The Rib returns; mini golf course, gun and archery store opens
A number of new businesses opened their doors in 2022, and others changed hands, some more than once.
The Rib is back!
An iconic Cassville restaurant that closed its doors a decade ago reopened in December, with the new owners aiming to revive the times of old.
Zanetta Campbell and Karlton Burbridge purchased the building with the goal of reviving old memories while creating new ones.
“Karlton and I have been together for many years,” Campbell said. “We thought there needs to be some more places in town for people to socialize and get a good meal, and we remembered how great The Rib used to be. We ant to bring back the same staple business. We looked at which real estate office had it and the list price, and we decided we could open it back up.
“Everything just fell into place. There are a lot of memories in that building, and it will be a nice place to eat and give some jobs to the area.”
Campbell and Burbridge already have their own businesses, tax and concrete services, and Campbell also has restaurant experience.
“We belt with our business experience, we could run a restaurant,” she said. “I was the lounge bartender at Steak Inn for 15 years, and I have catered big events like weddings.”
Campbell said though they did some small renovations, the vast majority of the building remains the same, as they intended to retain the look and feel of The Rib before it closed.
“We have 26 total employees, though not all are full-time,” she said. “We made a point to hire a few high school kids, but we have a mix of employees. We wanted the kids to have a chance to get experience in working and job ethics that we will instill but others may not.
“We are very family-oriented, and we want this to be a great experience for the whole community.”
STS Outdoor Guns & Archery opens
A new local business opened its doors just in time for the November hunting season.
Joe Goade, owner of STS Outdoor Gun & Archery, is a businessman by day, but he is also an inventor.
He has spent more than 30 years in this business and is the patent holder for the STS (Shock Terminator Suppressor) String Stopper, which he said is standard on all bows now.
In the mid-90s, Goade said he was known as the ‘Stabilizer Guy’ in the pro circuit.
“A stabilizer is a tube on the front of the bow,” he said. “Mine, however, had a hydraulic unit that helped absorb the vibration. Most of the others are just weights.”
Goade said the STS String Stopper is a rubber stopper that catches the string’s vibration when it is shot.
In addition to his invention success, Goade and his family have a long history of business operation in Cassville.
“My grandpa and grandma Dryer owned the old Dryer Shoe Store on the Cassville Square,” he said. “My dad worked for JC Penny and traveled a lot, so growing up, we moved around every six months.
“When I got out of the military, my mom and dad were back in Cassville and owned the old Rapid Roberts.”
That was 1991, when Joe was married and returned to Cassville, where he opened a Bodyworks Gym shop and started doing archery out of the same space.
In 1998, Goade moved to Tennessee, where he started two more successful stores.
In 2011, Goade moved back to Cassville and opened Bullets and Bows. He moved to Springfield for a short period, where he opened another business in the same locations as another Dryer Shoe Store that was located there.
Goade found his way back to Cassville when after some health concerns from COVID-19.
“Cassville has always been home,” he said. “My grandparent’s house went to my parents, and now me, my brother, and my son live there.
“I wasn’t going to open another shop, but I couldn’t stop. When you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”
Goade said many people have said they are happy he is back and opened a new shop.
“How can I not keep going,” he said. “I try to help people shoot better. I take the time to tune and coach. No other shops do that.”
Shooting for the corner pocket in Cassville
In mid-2022, Jarrod Henbest and JD Hunter found themselves with nothing to do.
After traveling to a casino and believing they wasted their money, the duo decided to take action.
In early July, the H and H Pool Hall opened in Cassville, occupying the former American Legion Building and Stumpff Event Center.
“Jarrod had come back from working overseas for 15 months, and he wanted to do something,” Hunter said. “We drove to the casino, lost about $100 each, then realized we just drove 45 minutes to lose money. We also saw a need for the kids we’d see hanging around the park.”
Hunter said the idea of the pool hall was floated, and it was put into action.
“I talked to Donnie [Stumpff], and he let us rent it for a year, which we paid all of in advance,” he said. “We plan to buy the building after the year is up. We are keeping it the same. We have to take down the ‘Post 118’ lettering, buy we’ll put up a sign that says pool hall.
