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It'll be August until you can dine at a popular Japanese steakhouse in Roanoke. And if you’re craving barbecue from a new Salem eatery, keep checking back.

These two area restaurants have shut down temporarily.

Kabuki, a Japanese steak house on Franklin Road, is getting a makeover. The owner is expanding the eatery, adding 4,000 square feet to its left side to create room for a more spacious dining space. Also, he’s replacing the current bar area with a sushi bar.

Significant work already has begun at this restaurant. But from today until late August, the eatery will close to finish up interior renovations, said general manager Atsuhiko Makajima.

Kabuki has a location in Christiansburg, if you're up for a drive to the New River Valley.

On West Main Street in Salem, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, has closed. But Jeffrey Gruber, a company spokesman, said the restaurant, which is a franchise, has changed ownership. It’s supposed to reopen within the week.

The reason for the ownership change is unclear. Dickey's, a Dallas chain, opened late last year.

In the last week, I’ve had some fun out-of-town reporting assignments. On Tuesday, I toured a new facility in Danville that makes some of IKEA’s wooden furniture. It’s a Swedwood plant, which is an industrial arm of IKEA. I watched production of some of this trendy furniture, including a popular LACK side table that retails for only $14.99.

As I left Swedwood, though, one of the heads of the operation handled me a thick IKEA catalog. It’s 371 pages of sofa, tables, chairs and all other kinds of home furnishings and accessories. But it got me thinking, how popular are catalogs anyway?

I typically go to a retailer’s Web site to browse selections and make purchases. I rarely consider flipping through catalogs. Long ago, it seemed that every retailer, especially department stores, had its own glossy catalog. Now, they're not as easy to find.

Do you use catalogs to shop? And what do you like or dislike about them?

A well-known fondue restaurant says it’s seeking franchisees to open a Roanoke area location. I’m sure some of you have eaten at a Melting Pot restaurant. It serves all kinds of fondue as appetizers, meals and dessert.

Dan Stone, who is director of franchise sales for this Florida-company, told me that the Roanoke area is one of the chain’s open markets for a new location. There already are Melting Pots in other parts of Virginia, such as Charlottesville, Richmond and Virginia Beach. So, the chain currently is on the look-out for people interested in opening a Melting Pot in the Roanoke Valley.

According to the restaurant’s Web site, franchisees must invest $35,000 and an initial cash investment of $250,000 to $300,000.

Be prepared to spend if you dine at the Melting Pot. I've eaten there, and though tasty, the fondue meals are not inexpensive. Stone said the typical Melting Pot customer comes for special occasions about twice a year.

The news today that Wal-Mart has bagged its plans to build a supercenter in Clearbrook may have dealt a blow to some retailers that were eyeing Wal-Mart’s current spot on U.S. 220.

The traditional Wal-Mart store on U.S. 220, located about a mile and a half north of the proposed Clearbrook site, would have closed if a supercenter went up.

Rumors and input from some local retail experts surfaced last year that at least one major chain that’s not already in the Roanoke Valley was considering Wal-Mart’s current spot in the Hunting Hills Plaza, since the big box retailer planned to leave.

Now that Wal-Mart has renewed its lease and canceled its supercenter plans, this same space no longer is the running for new retail.

Click here to read the Wal-Mart story.

The options for fueling up along a section of Brandon Avenue in Roanoke could increase.

A gasoline station may land below Towers Shopping Center. Kroger has submitted plans to Roanoke City's planning office to build a fuel center with five gasoline pumps at the corner of 23rd Street and Brandon Avenue in Roanoke. Construction crews already have been preparing this small corner area for some kind of development, though nothing has been formally announced. Kroger has a store on the lower level of Towers.

The gasoline center's plans haven't yet been reviewed nor approved, according to Danielle Bishop, a city development review coordinator.

The plans reveal that customers will be able to turn into this fuel station both from 23rd Street and Brandon Avenue. Crews also are installing a stoplight at this intersection.

The battle for cheap prescription drugs continues. Starting today, Kroger’s in-store pharmacies will sell 90-day prescription medications for $10 on generic drugs. This is an expanded drug list, compared with the grocer’s announcement in March that it would charge only $4 for 300 generic drugs in 30-day supplies.

Kroger also has increased the number of women’s health medications that it offers at discounted prices. Some of these drugs now will sell for $9 for 30-day supplies or $24 for 90-day supplies. They include tamoxifen, which treats breast cancer, and Alendronate, the generic version of Fosamax, an osteoporosis drug.

Wal-Mart is another retailer that has been marketing lower prices for prescription drugs lately.

What do you think is the most inexpensive local retailer for prescription medications?

Today the price of a stamp jumps 1 cent to 42 cents. Those who bought the U.S. Postal Service’s Forever stamps, bearing the Liberty Bell image, are in luck. They don't change from the price at which you paid for them.
More than 6 billion Forever stamps have been sold since their launch in April 2007.

Now, these stamps are 42 cents each, if you didn't buy them at 41 cents. But you can start preparing for next May’s postage increase by stocking up on them this year.

Here are some other price increases at the post office:

--Postcard stamps now are 27 cents.
--Certified mail is $2.70.
--A 2 ounce first class letter is 59 cents.
--Large 2 ounce envelopes are $1.

Stamp image: © 2007 USPS. All Rights Reserved.

Severe weather has been in the news lately, and June 1 marks the arrival of hurricane season.
Just in time, a sales tax holiday coming at the end of this month is intended to give you some relief when preparing for weather disasters.

It is Virginia’s first hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday. From May 25 to May 31, generators priced at $1,000 or less will be exempt from the 5 percent state and local retail sales tax. Also, 22 other items, including batteries, carbon monoxide detectors, first aid kits and two-way radios, priced at $60 or less won’t be slapped with sales tax.

For a list of all exempt items and other guidelines, click here.

Also, keep in mind that retailers can choose to eliminate the sales tax on any merchandise during this period. But they’re still responsible for paying that tax to the state.

If you’ve gone by Towers Shopping Center lately, you may have noticed that there now is a pink sign up for Planet Fitness. It’s a new health club planned for the Roanoke shopping center, and work has begun to renovate its space in the former spot of Hancock Fabrics on Towers lower level.

I haven’t been to Planet Fitness clubs, but I’ve read articles that this health club has strict rules about grunting while working out. Check out this 2006 New York Times story about the club's policy.

I’m haven't yet found out the date that Planet Fitness is expected to open.

Also, Gold’s Gym has opened its Crossroads Mall location in Roanoke. It initially landed a temporary spot at Crossroads for several months, while crews renovated its new space. This is the second Gold’s in the Roanoke Valley.

If you’ve tried out Gold’s new gym or if you’ve been to a Planet Fitness elsewhere, share your thoughts on these health clubs.

UPDATE: Look for Burger King to reopen by the end of July, according to franchise owner Mike Sloan. Sloan owns three other Burger Kings in the Roanoke Valley. The Vinton restaurant, which was built in 1972, needed a makeover, he said. It's been closed since mid-March.
Sloan called the new design a simpler look that is “less expensive to build.”
The new building will be longer and narrower, and it will be positioned differently on the lot so that drive-through traffic flows better. You’ll also find newly designed restrooms inside and flat-screen televisions.

Have a hankering for a Whopper? Burger King is Vinton is sending customers to its U.S. 460 store while it rebuilds. Crews have demolished this fast food eatery on Virginia 24. I’ll let you know once I find out it's reopening date.

Usually, when fast food restaurants are rebuilt, they emerge with a more contemporary design. Some local McDonalds changed their look several years ago by adding electric fireplaces and flat screen televisions.