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It’s going to be a busy weekend for the movies, with today’s opening of “Sex and the City.” If you head to the theater to catch this flick or any others, keep in mind that the price of popcorn is rising. That’s partly the reason why at least one theater chain, AMC Entertainment, has begun charging $1 more per ticket. It also has raised popcorn prices.

Check out this story for more details.

We don’t have AMC theaters in the Roanoke or New River valleys, but hopefully, we won't eventually see other theaters upping prices as well!

Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea’s flagship shop moved across Campbell Avenue today, opening up in the former space of an antique shop. This is the first time that the Roanoke Valley-based coffee retailer has shifted its original shop in downtown Roanoke, which opened in 1990.

The new space at 117 Campbell Ave. is neat and larger. Seating stretches all the way to the back, in addition to tables near the front door and short bars at each of the two front windows. Some of the walls are exposed brick, while the rest of the shop is painted in a dark red shade. Star figures decorate the walls.

There are not yet tables set up at a brick patio outside the back door.

The menu is largely the same, though according to a sign posted inside, not everything will be served this week while employees are settling in. I did notice that prices have increased for some coffee and milk-based beverages. For example, a chai latte, which normally is $2.88 with tax, was more than $3 today.

Other locations followed after Johnson opened the first Mill Mountain at 112 Campbell Ave. There are three other Mill Mountains in the Roanoke Valley, and one in Richmond.

Here's one way to gauge people's habits lately when it comes to paying higher food prices. It’s the rise of take out, according to a survey about eating patterns in America.

Take-out dining is cheaper than dining inside a restaurant, because you’re likely not ordering a beverage. And you’re probably not tipping a server.

Check out this Q&A with Harry Balzer, a vice president at market research firm NDP Group, and author of its annual report on Eating Patterns in America, about this subject and other food spending issues.

So, have you been ordering food to-go more often lately, rather than dining out?

A local restaurant chain appears to be making a significant investment at its location at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke. Awful Arthur’s Seafood Co. wants to spend at least $50,000 to renovate a portion of its Colonial Avenue space for a brew pub. That’s according to a building permit filed with the city last week.

With a brew pub, Awful Arthur’s would be able to make its own beer.

I don’t have many details about this development yet, but check back here for updates.

I’m back after a long Memorial Day weekend, and I hope your weekend was enjoyable.

I recently found out about a new way that Downtown Roanoke Inc. wants to draw people to spend money, and it will kick-off this summer.

Beginning in July, this organization will be selling gift certificates for use at certain downtown shops and restaurants. You won't be able to cash in these certificates, but if you spend some of the value, you’ll receive the remainder back in cash.

Once the certificates are turned in for redemption, DRI will pay merchants the face value in cash. The certificates will expire after one year.

You can buy them from DRI and possibly at other locations, though the group doesn’t yet know what those will be yet. I'll let you know the locations once they're announced.

I usually don’t mind waiting in line at the store. But lately, I’ve hit some pretty long waits at a local Wal-Mart. I’ve walked in between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on some weekdays, and only two or three cash registers are open (not including the self check-outs or the "10 items or less" registers). Lines of people pushing packed carts are looped in a zig-zag pattern at each cash register. There’s hardly room to get by them or to actually get in line.

I realize that many retailers shut down some cash registers later in the evenings, but I consider 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. still to be early.

I caught up with Mike Young, the market manager for Wal-Mart stores in this region, to ask him why so many cash registers have been closed lately. His answer is interesting.

He said the daylight savings time shift likely has changed shopping patterns. The stores usually plan their shifts according to their busiest times. So, in the winter, when it was dark earlier in the evening, fewer people shopped after 6 p.m., and Wal-Mart planned its staff accordingly.

Now, since it’s light outside until at least 8 p.m., people are out later and perhaps the store hasn’t adjusted, Young said.

He also explained that every Wal-Mart is different. For example, the Bonsack Wal-Mart typically sees one of its largest rushes of the day at 1:30 p.m. That’s when lots of parents stop by for groceries and other items before they pick up their children at nearby elementary schools, which let out in the mid-afternoon.

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There still are a few hours left for a free food offer that's good for today.

Three Li'l Pigs in Daleville is celebrating its 5th year in Botetourt County. So, today it's giving away free barbecue!

Check out the Botetourt View blog for details.

If you’re like me, you’re already thinking of how you will spend the long Memorial Day weekend, whether it’s hanging out in Southwest Virginia or heading out of town. But no matter what you’re doing, it’s probably going to cost you more than last year.

Not to put a negative spin on what is supposed to be a sunny weekend, weather-wise, but prices are rising for basically everything and that will impact all of us, one way or the other.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

--According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, fewer Virginians will travel this Memorial Day weekend. The total travelers will decline by about three percent, and it’s because of fuel costs and other economic challenges. In Roanoke, prices were $3.69 per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline as of Wednesday, a substantial jump from $3.02 last year.

--It will cost extra to check baggage onto American Airline flights. Check out this story about the airline’s plan to charge $15 for each checked bag because of higher fuel prices. That’s in addition to your airline ticket. Ouch!

--If you plan to grill out, watch your budget. Increasing prices for meats, such as hamburger and hot dogs, will force you to shell out extra bucks. Read this story about how outdoor cooking is becoming more expensive this summer.

How do you expect higher costs to impact your plans this holiday weekend or this summer in general?

I have news on two store opening dates coming up next week and this summer.

Zaxby’s Salem restaurant will open its doors this Monday, according to franchisee Tom Noelke. The fast food eatery on West Main Street opens from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

Also, I nailed down a potential opening month for Kroger’s new store under construction on U.S. 460 in Bonsack. It may open as early as July, said Carl York, a Kroger spokesman.

York also said Kroger is not announcing details yet about a new fuel center that appears planned for Towers Shopping Center. Last week, the grocery chain filed site plans with Roanoke City to build a five-pump gasoline station at the corner of 23rd Street and Brandon Avenues. That area is just below Towers. Kroger has a store on Towers lower level.

You've posted interesting comments about the pros and cons of catalog shopping. Some people think it’s more enjoyable to flip through a catalog, with its colorful images, than to browse a retailer’s Web site.

Have you ever thought about how you shop? I ran across a survey by a women’s marketing communications firm in North Carolina, Frank About Women, which discusses whether fewer people are shopping for pleasure in this economically challenging time. From 2005 to 2008, the number of mission shoppers has doubled, while social shopping has decreased.

If you’re a mission shopper, you like to get in and out of a store quickly, shopping with a checklist and making practical spending decisions, according to this group. Social shoppers like to shop with friends or family, and for them, shopping is an experience.

So, what kind of shopper are you and have your shopping patterns changed?

Here are some other shopper classifications, according to Frank About Women:
Anti-shoppers—View shopping as a necessary evil and only shop for necessities or replenishment.
Zealot shoppers—Love all kinds of shopping, from trips to the grocery store to the mall.
Feel-good shoppers—Like to shop alone and browse uninterrupted. Shopping is a means of escape and a stress reliever.

I fall into several of these shopping types. While grocery shopping, I tend to be a mission shopper. While at the mall on my own time, I'm a feel-good shopper, but on weekends or out-of-town trips with family or friends, I fall in the social shopper category.