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Here’s a new option for cheap, reusable bags if you’re interested in helping to save the environment on your next trip to the grocery store.

The Fresh Market recently rolled out reusable bags that are cheaper than its canvas versions, which are $9.99 each. The new bag, pictured to the left, is 99 cents.

And while we’re on the subject of where to find reusable bags, the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op on Grandin Road also sells U.S.-made, cotton canvas versions.

Some of you have commented about what you think of efforts by some local grocery stores to encourage customers to use reusable or paper bags, because they are touted as safer for the environment than plastic sacks.

A Virginia legislator, Sen. Frederick Quayle of Suffolk, earlier this year introduced a bill to give local governments the freedom to ban grocery stores from using plastic bags unless they are made of durable plastic. This bill did not make it out of committee, though other states and cities, including New York and San Francisco, have banned or limited the use of plastic bags by retailers.

Do you think the government should regulate the kinds of grocery bags that consumers use?

If your birthday's today, it's not only a day of celebration but a day of freebies. Some restaurants and other retailers nationwide are giving away free gifts to people who were born on Feb. 29 or Leap Year.

At Papa Johns, Leap Year babies can get a free large one topping pizza. The offer only is good for online orders, so here's the link if you qualify.

McDonalds is giving away free McSkillet Burritos, made of scrambled eggs, sausage and potatoes, with the purchase of a medium or large drink.

Let me know if you hear of other free offerings.

Happy Birthday and Enjoy!

How much would you pay to get through airport security fast? This news isn’t retail- related, but it’s an interesting consumer topic.

For $100 to $200 a year, Verified Identity Pass’s Clear service helps people literally fly through the airport security lines, or at least speed up the process of having your bags scanned and showing your ticket and ID to security agents.

It’s authorized by the federal Transportation Security Administration, and it’s offered at select larger airports, such as Washington Dulles International Airport and Orlando International Airport, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Roanoke Regional Airport isn’t one of them, but since many of you likely have flown at a larger airport at some point, you might be interested in reading this article about the service.

New plans are cooking for fast food chicken in Salem. Zaxby’s, a restaurant chain specializing in chicken entrees, will open at 903 W. Main St. at the former space of a Wendy’s.

Tom Noelke, a Zaxby’s franchisee who lives in Charlottesville, brought the first Zaxby’s to the Roanoke Valley in late 2006, landing it off Hershberger Road.

He’s also the owner of this new Salem spot, which will measure about 3,000 square feet and have a drive-through. It’s slated to open in May.

Noelke told me that he wants to build Zaxby’s brand in the Roanoke Valley. The Roanoke location was the chain’s first Virginia restaurant.

Headquartered in Athens, Ga., Zaxby’s has more than 410 locations in 10 states. It’s popular for its chicken fingers and buffalo wings. It’s also characterized by the restaurant industry as a quick-casual concept, which is a cross between fast food and sit-down dining.

The success of the Roanoke Zaxby’s “kind of caught us off guard,” Noelke said. “Even considering being in a recession right now, the price point is right.”
Many entrees average between $6 and $7, he said.

Noelke is considering expanding Zaxby's to three Roanoke County locations in the future.

To find out about the "Espresso Excellence" that baristas learned during their training at Starbucks stores yesterday evening, check out this article in the New York Times.

For those of you who didn't know, Starbucks stores closed nationwide yesterday for three hours for employee training. In the Roanoke Valley, many closed for the entire evening, starting at 5:30 p.m.

On March 9 to 11, when the Jewelers of America hosts its annual gem and jewelry trade show in New York City, a local jeweler will be in the running for a unique honor.

A necklace designed by Robert Mills, a staff jeweler at Amrhein’s Brides, Formals & Fine Jewelry for the last 18 years, is one of three finalists in a competition for original jewelry designs. The finalists were chosen from 13 states.

Here’s a picture of Mills necklace. The necklace, priced at $4,800 at Amrhein's, suspends a sea foam green stone on an 18-inch chain. The mounting is Celtic-inspired, according to Amrhein’s, which has locations in Roanoke County and Salem.

This is the first competition of this caliber for which Amrhein's has been a finalist, said Chad Amrhein, general manager. The retailer was founded in the Roanoke Valley in 1921.

If you want a java fix at five Roanoke Valley Starbucks locations, don’t wait until this evening.

Starbucks will close its stores nationwide today at 5:30 p.m. Most of the Roanoke area stores will not open again until Wednesday morning. Some Starbucks nationwide will open back up at 8:30 p.m. tonight.

The purpose for the closings, which are the first in the coffee retailer’s history, is to train store employees on espresso standards, so that “baristas will be better prepared to share their passion and knowledge with customers,” according to a company news release.

This appears to be a Starbucks initiative to lift sluggish sales at its stores. The company already has announced that it’s scaling back its store openings this year. It has about 7,100 stores nationwide.

But these closing won’t impact stores that are inside grocery locations. Locally those include the Starbucks inside Kroger on Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke County and the one inside Ukrop’s Super Market on Franklin Road

Click here to read more about the Starbucks’ closings.

I can’t recall purchasing many health and beauty items from online auction sites, but if you have, heed a recent warning from the National Retail Federation.

The industry group says that some common household items sold on online auction sites have been stolen and tainted. Retail crime rings often steal these items to resell for a profit. But they may not keep them in temperature-controlled environments, so the merchandise is in danger of spoiling.

This warning comes after a bust of an organized retail crime ring in Florida. The ring stole more than $100 million in health and beauty supplies over five years.

To keep from encountering these products, buy health and beauty items from legitimate retailers, inside stores or on a company’s Website, the NRF says.

Read on to see a list of some of the top health and beauty products stolen and resold by criminals.

Read more »

New fast food will land at Smith Mountain Lake in late April.

Bojangles’ is slated to open at the LakeWatch Plantation, a 479-acre commercial and residential development that sits northeast of the Westlake Town Center off Virginia 122. The new restaurant will measure 4,757 square feet and have a drive-through, said David Arrington, who is president of Arrington Enterprises, a franchisee for the chain.

The company is hiring about 50 employees to work at the new Bojangles'. Arrington Enterprises owns two other locations for the restaurant in Franklin County. It also owns three Dairy Queen restaurants in Franklin County and one in Danville.

Other businesses at LakeWatch Plantation will include a YMCA, a funeral home and some retailers.

Smoke-free dining may become the rule for at least one more restaurant in the Roanoke Valley. Though the Virginia General Assembly has not passed a number of bills to ban or limit smoking at eateries, one Roanoke restaurant may join others to regulate smoking at its own establishment.

Metro, a restaurant in downtown Roanoke, recently sent out a survey to patrons on its email list, asking what they think about smoking in the upscale eatery “to determine if we should implement a no-smoking policy,” it states.

I couldn’t reach Metro’s chef and owner, Andy Schlosser, for comment about what he’s learned from the survey so far.

I realize there are wide opinions on this issue, but not matter what you think, let me know if you’ve noticed other Roanoke area restaurants checking in with patrons about how they feel about smoking while dining. Also, what local eateries recently have banned smoking?