mall Merchants Association Gala for tenants and employees was held Sunday, following mall store hours.

Mall employees and tenants joined in the gala, which included entertainment, food and an update on mall activities and new stores.

The Hecht Co., which includes five stores in Cape Girardeau, and one each at Carbondale and Marion in Illinois, and one at Paducah, Ky., is the latest new business in the Illinois Center.

The five Hecht stores in downtown Cape Girardeau are Hecht's Store, 127 N. Main, which opened in 1919; Hecht's Main Street Store, 35 N. Main, now in its 32nd year; Hecht's Too, 46 N. Main, established in the early 1980s; Hecht's Woman, 113 N. Main, which opened in the late 1980s; and Hecht's Shoes, 109 N. Main, which has been open 15 years.

"We continue to do what it takes to remain competitive in this business," said Martin "Marty" Hecht, who has guided Hecht operations for more than 50 years and who now serves as chairman

Marty Hecht's father, Louis Hecht, founded the business more than 80 years ago, in 1917, at 135 N. Main. He opened a new store at 127 N. Main when he returned from World War I.

Hecht's opened its Carbondale store in 1974 and the Paducah operation in 1986.

Marty Hecht, a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and a veteran of World War II, has been assisted in the operation of the store by his wife, Laverne "Tootie" Hecht, and Dan Elkins, who has been with the company for more than 20 years and is now a partner and president of Hecht's.