Did you know downtown Cape Girardeau is home to a gourmet dog boutique?  Mississippi Mutts is a friendly shop on Broadway that provides a place for you to take your dog to enjoy some well-deserved social interaction, to pick up a few toys and some new treats from their delicious bakery, while stocking up on his or her everyday supplies. If you and your dog can use a little help with obedience training, sign up to take part in their training classes.

Sherry Jennings, owner of Mississippi Mutts, says that people take their dogs to downtown Cape more than any other area. She calls our area ‘unique’ because you can take your dog for a walk, or you can take them to get wine or lunch with you. A variety of places downtown are available to explore with your dog. “More and more places are becoming pet friendly,” added Jennings.  She believes the growing dog friendly atmosphere makes downtown a more relaxing place, even for those who do not own dogs. 

Some of the downtown locals even bring their dogs to work. “It’s proven, when you take your dog to work it lowers stress and increases productivity,” Sherry noted. She definitely should know. Have you seen her dog Murphy out-and-about downtown recently? He has become a downtown fixture with enough love to for everyone. Dog-friendly work places are becoming more and more popular in our area. 

One example is Wynn from Cape Paint and Glass. He brings Harley, his golden retriever, to work every day. You’ll see them soaking up some fresh air and getting in some exercise around downtown almost every day during the lunch hour. If you stop in the shop, Harley is one of the first to say hello and welcome you in. ‘Harley has become our official greeter here at the office,’ commented Beverly, the office secretary. ‘He’s definitely brought some life and excitement to the business.’

Another famous downtown dog is Santino. If you haven’t seen Santino working in Sloan + Themis during the day with his owner Claire, you may have seen him wandering around many of our downtown Cape Girardeau shops. ‘People go nuts over him,’ Claire exclaimed! ‘He runs all types of errands downtown and he loves to get positive attention from everyone he comes in contact with.’ The girls at Mississippi Mutts will sometimes even keep him for a while after they are done grooming him to play.

Many downtown businesses have outdoor seating that helps make the area more dog-friendly. You can always see pups outside Cup ‘N’ Cork, Socials, Mediterranean on Broadway or Dynamite Coffee. What better way to relieve stress than a latte or a casual lunch with your best friend?

Another great downtown opportunity for dogs is the Cape Riverfront Market. During the warmer months this outdoor market plays host to local produce and craft vendors, musicians and an array of other specialized suppliers. Some vendors even have healthy dog treats for your furry family members. The casual, fun-for-everyone Market atmosphere is an excellent environment for these four-legged friends, so be sure to bring them along.

This post was written by Hilary Auer, Old Town Cape Intern; Kevin Taylor, Development and Resources Coordinator at Old Town Cape; and Christa Zickfield, Project Manager at Old Town Cape.

After becoming a downtown junkie, I even started to incorporate visits to other downtown areas when planning trips, but it didn’t take too long to realize that something was missing. There were no guides or signage to inform me of the small businesses that each area was home to. Therefore, I had to spend more of my time roaming around looking for businesses and less time actually visiting them. For someone like me who loves shopping, this was a problem.

After returning back to Cape from a trip to a small town in Virginia, I decided that downtown Cape had the same need as other downtown areas because it too had no way for visitors to know what it had to offer. Granted the area does have “wayfinding” signage making it easier to find downtown, but there was no guide available once visitors arrived – or should I say there wasn’t.

After about a year’s worth of establishing guidelines on what information to include for visitors, gathering information on the businesses and attractions, and laying out the design, Old Town Cape launched their Downtown Guide in the summer of 2014. It is a full-color guide, complete with a comprehensive listing of shops, restaurants, personal services, arts and entertainment and more in downtown Cape. If you haven’t checked it out, I encourage you to stop by Old Town Cape, the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau, Isle Casino Cape Girardeau or most of the downtown retailers to see one for yourself – you won’t be disappointed!

Although I no longer work at Old Town Cape, I do still work downtown and enjoy seeing people from all over stroll the area. Now, thanks to the help of many partners, they are able to use the guide to find the small business that carries just what they are looking for.
    
               

This post is written by guest blogger, Nicholle Hinkle, Director of Donor Relations at United Way of Southeast Missouri.