Some small businesses in the area are impacted by the students at Southeast Missouri State University.
SEMO Gas
Asif “Steve” Majeed and his wife, Toni, operate a local small business at 40 Sprigg St. SEMO GAS. Majeed, is a Southeast alumnus, graduated in 1996 with a degree in marketing management. He received his MBA in business management from New York University.
Majeed has been a small business owner in Cape Girardeau for 19 years. He values the college patrons who come into his store and shop. The impact of the college is crucial, especially when school is out. “When almost 12,000 potential customers leave town, it hurts my business as well as other businesses who are not a small business here locally,” Majeed said.
Majeed’s typical days starts off around 7:30 a.m. college students come to shop for cigarettes, sodas and chips before class in the morning. Christy Smith, a local patron and Southeast student, “it’s convenient, safe and the prices are good for my budget.
“I try to accommodate the students when they take a break from the books and attend the local pubs or parties,” Majeed said.
He is the former owner of Stevie’s, a local fast food venture that he sold. “As a small business owner, I save for rainy days because much of my business is seasonal, school is out three or four months of the year and business gets slow. On the other hand, when school is in, business is much better.” He credits much of the success of his small business to the fact that he keeps his overhead low to operate the business and pass on the low prices for his products to his customers who are mostly college students.
Majeed has basically transformed the success of one small business venture to another one.
Majeed Investment Group, which has been operating for about a year. Steve feels that as a small business owner he is providing a dual benefit to the community and to Southeast students.
“MIG owns rental properties in the area, my group purchase and rehabilitate houses or apartment buildings locally, “we go in and make the properties excellent to live in for local and college individuals who need a place to live, this is a new venture as a small business owner but I think that I can balance the two,” Majeed said.
Katy O’Ferrell’s Publick
Katy O’Ferrell’s located at 300 Broadway, is located about one mile from campus.
Some small businesses operate with the intent to accommodate students from the university, but this location is supported by local patrons and college students alike.
Bo Alexander, executive chef and kitchen manager, “We accommodate both the university and local patrons. The impact of the university is big, because students are 80 percent of our staff, this weighs on our bottom line as a local restaurant. We have down periods when school is out but local patrons and visitors still come out and enjoy the environment and great food,” Alexander said. Bobby Staten, a cook, for Katy O’Ferrell’s, “I know that the impact of not having coworkers who are local college students to help operate this facility would be a factor to operate this location,” Staten said.
