Downtown Evolution
Proprietor: Carrie Carroll, owner, Carrie’s Hallmark, 117 E. High St.
Brandenberger Apartments
C
Carrie (Tergin) Carroll might be only one of a handful of people who had a store named after her before she even started school. “My parents named it after me when I was 4,” she says. A native of Jefferson City, Carroll is actually the third generation to own a business in the capital city. Her grandfather George Tergin, a Greek immigrant, fell in love with Jefferson City and started his shoe-shining and hat-cleaning shop on Madison Street. Eventually he moved his business, which in the 1960s was known as 1 Hr Dry Cleaning, to High Street. When her grandfather retired in 1976, her dad, Jim Tergin, opened a Hallmark store in the 1880s building. Over the years, the store has grown considerably, and three years ago they underwent a major remodel. “Essentially we remodeled from floor to ceiling and wall to wall, the entire store,” says Carroll, who says they worked with Jim Wisch, owner of Wavco, on the renovation. They additionally followed suggested Hallmark Corp. guidelines when they installed their new façade with an LED Hallmark sign, new carpet, walls and ceiling tiles and a new backdrop and countertops. Although the store is in Carroll’s name, she says it’s still very much a family business. “My parents are there all the time,” she says. “They love seeing what’s new, talking with customers and being with people.” Carroll also works hard to make sure the store carries a wide variety of unique and exciting gifts. “We are the place to go to get a great gift at a reasonable price, right in the heart of downtown, and we’re happy to have been there for 37 years,” she says. For the past several months, Carroll has been renovating three apartments directly above her father’s Coffee Zone shop on East High Street. “We named it Brandenberger Apartments,” Carroll says, “after the former Brandenberger Drug, to keep the history.” For now, the two single second-story rooms along with the two-bedroom suite on the third floor have been rented, but for more information, Carroll suggests checking out her Brandenberger Facebook page: facebook.com/BrandenbergerApartments. 46 | September/October 2013
Proprietor: Jonny Ver Planck, musician/tour manager, 301 Ash St.
Shrunken Head Tropic Lounge
J
Jonny Ver Planck, owner of the Shrunken Head Tropic Lounge, has always loved tiki bars. “I’ve wanted to open one pretty much my whole life,” says Ver Planck, who originally tried to open a micro-distillery with a tasting room/bar in town but couldn’t find the right place or partner. Originally from California, Ver Planck also spent some time in Belize and says his establishment reflects his time there. The bar is also reminiscent of lounges in the ’30s ’40s and ’50s and offers hand-poured specialty drinks and no premixes. Ver Planck’s intent is to provide area residents with something different from anything else in the area. “It’s a very laidback tropical-style bar with a mesh of Hawaiian, Caribbean and South Pacific along with a large dose of mid-century American hot rod/tiki culture,” he says. A tour manager and live sound/recording engineer, Ver Planck, who has worked with such bands as Sublime, Reverend Horton Heat, Hank Williams III, Linkin Park and Hoobastank, also showcases local distilleries at his bar. “There are a wide variety of local craft distilleries in Missouri,” he says. “We’ve got about nine in the state now.” Although renovations of the 100-year-old building were a bit slow, particularly because it sat vacant for a long time, Ver Planck felt the location and the timing were right, especially with Prison Brews expanding next door. “Even though the lounge is a tiny spot, maybe 35- to 37-person capacity, there’s a lot going on in this block, which is a good thing,” he says. “We’ve got several outdoor parties planned, and we will definitely be working closely with Prison Brews.” After a soft opening on Aug. 1, the Shrunken Head Tropic Lounge will have a grand opening in September. The lounge opens at 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Closing is at 10 p.m. on Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday.