Name: Don Pfitzinger, co-owner with his wife, Kathy, of Pfitzinger Graphics, 681 Larkin Williams Road, Fenton. Business: Pfitzinger Graphics, a business that specializes in signs of all kinds, including wraps, pinstriping, boat graphics, banners, lighted signs, sandblasted signs, etched glass, 3-D signs and custom projects. Professional background: Beginning with a commercial art degree, Pfitzinger also spent five to seven years as an apprentice for Baechle Advertising. He started the business in 1980. Civic Involvement: Membership in the Fenton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Olde Town Fenton …

Name: Ginny Goede, 78, a jewelry store partner Business: The Jewelry Connection, 956 Brookwood Center, Fenton. Goede is a partner in the business, with Mark Volz. Family: Husband, Lon, two sons, Gary and Wayne, three gradchildren and sic great grandchildren. Professional background: Goede started at the Jewelry  Connection in 1991 as a bookkeeper and learned the jewelry business along the way. Civic Involvement: Goede is secretary of the Fenton Charitable Association, president of the SSM St. Clare Health Center Auxiliary and has been a member of the board of the Fenton Chamber of Commerce …

  Submitted by Jennifer Beidle: While the economy may have been tough tough on the construction industry in recent years, Fenton-based Kaiser Electric is celebrating 60 years in business, having seen its share of ups and downs throughout its history, but evolving to suit the times and maintain a positive outlook. From the humblest of beginnings, Kaiser Electric has successfully survived 60 years of economic challenges, advances in technology and electrical trends to become one of the St. Louis region’s most recognized and respected electrical contractors. Robert Kaiser, chairman and general …

Name: Sharon Thompson Business: Owner, Port Salon and Day Spa Family: Sharon and her husband, Michael, have two grown children, Michelle Dierberg and Lisa Hedge Professional Background: Washington University,  degree in Journalism and Marketing. Civic involvement: Member of the Fenton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Day Spa Association and the National Cosmetology Association. Hobbies: Playing in a rock band, Play'n With Sharon, riding motorcycles, gardening and sewing. Comments: "People are the most important thing in this business. You get a good education from them because of the one-on-one …

Name: Russ Ahlheim, business owner Business: Ad Source One,  a supplier of ink pens, coffee mugs, tote bags, golf balls, tees, divot tools, among thousands of other items. The company also has wearables that can be custom imprinted with an embroidered or screen-printed logo. Family: Ahlheim and his wife, Cindy, have a daughter, Jennifer. Professional background: Ahlheim is registered with the Advertising Specialty Institute, which has more than 4,300 manufacturers offering more than over 500,000 different imprintable products. He also is a member of GoSmallBiz.com, an organization that helps …

“We’re a family-owned furniture store,” said Nick Scalfano. “My family owned a furniture store in Lemay that closed.” Nick’s family ran Scales Furniture, a store that was started by his grandfather and closed by the Great Flood of 1993. After the flood destroyed the family shop, Nick started working as a manager for some of the biggest names in St. Louis furniture, overseeing the operation of up to a dozen stores and millions of dollars worth of business. Now he wants to return to the small town feeling of a family business with the opening of Furniture Marketplace in Fenton. Nick and his …

Fenton neighbors Joel Austin and John Sikorski grow tomatoes, hot peppers and cucumbers in a large garden that straddles both of their backyards. One year’s bumper crop paved the way for their salsa and pickle business, Two Men and a Garden. They converted their wealth of tomatoes into salsa and started giving it out as Christmas gifts to their friends and family. The salsa was so good they were encouraged to make more and sell it. Austin said the salsa business is really just a hobby--and a way to support their gardening habit. They make and promote the salsa in their free time. Since they'…

Michele Van Tuyl and Gina Burlison are a couple of average Fenton moms who love to craft. They funneled their creative talents into opening a gift boutique called UniQue Ideas ‘N More, 2075B Bentley Plaza, where they create personalized gifts for any occasion. UniQue Ideas ‘N More sells gifts from t-shirts to jewelry and just about everything in between. They have three methods of personalization, all done in-house: embroidery, vinyl lettering and silk screening. They can also have items engraved. Most gifts can be customized with a two-week turn around, but a few easily monogrammed items can…

David Mark opened his second David’s Guitar Loft in old town Fenton last June. His first guitar studio in Webster Groves opened in 2000 and was located in a tiny second story “loft” over a deli. His wife and co-owner Lara Mark said they were looking to expand their business and decided Fenton had both the right family atmosphere plus a lack of competition from quality instructional studios. She said that David’s Guitar Loft’s main focus is teaching, where as other stores emphasize retail sales and have added musical instruction as an afterthought. “We’re a teaching store that supports our …

Sitting in an ordinary ranch home transformed with a wild blue paint job—on the floor—and bathed in natural sunlight, is Zoda. With her tousled hair and sunny smile, Zoda looks like she just drifted into town on a island breeze. It’s not too far from the fact. Zoda spent 22 years in Jamaica, where she used her artistic talents to design interiors for hotels, restaurants, night clubs and even a museum for Bob Marley. Zoda’s real name is Nancy Przygoda. She picked up the easier to pronounce nickname years ago by co-workers and she happily allowed that name to stick. She grew up in Jefferson …

