This post is written by guest blogger, Kynli Smith, Intern at Old Town Cape.

Q: Who are you and when did you open the business?

A: My name is Kevin Priester and I opened West Bank Bistro in December 2012. We chose to open then to allow us enough time to work out the kinks before the Southeast Missouri State University students came back for the semester and business picked up.

Q: What makes your business unique?

A: Our venue sets us apart because it is a house that has been transformed into a unique dining experience and that gives West Bank Bistro a "home" feeling. The historic Huhn-Harrison House was built in 1905. It needed a lot of work in the beginning and we basically had to take it apart and put it back togethera again. But, we tried to recreate the original layout as close as possible.

Another unique charactertistic about West Bank Bistro is the variety of food and drinks options that we offer to our customers. My personal favorites are the iced coffee and Sweet & Smokey Turkey sandwich with a side of White Bean Ragoo Soup. But really any of our menu items are winners.

Q: Why did you choose to locate your business in downtown Cape?

A: I like historic buildings and I like coffee shops. I thought that a combination of the two would be a wonderful thing to bring to downtown Cape. The Southeast Missouri State University River Campus also played a big role in my decision to open the business where I did. I thought that it would be a great opportunity to appeal to the students and faculty that frequent the River Campus. Since opening, we have started displaying work from students in the business and became an acoustic venue for people to enjoy on First Friday and various nights throughout the month. There are so many talented people in this community and West Bank Bistro wants to be a place that they can use to hone in on their skills.

This post is written by guest blogger, Kynli Smith, Intern at Old Town Cape.

The blog committee wants to share with you the stories of the volunteers that work behind the scenes at Old Town Cape. This series will allow you to get to know our volunteers, find out how they became involved, learn what their interests are, and discover their goals for both downtown and themselves.

Cory Daniel, Commercial Relationship Manager for Montgomery Bank in Cape Girardeau, is currently serving as president of the Board of Directors for Old Town Cape. He is a native of Jackson, Missouri and currently resides there with his wife, Kristen. Daniel became involved with Old Town Cape a few years ago when he was approached by volunteers to serve on the Board.

"Old Town Cape is a great organization, and I am glad I was asked to be a part of it," said Daniel.

His current role as Board President is to run the meetings, oversee operations and give feedback. A goal of his for downtown Cape are to continue to max the potential of downtown with more businesses, projects and revitalization.

"We have a lot of momentum with the revitalization of downtown happening right now. There is excitement and pride in the businesses and projects happening down here."

When Daniel isn't working at Montgomery Bank of helping Old Town Cape with projects, he spends a lot of his free time outdoors. He is very active in sports and hunting including turkey, deer and duck. The biggest influence in Daniel's life has been his grandparents. They taught him many life lessons that he still uses today.

"They were both just rock solid people. They taught me so much about hard work, honesty and faith."

Some of Daniel's tips for success for people is to remember the Golden Rule: treat people the way you want to be treated. He also encourages people to set goals for themselves that they can strive towards.

"If you are hard working and honest with people, you are going to be successful in whatever you set out to accomplish in life."

The two-story building located at 609 Broadway recently received some renovations and now houses a unique addition thanks to a couple who have a heart for downtwon Cape, but the story behind the building goes way back.

The building was originally owned by Phil Haman who decided to raze the one-story building, that housed his drugstore, in June 1927 in order to erect a new building at the same location. While the new building was under construction, Haman moved his drugstore to another location on Broadway. In June 1956, C.W. Bauerle purchased the buildling and business from Haman, who had decided to retire after 48 years of being a druggist. Since then, the building has had a few different owners and has been home to many businesses includuing an enterprise operation, a camera shop and a gun store.

Charlie Bertrand, antiquer and owner of Spanish Street Mercantile, originally visited the building last year with the intent of purchasing some old cabinets. Once he realized that all of the cabinets were still intact and that the space housed a lot of historical provenance, he decided that he didn't want to disrupt that. He also soon found out that the upstairs housed a few apartments that were immaculate, but dated.

After some thought on how to move forward, Charlie and his wife, Lisa, purchased the building in early 2012 from Robert and Linda Bohnsack with a vision for the space. The Bertrands had recently stayed in a few vacation rental properties in St. Louis and decided that downtown Cape was missing this element, so they started forming plans to make it happen.

Having done work at Cape's Cream of the Crust, an ice cream shop that is part of Spanish Street Mercantile, they already had the right people on board to carry out the renovations. Tim Roth, a local artist and wood worker, and Raymond Petzoldt, a local carpenter, completed the majority of the work between mid 2012 and early 2013. As Charlie tries to do with all of his projects, they were able to incorporate many unique features into the space including the tin ceiling tile from The Mule Lip that closed in the early 1980s, a banister from a farmhouse in Old Appleton and a desk that belonged to Mr. Haman, the original owner of the building.

The Broadway Loft opened for business in March 2013 and some unique guests have stayed there since, including members of the Native Americans' Water Walk and some of the crew that has been in town for the filming of Gone Girl. More information about the loft along with reservations can be found on Vacation Rentals by Owner and the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau website.

