Plans for former Sears building moving ahead

The future of the vacant Sears Grand building on Siemers Drive in Cape Girardeau has been a looming question mark since financially-troubled Sears closed the 150,000-square-foot store last fall.

That question will apparently be answered in a few weeks by Andy Crimmins, founding partner of Crossroads Retail Group in Kansas City, Missouri.

"The Crossroads Retail Group has the listing with Sears to sell the property," Crimmins told me in a phone conversation Friday. "The property is under contract and we will be closing, hopefully, by the end of August."

Although he could not reveal the name of the building's buyer, Crimmins said the new owner has plans to renovate the 15-year-old building to accommodate "multiple" tenants that will be "primarily" retail. He said confidentiality restrictions prevent him from disclosing the names of any potential building tenants until leases are finalized.

Crimmins was in Cape Girardeau last week to "get a lay of the land" and begin preparations for the renovation.

"We're working with architects and contractors and getting bids," he said. "We're looking forward to starting discussions with the city and all the stakeholders in the community."

The Sears Grand in Cape Girardeau was one of 26 "large format" Sears and Kmart outlets Sears closed in 2019 after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2018.

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It appears there will soon be some construction activity at 3093 William St., once the address of O'Charley's restaurant.

A building permit was issued last week clearing the way for construction of a Chili's restaurant.

O'Charley's and a next-door restaurant, Ruby Tuesday, closed within a week of each other in late May and early June. Both restaurants were eventually torn down.

Chili's restaurants are located in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. In Missouri, the chain has multiple locations in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas, as well as Branson, Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin, Osage Beach, Springfield and St. Joseph.

An opening date for the restaurant, which has a construction cost of about $1.2 million according to the building permit, has not been announced.

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It's been several weeks now since Wisconsin-based Marcus Theatres reopened a half-dozen of its multiplex cinemas in Georgia, Nebraska and Wisconsin, but the nine Marcus Theatre locations in Missouri, including Cape West 14 Cine, remain closed. (The company's website states Cape Girardeau's reopening date is "coming soon.")

Meanwhile, I heard Friday from Malco Theatres, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, about plans to reopen its locations, including its lone Missouri theater in Sikeston.

"Our plan is to have all locations open in August," Malco vice president and marketing director Karen Melton told me.

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Speaking of "openings," the nation's largest e-retailer plans to open a "brick-and-mortar" store in St. Louis.

Amazon is reportedly hiring employees to staff an Amazon 4-Star store in the Saint Louis Galleria. The company has about a dozen such stores across the country, but none in Missouri.

Amazon 4-Star stores stock products that have been rated with four stars or higher on Amazon.com.

An opening date for the store has not been announced, according to an article last week in the St. Louis Business Journal.

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For several months now, both the Cape Girardeau and Jackson chambers of commerce have been holding their monthly membership breakfast gatherings online through their Facebook sites due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But this month the Jackson chamber plans to host an "in-person" membership breakfast Friday morning at the Jackson Civic Center.

Attendance, which is by RSVP, will be limited to 50 and everyone's temperature will be checked before they enter the meeting room and, based on the county's emergency health order that goes into effect this week, masks will presumably be required.

The Cape Girardeau chamber hopes to resume some "face-to-face" membership activities in a few weeks, depending on whether it is deemed safe to do so.

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Hypnotic is the name of a new business preparing to open at 632 Broadway in Cape Girardeau. The building, vacant for more than two years, was formerly the Last Call bar.JAY WOLZ ~ jwolz@semissourian.com

It's windows have been covered for months, hiding the remodeling taking place inside, but it now appears a former bar on Broadway once known as Last Call will reopen in the near future with a new name and a new vibe.

It appears, based on a recently-mounted sign on the side of the building at 632 Broadway, the bar will be renamed Hypnotic. From what I've heard, it will be a combination bar, dance club and hooka lounge.

Last Call closed in the spring of 2018. No word as of now as to when Hypnotic will open.

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A final note -- As of this week, face masks are mandatory in Cape Girardeau County for most people over the age of 9 and in most public settings.

I normally do not express opinions in print, but here in my column I hope you will indulge me on this topic.

Personally, I don't like wearing a face mask. I don't know many people who do. They tend to make my glasses fog up and when I wear a mask it's sometimes difficult for people to understand me (and vice versa).

More than once, I've left the house and driven halfway to my destination and had to turn around after realizing I left my mask on the kitchen counter.

When it comes masks, the only one I prefer is the one I wear when scuba diving.

But if wearing a mask can help slow the spread of coronavirus, then I'll gladly wear one in public. I would much rather wear one while I shop, work and worship than face the possibility of another "stay-at-home" order and economic shutdown if case numbers keep rising.

Nuff said.

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