Business/Consumer

By Charles Christian After the economic misery of COVID-19, fast-food restaurants in St. Joseph are experiencing better times both in profit and employee retention. Both large chains and locally-owned establishments faced the same kinds of challenges other businesses faced during the pandemic, including supply chain difficulties. However, because of the close contact workers have with

By Chris Fortune St. Joseph residents might want to set aside some dough because there’s another food truck to try in town. Chef Baldee’s Pizza is located at 1013 Seneca St., near Patee Park and the Pony Express National Museum, where the white and blue mobile pizza kitchen sits behind a home on the property.  The pizza kitchen,

By Cameron Montemayor A popular and long-standing barbecue destination is celebrating an expansion from food truck to storefront this week in Midtown St. Joseph. Big Daddy & Son’s BBQ will christen its new storefront, which will go by Big Daddy BBQ, at 2121 Francis St. with a soft opening this Friday and Saturday from 11

By NewsPress Now EXP Gaming Lounge announced on social media Thursday that it will be closing its doors in April. “We are very sorry to our amazing customers,” the post said. “Unfortunately, we are no longer in a position to keep our doors open.” The store, located at 1401 S. Belt Highway, thanked its customers

By Jenna Wilson The Rolling Hills Library has announced plans to build a new St. Joseph facility to replace its Belt Branch, which could be open by early 2026. Director Michelle Mears said the library was seeking a piece of ground that was accessible, affordable and relatively flat to minimize site preparation costs. The new

By Jazmine Knight St. Joseph will be welcoming a new distillery next month. Parkway Distillery, located at 415 N. 13th St., is scheduled to host an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 16. “To our knowledge, this is the first distillery in St. Joseph since Prohibition,” said Edison Derr, co-founder

By Chris Fortune Efforts to build a new animal shelter have been renewed. The City of St. Joseph and the nonprofit group Friends of the Animal Shelter of St. Joseph will move forward with a plan to build a new animal shelter at 3405 S. Belt Highway. It will replace the current shelter at 701

By Ashley Luthans A fan-favorite Chinese restaurant in St. Joseph reopened its doors Friday after closing in December 2023. Twin Dragon, located at 2604 N. Belt Highway, is under new management. Amber Chumil Perez, an employee, said the previous chef has returned, but the restaurant will also be seeing a couple of changes. As of

By Chris Fortune A federal grant could provide a lifeline for East Hills Cleaners, which is growing to better serve its customers. The Community Development Block Grant provides grants to cities through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. St. Joseph is permitted to allocate funds to small businesses through the program to support

By Jazmine Knight What should have been standard HVAC repairs left one St. Joseph woman inconvenienced and out thousands of dollars, and she’s warning others to do their research before hiring anyone. It all started back in June of 2023, when Amy Bowman hired a local contracting company to install the HVAC. Even though it

By NewsPress Now A St. Joseph man is Missouri American Water’s new vice president of operations. Jody Carlson joined the company in 2015 and has served as senior operations manager, director of Northwest operations and vice president of engineering and business development. He previously was the city’s director of public works and was an engineer

By NewsPress Now St. Joseph’s Chamber of Commerce president is one of the state’s 2024 Women of Achievement Award winners. Natalie Hawn was one of 10 women selected from more than 500 nominated statewide. The award was established in 2022 by Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe to recognize the accomplishments of residents in conjunction with Women’s

By Cameron Montemayor A popular local Chinese restaurant is set for a comeback in St. Joseph under new management after closing its doors in December. Twin Dragon owner Mohammad “Sharif” Nazar confirmed to News-Press NOW the restaurant will reopen at its previous location at 2604 N. Belt Highway. While no official reopening day has been

By Chris Fortune A group dedicated to uplifting local entrepreneurs came together to celebrate its ongoing success. Cup of Joe was created to be an outlet for entrepreneurs in the area to come together and share the stories of their businesses and gain feedback from other business-minded individuals. During its weekly meetings, two entrepreneurs share

By Chris Fortune The remaining portion of a lot where a hotel is being built near the Shoppes at North Village is being proposed as an event center. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Stein and Summers Real Estate announced the proposal as a 25,000- to 30,000-square-foot building that can accommodate more than 400 people. The intention is

By Riley Funk St. Joseph is gearing up to showcase local eateries and businesses for the fifth annual St. Joseph Restaurant Week, which begins Thursday. Restaurant Week, running from Feb. 22 to March 3, is put on by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce and Joe Town Fun, with John Joe Insurance being the 2024

By Charles Christian A monthly meeting series is providing St. Joseph residents with a safe space to talk about all things related to death and dying. Megan Mooney, a licensed social worker, is the facilitator of Death Cafe in St. Joseph. She said the meetings are not agenda-driven, and instead are led by the interests

By NewsPress Now A local yoga studio highlighted the number of ways yoga can be beneficial to cardiovascular health during American Heart Month. Yoga combines the mental and physical aspects of health, said Jessica Bledsoe, a naturopath practitioner and founder of Evolve Studio in St. Joseph. Bledsoe has over 16 years of experience in physical

By NewsPress Now A new business in the Shoppes at North Village is bringing more boba tea and other unique drinks to St. Joseph. Fatbee Cafe is open for customers at 5107 N. Belt Highway near Claire’s and Chipotle. The cafe hosted its soft opening Feb. 10 and serves a variety of drinks, like its

By Chris Fortune Last-minute shoppers kept local florists busy on Valentine’s Day as they searched for the right arrangements. It’s one of the busiest days of the year at flower shops, with phones constantly ringing on the day before Valentine’s Day. But the holiday can be exciting for florists, especially when they work on designer’s

By Harry Loomis The Rendezvous Bar is relocating to a new Downtown location in the coming weeks. The bar, known for its live music, has called 619 Felix St. home since the 1980s. When owner Keith Dudley bought the bar last year, he didn’t anticipate the move. However, as a realtor, he knew he couldn’t

By Charles Christian As people prepare for big gatherings filled with food and drinks, local stores are making sure these gatherings will be well-stocked. Two locally-owned stores have been preparing for weeks, adding personnel and decorating the stores to make things more accessible. Jeff Heitman, co-owner of Green Hills grocery stores, said between decorations, food

By Cameron Montemayor Restaurant enthusiasts in St. Joseph can now add authentic Indian cuisine to their menu of culinary destinations. Clay Oven Indian Cuisine officially opened its doors for business Wednesday at 1209 N. Belt Highway in St. Joseph, making it one of the first authentic Indian restaurants to call St. Joseph home. “It’s not

By Cameron Montemayor Restaurant enthusiasts in St. Joseph can now add authentic Indian cuisine to their menu of culinary destinations. Clay Oven Indian Cuisine officially opened its doors for business Wednesday at 1209 N. Belt Highway in St. Joseph, making it one of the first authentic Indian restaurants to call St. Joseph home. “It’s not

By Charles Christian Despite relatively encouraging national numbers in 2023, local used car dealers are still riding the roller coaster when it comes to sales. The used car market has seen its share of ups and downs in the past year. According to industry tracker markline.com, used car sales were up just over 12% in

By Chris Fortune Development of a hotel near the Shoppes at North Village will clear another hurdle next week. Buchanan County Commissioners will sign closing documents for a plot of land off North Village Drive, just north of Jack Horner’s Machinery-Contractors, on Monday. The signing will pave the way for Rimrock Development, a Florida-based real

By Harry Loomis As revitalization efforts continue Downtown, retail and restaurant owners are finding it’s not as simple as if you open it, they will come. The growing number of people who live and work Downtown has helped form a core consumer base. “When we do date night every weekend, we try our hardest to