Every September, I crave a great pair of statement boots. As the craving reached its peak this month, I was inspired to look downtown. I scoped out some of the best boot options in shops last week, and on Saturday morning my friend Aimee and I spent several hours planning outfits and finding fun places to shoot photos. Aimee graciously agreed to dress the part and model in the photos. (She was visiting from St. Louis for the weekend, and barely had a clue of what was in store for her.)

Our first stop of the morning was a historic building at the intersection of Frederick and Independence. There, Aimee modeled a darling pair of tan boots from Annie Laurie’s Antiques. A couple snapshots in and we were both thoroughly enjoying the experience. Fast forward to the end of the day, and we agreed that mixing a Saturday morning with a friend, gorgeous fall boots and a creative mission was a full-proof cocktail for happiness!

Enjoy the photos below, and don’t forget that each pair of these boots is available downtown! Shops and sizes are included in the captions. Thanks to all of the participating stores: Stash, Annie Laurie’s Antiques, Reruns by Cathy and Pastimes Antiques. This is just the tip of the iceberg, too, check out more options in these stores as well as other shops downtown!

Boots, Outfit Ideas & More Boots:


Author: Toni Eftink is a Project Manager at Element 74 where she leads custom web projects. She has a huge love for downtown Cape Girardeau and small businesses. You can find her on Google+ and Twitter.

This post is written by guest blogger, Kelsey Stratton, Intern at Old Town Cape.

Q: Who are you and when did you open the store?

A: My name is Kathy Pincksten and I opened Merci in May 2013 when the perfect building came along.

Q: What makes your store unique?

A: Merci has something to offer for everyone from babies, children and toddlers to adults with jewelry, decor, lotions, and even gifts for dads. My grandchildren were somewhat of an inspiration for the children's clothing though.

Q: Why did you choose to locate your store in downtown Cape?

A: The Julius Vasterling building on the corner of Broadway and Sprigg has been home to a variety of stores over the decades - a dry goods store, saloon, billiards hall, meat market, electric supply company, restaurant, cafe, and home appliance store - but we wanted to introduce something new to this building - a boutique! Kathy said" I love being in the downtown area and I love being able to shop around town and eat at the local cafe's for lunch. It's so quaint."

This post is written by guest blogger, Kynli Smith, Intern at Old Town Cape.

When you first open the doors to Annie-Em's at Home you immediately notice the warm atmostphere. Walking into the store feels like you are shopping at home. Annie-Em's at Home is celebrating their one year anniversary on Saturday, September 7. There will be wine, cookies and fun at the store to kick off the celebration, Having moved to a new location this past year, the downtown business continues to grow!

"The business has really grown over the past year. We are introducing new lines and have broadened our age group," said owner Emilie Stephens.

In 2012, Emilie took over the business from her mother who ran the business for 11 years. Having a dietician degee, Emilie had no idea that running a business in downtown Cape was in her future. "I never imagined I'd be operating my own business. That was not in my plan. But, I'm glad my plan didn't work out. Being a business owner in downtown Cape is an amazing opportunity, one that has brought many people into my life."

Emilie credits her family, friends and her faithful customers to keeping her business successful. It is because of them that the experience of being a business owner has been so rewarding. "New faces come into my shop and those faces are always full of news, stories and advice. The relationships that I've built with my customers are worth more than they'll ever know."

As far as Annie-Em's at Home's future, Emilie plans to keep expanding her business. She hopes to launch a store website soon and she's also busy shopping and looking for new products of her favorite things to bring into her customer's hands. There will also be a big Christmas Open House celebration in November. It's a tradition that her mother started many years ago. Emilie feels as though her mother would be so proud of the people downtown.

This post is written by Murielle Gaither, Director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.

Whether you have been in town for weeks or years, chances are you've heard of First Friday with the Arts. This iconic event was started in 2003 when the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri moved to their current Main Street location, deep in the heart of Old Town Cape. Every First Friday of the month, local galleries host a First Friday Art Walk. During this time, each gallery stays open for later hours (5 to 9 p.m.), and many provide light appetizers or beverages for visitors to enjoy while perusing the artwork. Some galleries, like the Arts Council, feature new artists or displays each month. Others change their displays every other month, or as often as they are able to. Many galleries even feature live music or performances to coincide with their First Friday opening!

With this event, arts folks hoped to encourage Southeast Missouri residents to visit downtown each First Friday, enjoy regional arts, and engage with the artists featured in the galleries. Now, ten years later, the event has grown to include each of the twelve galleries throughout Cape Girardeau, and visitors from as far north as Ste. Genevieve, and south as Sikeston and Charleston, regularly visit for good wine and great art.

Given the popularity of the event for arts folks, other downtown businesses take advantage of the extra foot traffic, and stay open for later hours as well. Stores like Annie Laurie's Antiques and Stash regularly open their doors to First Friday visitors, and some even offer fun promotions or events specifically for First Friday. These events change every month so if you're interested in knowing who is doing what, you'll have to check out the monthly schedule!

A great way to keep in the know is to sign up for the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri newsletter on our homepage. This newsletter is sent out weekly and informs readers about cultural and arts-related events in the region, including a full rundown of First Friday happenings. For a complete listing of the galleries that participate in First Friday with the Arts, stop by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri for a brochure, or visit this link. Did you miss First Friday? No problem! The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri Gallery is normally open Tuesday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.