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I’m back from a sunny trip to Florida, where the sandy beach was as white as flour and the turquoise water refreshing. The shopping also was marvelous. I hit a mall with Ann Taylor, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and many other stores, including cute boutiques near the beach. I can’t go on vacation without fitting in a little time for shopping. How about you?

Anyway, it sounds like many of you had a lot to say last week, from discussing the high prices of ordering pizza and to weighing in on retail downtown.

I’m still shifting through emails and messages from last week, but I ran into some information about a new Domino’s Pizza location in downtown Roanoke. I know several of you said you don’t like to order pizza from chain establishments, but in case anyone likes Domino’s Pizza, this restaurant opened recently on Williamson Road, inside the former Yellow Cab building.

Its interior design reflects the chain’s new Vision 20/20 design. Inside there’s an open area view into the kitchen where you can watch the pizza as it’s being made.

You also can tell from this picture on the left that the bright colors and design are more contemporary. Apparently, this is the 7th location in the Mid-Atlantic region to sport the new Domino’s look.

This structure was built in 1928, so it’s an example of a historic building taking on a very new use.

Who considers pizza an indicator of economic trends? Food industry firm, Technomic, thinks it’s a worthy gauge. Apparently, the number of households that are ordering pizza during the weekend is up, while during the week, it’s down. It’s a signal that consumers are tightening their wallets, Technomic says.

The observation is interesting, and I guess it makes sense.

"Instead of going out for a sit-down meal during the weekend and ordering pizza for dinner during the week, consumers are scaling back by having an affordable pizza meal on the weekend and preparing more weekday meals at home,” said Darren Tristano, an executive vice president at Technomic, based in Chicago.

This year, 32 percent of people reported ordering pizza for dinner during the weekend, while only 29 percent had pizza on a week day.

That’s a difference from the year 2006, when 35 percent of people said they ordered pizza during the week, and 28 percent had it on the weekend, according to the Technomic report.

So, analyze your pizza ordering trends. Do you or your family fit this report?

For many holidays, the National Retail Federation releases a report about what consumers will spend. Lately, these reports have looked nearly the same.

For the last several holidays, high gasoline and food prices have been predicted to cut into spending. And Father’s Day appears to be no different.

The annual day to honor your dad is Sunday, and according to the NRF, people will spend an average of $94.54, compared with $98.34 last year. Total spending nationally will be $9.6 billion.

Most people plan to take their fathers out for a special outing, such as dinner. Other popular gifts are clothing, books, gift cards and sporting goods, according to the NRF.

So, what about you? Are high prices for what seems to be everything impacting your Father’s Day budget?

A local convenience coffee chain has hot plans ahead. Java the Hutt, a coffee drive-through business, is making an entrance at Virginia Western Community College. On July 21, owners Bob Buckley and his wife, Mary, will open a coffee and beverage kiosk in the college’s student center.

And by early next year, they’ll open a full shop inside Virginia Western’s commons area. There, they plan to serve the typical coffee and related beverages, along with bagels, muffins and possibly desserts.

Also, this local chain is headed for Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. On Aug. 25, Java the Hutt will take the place of Jazzman’s, a cafe on the hospital’s ground floor, Bob Buckley said. He called the move “an answered prayer.”

And while making all of these plans, the Buckleys' business is adjusting to its third local drive-through location on Orange Avenue. Java the Hutt recently replaced Joltz, a former coffee drive-through, at Market Square East Shopping Center.

The Buckleys opened their first Java the Hutt at Towers Shopping Center in 1994. Earlier this year, they closed Coda, a coffee and food shop on Grandin Road, to focus more on their drive-through business.

Photo by Kyle Green, Roanoke Times photographer, of Bob Buckley at the Towers Shopping Center Java the Hutt.

Planet Fitness at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke is beginning to sign-up members. A flyer for this new health club states that there’s a pre-grand opening sale going on. From now until June 27, you can sign up for memberships for $10 a month. The fine print states that this rate is subject to a $20 annual rate guarantee fee.

It also does not include a $29 one-time start-up fee.

I still haven’t heard from the franchise owner about when this new health club will open, though renovation work already has begun at the space. Click here for more info about Planet Fitness.