Dan Diehl loves old buildings, which is a good thing, since he owns the old Fenton Feed Mill, a rustic collection of buildings that dates back to the 19th Century. The old mill at the corner of Ferry and Water Street has been a staple in Fenton from the town’s founding days, when it was used to grind locally grown wheat into flour. The main building houses a mill with an old belt and pulley system that has since been converted from steam power to electric. It's still used today. “When I first bought the place we mixed up a lot of hog feed and chicken feed,” Diehl said. Deihl bought the mill …

Marion and Randy met each other through their printing connections—their former employers did business with each other--and now they have been married for more than five years. And not too long after getting married they decided to run a business together. The Hollanders own and operate ProPrint in Fenton at 1165 Gravois Road, a local print shop that’s been a staple in the community for more than 25 years. The couple bought the business after the original owner’s family lost interest in the printing trade. The Hollanders are no strangers to printing. Marion “grew up” in the business and is a …

Jason Brassard's hobby, like a lot of guys who grew up in the age of Atari, is video games. Not just playing them, but collecting them, too. He loves to collect the games that he couldn’t afford to have when he was a kid. Twelve years ago he decided he could turn a profit on his hobby by selling extra games on eBay. His online sales were so successful that he quit his day job and opened a retail store, Trade-N-Games, in Fenton. His wife is pretty happy about the career switch too. He said that once he had a retail location he was able to move his massive game collection to a storage room in …

Janet Hall started out like most shutter happy moms by snapping pictures of her kids. Her photos were so good that friends asked her to take pictures of their kids too, and in 2003, Photograhy by Janet was born. Hall is now a full time portrait photographer with a professional studio in her house and mobile equipment for location shoots. She specializes in family portraits and also does team photography. She says she has a knack for making kids smile and always takes time to capture the perfect shot. Her secret? First, she allows plenty of time for each client. She can take time for little …

Colorful lights flash and loud music thumps as a crowd of women wave their hands while gyrating on a hardwood floor. No, this isn't a new dance club--it's Zfit Studio and these women are in the middle of a Thursday night exercise class. Kate Montana opened Zfit Studio in Fenton last January. In only six months, she has gathered a dedicated list of clients who join her to dance their way to greater fitness. Zfit offers Zumba, a popular form of dance aerobics, yoga and tai chi. There’s also a once a week flirty “chair dance” class, which Montana admits is mostly a novelty offered for …

“How many guitar players have opened up music stores that don’t last?” asked Tim Woestendiek, co-owner of Tower Music, 300 Biltmore Drive, Fenton. Woestendiek said many independent music stores have come and gone because their owners either lacked business sense or musical talent. He believes a combination of business savvy and passion for music is the secret to Tower Music’s long success. Tower Music got its start when Ray Hunsicker opened a little record store in St. Louis on the corner of Tower Grove and Olive in 1947. Back then it was called Tower Grove Music and Jewelry. Hunsicker sold …

Employees at Rub-A-Dub-Doggie in Fenton are up to their knee caps in friendly furry canines. The dog grooming salon and day care has a free roam policy, which allows good natured dogs to wander off leash throughout the business. Dogs that don’t play nice with others are separated from their cohorts by safety gates, or spend the day in the doggie playroom. The shop serves 20 doggie clients on a typical day, plus there’s a half dozen or more employee dogs who roam the halls. Owner Suzanne Christensen encourages her employees to bring their dogs to work with them, as she often does so herself. …

Chuck LaRico has been in love with bicycles since he was a kid, so the fact that he now makes a living selling and repairing bikes is no big surprise. LaRico runs Olde Towne Fenton Cyclery, Fenton’s only dedicated bike shop, located in the former El Nopel Mexican restaurant at 630 Old Gravois Road. His parents, Donna and Rich own the shop, while Chuck runs the day-to-day business. “They’re going to retire to the Lakes. They’re teaching me about business and I’m teaching them about bikes,” LaRico said. While this is Chuck’s first business venture, his parents are experienced merchants and used…

Rene Fletcher didn’t dance when she was a child—instead she played soccer and hung out with her three brothers. Now she’s surrounded by frilly pink tutus, rhinestone studded costumes and handmade Irish dance shoes. She’s the proud owner of On Pointe Dancewear in Fenton. She got into the dancewear business by way of her two daughters, who both love dance and gymnastics. She said her first daughter was only two when she announced she wanted to be a dancer. Fletcher said she didn’t give the request much thought at first, but after her daughter started using the back of the couch as a balance …

Ginny Goede has lived and worked in Fenton her entire life and when the opportunity came to go into the jewelry business, she never hesitated. She worked in the banking industry for 28 years, beginning as a bookkeeper at the former Fenton Bank and then on through its transition to Commerce Bank, becoming financial services manager. She also served 30 years as the Fenton Area Chamber of Commerce’s treasurer. In 1990 she brought her financial background to The Jewelry Connection and became co-owner with Mark Volz in 2004. The store, 956 Brookwood Centre, off Smizer Mill Road, offers rings, …