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Good morning, blog readers! I have what is potentially disappointing news about a retail center under construction in Southwest Roanoke County.

Thanks to a tip from one of you, I have been doing some follow-up reporting on the status of Keagy Village, a 16-acre center planned for the corner of Virginia 419 and Keagy Road. And it appears that a coveted chain restaurant might not be coming there.

Bonefish Grill, a seafood eatery based in Florida, now says that it won’t be opening a location in Roanoke County. That’s according to Cynthia Glover, a spokeswoman for the chain.
The developers of Keagy Village, Kahn Development Co., first announced in early 2006 that Bonefish would be opening there. Bonefish’s corporate office also has confirmed this news since then.

I’m not sure the reasons why this restaurant has reconsidered coming to Roanoke County. Glover said a Roanoke County site is not listed on the chain’s long-term opening plan, though she wouldn’t disclose that actual time period.

A spokesman with Kahn Development, based in South Carolina, has not returned several calls for comment about Bonefish’s fate at Keagy Village. But if the restaurant indeed does not come, that could spell bad news for this planned retail center. Already coffee retailer Starbucks has slashed its plans to locate a drive-through there.

And so far, no dominant anchor store has been announced for Keagy Village. Only one office tenant and a wireless retailer have confirmed plans to land there: Scottrade, a securities brokerage, and NTelos. Kahn Development has said that it expects Keagy Village to house 105,000 square feet of retail and 25,000 square feet of office space.

Stocking up for college always was a fun time for me. I loved shopping for the latest lamps, pillows and other quirky furnishings for my dorm room.

And now, you've probably started to see bright colored bean bags, bedding, cool clocks and lamps and trendy furniture on retailer’s shelves—now considered necessities for many college students as they prepare for life in the dorms or in apartments.

But according to the National Retail Federation, college students or their parents won’t be spending as much this year on clothing and furnishings. Back-to-college spending is expected to drop 7 percent this year. On average, a person will spend $599.38 this year, compared with $641.56 last year.
Total back-to-college spending is expected to reach $31.26 billion.

And college bookstores likely will feel the impact, along with clothing and other retailers, the association reports.

“College students are learning a hard lesson that when economic times are tough, fun purchases take a back seat,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin, in a news release.

Though expenditures will be down in some categories, the school supplies category should remain strong and increase, with the average student spending $68.37, up from $63.57 last year, the NRF reports.

I also thought this finding was interesting: More students may commute to school this year, rather than living on campus or in an apartment.

According to the NRF survey, 54.1 percent of college students plan to commute from their parents’ houses this year, which is up from 49.7 percent last year.

Happy Monday afternoon. I'm back from vacation, and I hope your week was a good one.

I found out a few more details about Virginia's upcoming sales tax holiday this weekend, and I wanted to pass them along to you.

Wal-Mart and Circuit City are among the retailers that are planning to slash the sales tax on more than just school supplies and clothing. In Wal-Mart's Virginia stores, the retailer says it will eliminate the 5 percent tax on all electronics, such as computers, televisions, cameras and wireless devices.

Also, as in previous years, Circuit City will make every item in its Virginia stores tax free.

From Aug. 1 -3, the state is slashing the sales tax on a host of school supplies priced at $20 or less and apparel and shoes at $100 or less. It's a way to help consumers save and spend in preparation for the back-to-school season.

But retailers have the option of absorbing the sales tax on items that are not already exempt. So, be on the lookout for these kinds of savings during the weekend.

Apparently, Virginia consumers saved about $800,000 during last year's tax-free weekend at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, according to Wal-Mart.

Here's a link to more info on tax-exempt items in Virginia.

We’ve talked about long lines at stores before, and I came across an interesting poll about line-waiting. It discusses how long customers will stand in line at a store before walking out.

According to a poll by Maritz Research, people are more likely to leave a department store because of long waits than other retailers. Seventy-two percent of customers actually have left department stores because the lines were too long, according to the poll.

But believe it or not, drugstores scored the lowest, with only 46 percent of customers choosing to leave because of a long line.

The research states that it hurts certain retailers more than others if customers become frustrated with long waits.

Here’s what Tom Krause, director of strategic consulting for Maritz Research’s Retail Group, had to say about this situation, in a news release.

"Specialty clothing stores and department stores have significantly more to lose than most categories if they keep customers waiting longer than expected. Typically these stores are in malls or shopping centers where competitors are plentiful. Plus, among customers who have left due to long wait time, 25 percent say they have not been back to a particular specialty clothing store and 13 percent have not been back to a particular department store.”

So, how long will you wait in line before giving up and leaving? For me, it depends on the store and how fast I want to get in and out. And how bad I want what I'm planning to buy!

According to this poll, shoppers expect a longer wait at certain stores versus others.