“My grandparents played Bingo in this building, and the old Bingo sign is still there, so we’ll be keeping that.”
The Hall has six 7-foot pool tables and two 12-foot snooker tables, as well as slot gaming machines. Pool is $6 per hour, and snack items are for sale.
The Hall also has a beer and wine license.
New name, same help
Formerly known as the Barry County Habitat for Humanity Restore, The SW MO Restore and Builds made its debut in November.
Tabetha Cooper, the manager of SW MO Restore and Builds, said the local board had originally looked into disaffiliating from Habitat for Humanity about a year ago.
“There was a lot of red tape to make it happen, but we officially disaffiliated last month,” she said. “What this essentially means is that all the profit that the Restore brings in will be given back into this community, instead of before, where some of the profits were given to the Habitat for humanity organization, which didn’t necessarily get back to this area. We want it to stay in this community to help the people in this community. We felt it would be better for us to become a non-profit so we can keep helping the community we serve in.”
In addition, Cooper said they will have more freedom in both how and who they can help.
“We won’t be bound to specific income levels or areas that we can work with,” she said. “We won’t be hindered by boundaries.”
Pull out the putters!
A new attraction came to Cassville in late 2022, inspired by the natural beauty and tourism at Roaring River State Park.
James and Shannon Beemer, owners of Zone 4 Mini Golf & More, said the new mini golf course, which features the longest hole in the world, opened on March 1, 2023. The name, they said, was inspired by Roaring River.
“Zone 4 came about because of Roaring River,” James said. “Roaring River has 3 zones for fishing. Everything here is very nature themed.”
The couple live in Shell Knob, recently moving from Maryville in the northwest corner of the state.
“I’ve been coming to Roaring River since I was about 8 years old,” Shannon said. “I was fortunate enough to introduce my husband and family to it. We bought a house in Shell Knob two years ago.”
Before they purchased their home locally, the couple often spent their vacations in the area.
“I have always wanted to have a mini golf course,” James said. “This idea is all about having an affordable, fun, family recreation activity. This area really needed something.”
The Beemers’ children are all grown and live on their own.
“In Maryville, we had a business selling portable buildings,” James said. “That is actually where the buildings on this lot are from.”
Zone 4 Mini Golf & More has a completed a 19-hole mini golf course, with the last hole a record-breaker.
“The last hole is 535 feet long,” he said. “The Guinness World Record has the longest hole at 459 feet and 6 inches.”
In addition to the worlds longest mini golf hole, Zone 4 Mini Golf & More will also have batting cages.
“We have two token-operated batting cages and two manually-operated pitching machines,” he said. “We even built a dugout for teams to use. We are also building a general store and a concession area.”
Shannon said they also have many Missouri-made products in the store, along with souvenirs and antiques.
Zone 4 Mini Golf & More will have a safe and fun atmosphere.
“We believe in local businesses,” Shannon said. “We buy everything local. We don’t even use Amazon. When you buy local, you are helping a mom and pop, not a big company.”
James and Shannon have been married for nearly 12 years.
“We work together and live together,” Shannon said. “That is just how we are — we like to be together, and we hate being apart. Roaring River just means so much to me. My grandma and grandpa would take me there regularly for vacations. We were able to bring my grandma down here last summer for a visit, her love for this area is what brought us here. She passed away on Aug. 6, at 94 years old.”
Cassville Democrat changes hands — twice!
For only the third time in its 151-year history, the Cassville Democrat came under new ownership in March 2022, and on Jan. 1, 2023, the fourth owner was named.
Parsippany, N.J.-based CherryRoad Media, a subsidiary of CherryRoad Technologies, purchased the property from Rust Publishing and took ownership on March 1, 2022. The purchase was part of a 12-publication sale, including newspapers in Missouri and Arkansas.
Jeremy Gulban, CEO of CherryRoad Technologies, said a broker representing Rust approached his firm about purchasing the papers.
