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Located in a chocolate-colored building on the corner of S. Fifth and Cherry Street, Flat Branch Home Loans blends inconspicuously into its surroundings. Anyone driving by would think they spotted just another local business in a restored…

Several times each year, Scott Robinson packs enough clothes for a week, kisses his wife Cindi goodbye, jumps onto his Harley Davidson, then heads for the highways that crisscross the country. Unlike the stereotypical Harley Davidson…

The scene at 10 a.m. on a Monday inside Ernie’s Café and Steakhouse is one that is happening at countless diners across the country. At one end of the counter, near the front door, a waitress, dressed casually in shorts and an apron, is…

Allen’s Flowers is a perennial of a business that has thrived in mid-Missouri’s economic environment for the past 76 years. No matter the season, its floral arrangements have made homes and celebrations more festive. And the quiet beauty of…

While businesses that last generations are rare, Columbia is host to a number of companies that have served mid-Missouri throughout the ages. They have survived the ups and downs of business cycles, but they keep their doors open and…

Legacy and family businesses are rare. They not only survive the ups and downs of business cycles, but they keep their doors open and customers keep coming in for lifetimes, sometimes for three or four generations. Three local legacy…

About 100 years ago, an immigrant from Lebanon made his way from Ellis Island to Jefferson City. He knew very little English, but that didn’t stop him from starting a shoe repair business that eventually became the American Shoe Store. If…

Diamonds may be forever, but the same can’t be said for the jewelry shops that sell them. Robert Flynn, general manager of L.C. Betz Associates, has more realistic goals. He’s ensuring that a Columbia legacy business remains a prominent…

Parents returning to Columbia for a football game or to drop their college students off for the semester might stop by Booches on 9th Street for the nostalgia. The place oozes with it. But it’s not the nostalgia that brings in the students…

Oatmeal, twigs, rocks and pieces of shoe. These are the type of inanimate objects that talk to Kaye Gray-Manolov. And she gladly keeps the conversation going. She collects an odd assortment of these objects, storing them in her dining…

Joe Chee and Ben Brooks are co-owners of Ukatsu, a Columbia business that is not at all what it seems to be. The dozen large-screen computer stations lining the walls of their business at 1413 Grindstone Plaza Drive give it the appearance…

It takes just the right ingredients to make the 16 varieties of doughnuts on the menu of Harold’s Doughnuts. And it takes just the right combination of skills and personality traits to make a successful business out of the same dough.…

There is no single profile that fits all female business owners. Why should there be? Business knows no gender. It’s a trait that springs from the mind, spirit and experience. The five women who are profiled in this issue of CEO do have one…

Photos by L.G. Patterson Like many other retirees who woke up on a balmy June morning this year, Bob Jones went for a swim. He had been preparing for this particular swim for more than a year, and he had flown from Hartsburg, Mo. to…

Photos by L.G. Patterson After 86 years of experiencing life, most of those spent as a Ph.D. entomologist, Richard has developed an extensive understanding of monarch butterflies and a commitment to making a place for them in the world. At…

The team's the thing. Although nothing can replace excellent management skills and a respectful work environment, more and more companies are getting their employees out of the office and into team building experiences. Their aim is to…

Not all Missouri roads lead to Columbia, and not all the streets of Columbia lead to the University of Missouri. Except in the world that Lynne and Lanny Geary have created together. Lanny is a retired physician; Lynne, a retired nurse. The…

Photos by L.G. Patterson If Rocheport were a jigsaw puzzle, John Zondca and Diane Dunn would be a pair of pieces that fit exactly in its center. Having dropped out from the 21st Century's stressful pace of life, they've made a place for…

Photos by LG Patterson Bob Wood, owner of Dawson Shoe Repair, takes his position each morning behind the vintage wooden and glass counter at his shop at 212 S. Eighth St. If he looks out the large storefront window directly before him,…

Chuck and JoAnn Wilson are sitting together at 10:30 a.m. in the living room of their villa at Old Hawthorne. Their dogs, Dotty and Coali, are lying down nearby. Outside, a brisk winter wind is blowing across part of the golf course that is…