Here’s what it says:

Respondents indicated that they expect to wait an average of 8.6 minutes at a drugstore, significantly more time than other categories. Mail/shipping service stores averaged 7.5 minutes, while department stores averaged 6.2 minutes, specialty clothing stores averaged 5.7 minutes and convenience stores averaged 3.3 minutes.

The longest that I have ever stood in line at a store was 20 minutes and that was getting long! What about you? Can you think of the longest wait that you have had while shopping, and what’s your wait limit?

Check out this job advertisement seeking delivery drivers for Domino’s Pizza on Brambleton Avenue. The pizza place says it will give drivers a $100 bonus if they sign up for work.

Lately there have been news stories about how the high price of gasoline is deterring people from working for delivery businesses. Could this bonus be a way that Domino’s is trying to lure more employees, due to fuel cost challenges?

It’s only a guess. I haven’t received a call back from a local Domino’s franchisee to explain this job advertisement.

What do you think it means?

The franchise owner of several local Bojangles’ restaurants told me recently that his newest location will open in a few weeks.

Bojangles’ now has gone up on Peters Creek Road in Roanoke. The parking lot is the final detail to be completed, said Stan Seymour, the franchise owner. He’s also in the process of hiring employees. The fast food restaurant is several weeks away from opening, he said.

But his other planned Bojangles’ location, set for Colonial and Brambleton avenues in Roanoke County, isn't moving as quickly. Seymour said construction should begin in the next several weeks, though the last time I caught up with him, he was hoping that the restaurant would be open by August. He has run into some challenges developing this site, which are reasons for the many delays.

Seymour now says that this new Bojangles’ will be larger than he expected, measuring 4,800 square feet.

He owns three Roanoke area Bojangles’ franchises.

Already thinking about back-to-school shopping? You might want to hold off on your purchases for another week and a half.

A sales tax holiday is around the corner. From Aug. 1 to 3, Virginia and a host of other states will slash the sales tax on school supplies, apparel and other qualifying merchandise. This will be Virginia’s third sales tax holiday that coincides with the back-to-school season.

For this three-day period, school supplies priced at $20 or less and apparel and shoes at $100 or less will be free of the state’s 5 percent sales tax at all stores. But retailers can choose to absorb the sales tax on items that don’t make the cut.

For example, electronics retailer, Circuit City, made all merchandise in its stores tax-free last year. And remember, you don’t have to be shopping for school to get the discounts.

Visit the Virginia Department of Taxation’s Web site for a list of tax-free items.

So, I’m curious, have you saved any money during Virginia's last two back-to-school sales tax holidays?

Good morning, blog readers. I’m away on vacation for the week, but you know the drill. You’ll find fresh retail news here each day, so keep reading.

You might want to know about some store openings at Valley View Mall today. Both Puppy Love and Salon del Sol are debuting at the Roanoke shopping center.

Puppy Love is located on the mall’s upper level, near Macy’s.

Salon del Sol is in the District at Valley View, which is adjacent to the mall.

Also, cotton lovers might be interested in a promotion at Valley View. Through Aug. 10, purchase $100 in cotton merchandise and you'll receive a free cotton sling bag. So, if you like the idea of a free bag, start searching out that cotton logo!

Check out Valley View's Web site for more details.

Family Dollars are looking more like grocery stores but without the mega selection.

Locations for these discount stores in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas recently have been redesigned and stocked with wider food selections. They now sell milk, eggs and other refrigerated items. And many of the stores have additional varieties of quick preparation meals, such as more spaghetti and spaghetti sauce options, said Josh Braverman, a spokesman for Family Dollar.

The changes are a push by this North Carolina-based discount retailer to appeal to consumers who are looking for convenience and basic goods, from paper products to certain foods.

“In looking at how the economy has evolved since last October or November, we really put a focus on those consumable goods that people use every day,” Braverman said.

For customers heading to the stores for quick trips, Family Dollars have shifted the placement of certain products to complement others, such as selling plates near the food section, Braverman said.

The stores also now are accepting different electronic payments, including credit and debit cards and electronic benefit food stamps.

And Family Dollar even is following environmental trends. Tomorrow as part of a celebration of its new look, its area stores, including six in the Roanoke Valley, will give away reusable grocery bags to the first 100 customers. Also, the first 50 people will receive $5 gift certificates.

Certain stores discounts will last through Tuesday.

Local Starbucks fans can rest easy.

Today, the coffee retailer published a list of 600 stores that it plans to close through the first half of next year. No Starbucks in the Roanoke and New River Valleys are on the chopping block.

In fact, only five Starbucks across Virginia will close, based on the list. They are locations in Fredericksburg, Gainesville, Hampton, Newport News and Winchester.

The states with the most Starbucks closures include California, Florida and Texas.

Earlier this month, Starbucks announced plans to shutter 600 underperforming locations nationwide, after a decline in sales and earnings. To check out the full store list, click here.