Good morning, everyone! I’m on vacation in Florida this week, but thanks to technology, I’m still blogging. So, keep coming back here and post comments, too.

Let’s start the week off with some new information about a local skate board shop. The Greenhouse board shop soon will be rolling to a new home. After 13 years on Market Street in downtown Roanoke, this store is moving to Valley View Boulevard in Roanoke.

By July, it will land a larger space at a strip center that also houses the International House of Pancakes and U.S. Cellular.

Kenny Johnson, a retired owner of the Greenhouse who works at the shop occasionally, said finding parking downtown was becoming too difficult for customers. On Saturdays, the store's busiest day of the week, most nearby parking spaces are filled up, said Johnson, whose two sons, Lee and Daniel, now own the Greenhouse shops in Roanoke and Blacksburg.

Johnson said the Blacksburg store’s sales are growing, while in Roanoke, they are not. He blamed the sales drop-off on a lack of convenient parking options.

At the Greenhouse's new Valley View Boulevard space, “we have parking right in front of us now,” he said.

Photo by Roanoke Times photographer Jared Soares

If you've seen an online job advertisement on Monster.com or other Web sites for a Whole Foods Market in Roanoke, don’t get excited.

Apparently, this job ad seeking an assistant store manager for a Whole Foods in Roanoke is a mistake. A Whole Foods spokeswoman told me that the grocery retailer confused Roanoke with its planned Richmond store, which is supposed to open this fall.

I’m sorry to disappoint those of you who have had your hearts set on Whole Foods coming here.

Whole Foods, a natural and organic grocery chain based in Austin, Texas, plans to open its Richmond store at Short Pump. Also Whole Foods is relocating its store in Charlottesville to a new area off Hydraulic Road.

In the mood for a sweet treat that costs nothing? To celebrate National Doughnut Day, Krispy Kreme is giving each person a free doughnut of their choice today.

This celebration, which falls on the first Friday in June, was established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army as a way to raise funds during the Great Depression, according to Krispy Kreme. It also was a chance to honor World War I Salvation Army workers who made doughnuts for soldiers.

In Roanoke, Krispy Kreme is located on Melrose Avenue.

At least one Roanoke Kroger has added a few additional self checkout kiosks, revealing that there is growing demand for this quick and supposedly convenient way of buying groceries.

Kroger is looking for opportunities to add more of these kiosks in its high-traffic Roanoke Valley stores, said Carl York, a spokesman for the grocer.
Still the grocery chain recognizes that not everyone likes to use self checkouts, which require customers to scan their own groceries and bag them.

“There are a lot of people who really like them [the self check-out],” York said. “Others still like going through the lines and talking with the cashier.”

The newest local Kroger that is under construction on U.S. 460 in Roanoke County will have self checkout kiosks, he said. It’s planned for a late July opening.

Here's an interesting article about the popularity of self-service machines, whether they are self checkouts or vending machines. A report by Packaged Facts forecasts that the transaction volume of self checkouts will continue to rise.

Of course, there are pros and cons to using self checkouts, which you now can find at many big box retailers, including Wal-Mart. I typically use them to purchase a maximum of 10 to 15 items. And I appreciate when others abide by roughly that same rule. Those lines can be long at times!

What do you like or dislike about using self checkouts?

An Indian restaurant in downtown Roanoke has closed, and a Thai food eatery is moving in.

Thai Orchid is taking over the former space of Swagat Indian Cuisine on First Street.

Thai Orchid was forced to vacate its previous downtown location on South Jefferson Street when the Jefferson Motor Lodge site was sold late last year and ultimately closed. Thai Orchid had operated at the lodge for less than a year.

The motor lodge since has been demolished, and there are plans to build a structure to house Social Security Administration offices in its place.

The owner of Thai Orchid, Richard Sarayudej, told me that he considered opening an eatery in Norfolk, where some of his friends reside. But he couldn’t find a location there.

And the Swagat space in downtown Roanoke opened up. This restaurant apparently closed several months ago, but the reason is unclear.

Sarayudej said Thai Orchid should open by July. Currently, he’s cleaning up and adding new tables inside this space, which he is renting. Tong's Thai is another downtown thai restaurant on Salem Avenue.

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