Newspapers acquired by CherryRoad in the Rust purchase included: Cassville Democrat, Cassville; The Monett Times, Monett; South Missourian News, Thayer; Marshall Democrat-News, Marshall; The Weekly Citizen, Marshall; Carroll County News, Berryville, Ark.; Ozark Mountain Trader, Berryville, Ark.; Lovely County Citizen, Eureka Springs, Ark; The News, Salem, Ark.; Areawide Record, Salem, Ark.; Villager Journal, Cherokee Village, Ark.; and Clay County Times-Democrat, Piggot, Ark.
Announced in December, the Cassville Democrat returned to local family ownership for the first time since 2004, as editor Kyle Troutman and his wife, reporter Jordan Troutman, purchased the property from CherryRoad Media.
“I cannot express how excited Jordan and I are to take over ownership of the Cassville Democrat,” Kyle Troutman said in December. “This is an incredible opportunity not only for our family and professionally, but even more for the Cassville area community.
“Newspapers are the backbone of democracy and society, and returning the Democrat to local ownership will help foster the ties between the paper and the community.”
Jordan Troutman said buying the publication is important to her because of her connection to the communities it covers.
“I have lived in this area, specifically Cassville, for most of my adult life,” she said. “I was raised in these communities and I am raising my children here. It is extremely important for us to be community minded. We aim to operate with an open door policy. We want to engage and be part of this community while simultaneously using our business to give the people what they need and deserve. This is what we are building for you, as well as for our own daughters.”
The Cassville Democrat was established in 1871 by John Ray, a native of Barren County, Kent., who moved to Barry County in 1850. Ray had been a surgeon in the Union army during the Civil War. He published the Cassville Democrat until his death in 1889.
Ownership of the paper moved through the Ray family on to Bob Mitchell, Charles Ray’s grandson through his youngest daughter, Katherine. Mitchell retained ownership of the Cassville Democrat up to the mid-1990s when, after more than 120 years of single-family ownership, he sold the publication to Mike and Lisa Schlichtman.
In 2004, the Schlichtmans sold the then 132-year-old publication to the Rust Communications newspaper chain, which owned the property until March, when it was sold to CherryRoad Media.
Gulban said when participating in a panel discussion at the Nebraska newspaper convention, another participant was a young couple who had just purchased their home town newspaper.
“In hearing their story I realized that local ownership, when possible, is really the right answer for small community newspapers,” he said. “Traditionally, this had been the model but it has not been utilized lately because of a lack of motivated, younger people who are willing to take on the challenge. I looked around our portfolio of newspapers and saw that the Cassville Democrat was a good fit for this model with Kyle and Jordan.”
Troutman said by returning the newspaper to local control, readers and residents will benefit greatly.
“If you call and have a question, you’ll speak to us,” he said. “If you need to renew a subscription, you’ll speak to us. If you have to submit a legal or want to place an ad, you’ll speak to us. The overwhelming majority of our processes will again be handled in-house. We hope to make things straight forward and simple.”
Troutman said news content-wise, changes may come slowly.
“We are planning to shift away from some of the projects we have done annually, especially ones with no local content, and plan to introduce some new projects in the coming year to highlight all parts of the community we all live in,” Troutman said. “As a newspaper, it is our job to inform, first and foremost, but we hope to also engage, entertain and inspire by sharing stories from our neighbors and friends. This newspaper has been here 151 years — it belongs to you, and we aim to deliver a product you deserve.”
Through all the changes this year, Gulban said this is a positive step for a small-town newspaper.
“I think this is a great outcome for the Cassville community,” he said. “As I have come to know Kyle and Jordan over the past year, I see two people who care about the community deeply and are willing to take the risk to dive head first into owning this newspaper. This represents an opportunity for long term stable ownership of the Cassville Democrat. I am so happy that they are willing to take on this challenge and we will be here to support them and help them to succeed.”
Kyle Troutman moved to Cassville in 2014 from Searcy, Ark., where he worked for The Daily Citizen as a news reporter, sports editor and designer. He was hired to be editor of the Democrat on Jan. 13, 2014, and he was made editor of The Monett Times, as well, in July of that year.
In 2017, Troutman was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors.
Jordan Troutman is a graduate of Southwest High School and was hired as a reporter at the Cassville Democrat in August 2018. She and Troutman wed in October 2020 and have two daughters, ages 7 and 1.
