Roundup: Kleinpeter expanding into Mississippi … Steak ‘n Shake to open Siegen location by mid-2012

Can’t ‘Miss’: Kleinpeter Farms Dairy has launched its first major expansion outside of Louisiana, offering its milk in Rouses grocery stores on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Kleinpeter milk is now available at Rouses supermarkets in Diamondhead, Gulfport, Long Beach, and Ocean Springs, Miss. Jeff Kleinpeter, president of the dairy, says the agreement to enter the Mississippi market came out of the ties the company developed with Rouses while working to get the Smith Creamery products back on store shelves. Kleinpeter is handling distribution and packaging of Smith Creamery milk, half-and-half and cream as the Washington Parish dairy recovers from a devastating explosion in June. Shakin’ things up: A Steak ‘n Shake is set to open on Siegen Lane by mid-2012. The paperwork hasn’t been signed yet for the exact spot on Siegen, says Gustavo A. Ruiz de Chavez, the owner and chief operating officer for the local Steak ‘n Shake franchisee. “We’re waiting on a counter-offer, but we are going to Siegen,” he says. Construction on a Steak ‘n Shake in Covington, the first location in Louisiana, is set to start this week. Plans are to open that restaurant by the end of the year. Ruiz de Chavez plans to open seven Steak ‘n Shake locations in south Louisiana, including restaurants in Denham Springs and Hammond.