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The owners of casual clothing retailer, Steve & Barry's, said in a court filing Wednesday that all of the company's stores will be liquidated by early next year, according to a Reuters update. Steve & Barry's has one local store at Roanoke County's Tanglewood Mall. The New York-based retailer moved into a large, 48,000 square foot space on Tanglewood's upper level in 2006.

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July and selling the business to investment firms,  Steve & Barry's, based in New York, said in September that it would close 106 stores nationwide. But the Roanoke County store and a few other Virginia locations were planned to remain open.

But the new owners have been unable to obtain financing, and they said they cannot continue operating the stores, according to the Reuters story. They asked the court for permission to begin store closing sales soon, in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Walking through Sears at Valley View Mall on Wednesday, I heard an overhead advertisement reminding shoppers of a feature that Sears has brought back to its stores. It's layaway, and it made its comeback on Sunday.

With layaway you can put purchases on hold at a certain store and pay for them in increments within a specific time period. The service gained popularity during the Great Depression. For years, before credit cards were frequently used, layaway was the medium of purchasing for many people. My mom and my grandmother used layaway often to buy Christmas clothes for my sister and I when we were young.

In the past few years, most retailers, including Wal-Mart, have gotten rid of layaway. Last year during the holidays, I wrote a newspaper story about the few local stores that still have layaway. They include Kmart and T.J. Maxx.

Now, Sears joins the list again. The retailer said it brought back layaway as a way to help consumers pay for purchases in this poor economic climate.

If you're thinking of giving layaway a try at Sears, you won't have to track down a separate layaway counter in the store, such as at Kmart and T.J. Maxx. Layaway orders are accepted at each cash register at Sears.

Today is opening day at Super Dollar Discount Foods in Vinton. This grocer landed on Bypass Road in the River Park Shopping Center, which formerly housed a Winn-Dixie store.

K-VA-T Food Stores of Abingdon owns Super Dollar and Food City stores. According to a news release from the company, Super Dollar has "top-selling supermarket items at rock bottom prices." Its stores stock Food Club and ValuTime brands, as well as certain national brands.

The Vinton Super Dollar store has a meat department, where you can buy packaged and fresh cut meats. Other sections of the store sell produce, dairy and frozen foods and items for $1, named the Dollar Zone.

There will be a separate gasoline station in the grocer's parking lot, though it's not open yet.

Click here to read an update on the Vinton Super Dollar in my retail roundup column in Nov. 16's Business section.

Last month while I was interviewing people locally about ways they have been reigning in spending, I met Mary Bazzell. Bazzell of Roanoke County said she's cutting back her budget so much that Christmas will be different for her and her family this year. They're not exchanging gifts at all.

Much of her family lives in Illinois, and when I spoke with her, she was hoping that she could afford to visit them this year. Bazzell works full-time, but she's nearing retirement.

As the holidays approach, I'm wondering if your Christmas will look differently than years past. How is your holiday spending changing? Some families are making significant alterations, such as drawing names rather than buying a gift for each person.

An increasing number of American consumers plan to spend less money, rather than more, this holiday season. According to the NPD Group's consumer intentions survey in October, 26 percent of people said they will spend less, compared with 18 percent in 2007. Also, 11 percent of those surveyed said they will spend more money this season. As for the rest, 63 percent of people plan to spend the same amount on gifts.

Here's a breakdown of the top 10 most popular gifts this year and the percentage of consumers who plan to purchase each, according to the NPD Group.

1) Apparel: 49 percent

2) Toys: 37 percent

3) Movies: 29 percent

4) Books: 27 percent

5) Electronics (t.v., computers, digital cameras, MP3 players, etc.): 23 percent

6) Video games: 22 percent

7) Accessories (bags, watches): 20 percent

8) Music: 20 percent

9) Food: 17 percent

10) Fragrances: 17 percent

Here's some good news in the midst of tough economic times. AAA Mid-Atlantic estimates that the average family in Virginia has about $200 more in their wallets or pocketbooks each month, compared with July of this year. It's because of significantly lower gasoline prices. I don't know about you, but I've definitely noticed a difference in my budget since the price of gas has slipped downward in the last month. 

According to Martha Meade, who is manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, "for every dollar change in the price of a gallon of gas, the average family is going to spend or save $100 each month."

Today in Roanoke, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline was $1.84, according to AAA. That's compared with $2.85 last month and $2.99 last year. Compare gas prices in other areas of Virginia on the daily fuel gauge report here.

A new soup and sandwich restaurant opens its doors today. McAlister's Deli debuts at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke.

Chris Smith and Jeff Shawl, both of Tennessee, are the franchise owners for this  Roanoke eatery. This is the eighth McAlister's location for their company, Peak Restaurants LLC. McAlister's is a Mississippi-based chain.

Click here to read a past blog post about McAlister's.

If you dine at McAlister's in Roanoke, let me know what you think of it.

I know, it seems way too early to start thinking about Black Friday, the shopping-crazed day after Thanksgiving when people wake up before daybreak to steal the deals.

But yet again, some Web sites are giving you a sneak peak at the ultra sales for this Black Friday, which falls on Nov. 28.  One site reminds visitors that Black Friday is only 14 days away.

Here are two of the sneak peak Web sites:

http://bfads.net/

http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

Already, the sites have posted "doorbuster" sales expected at different national retail chains, such as Best Buy, Radio Shack and J.C. Penney.

Speaking of J.C. Penney, the department store retailer released this week details of its holiday marketing campaign. For Black Friday, J.C. Penney again will open stores nationwide at 4 a.m., and shoppers can sign up for a wake-up call that morning.

Also, look for references to a Turkey Tailgate at J.C. Penney stores. That's how the retailer is marketing the Black Friday madness this year.

Some department store retailers need all of the help that they can get this holiday season. Click here to read about J.C. Penney's dismal profits for the third quarter, which were reported today.

Have you started to think about your Thanksgiving Day dining plans? The annual Turkey Day holiday will be here in about two weeks, and according to this story, some people are opting to eat at home this year, to save money, rather than dining at a restaurant.

With this such troubling holiday spending forecasts this year, there's already hefty price slashing happening for some popular Thanksgiving foods at the grocery store, including turkey and cranberry sauce, states the story.

Here are a few ways that you can keep your Thanksgiving budget under control this year, according to Jennifer Ebelhar McDaniel, an assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University. Let me know if you have other tips to add to the list:

1) Compose your shopping list a week in advance, so you can start searching for sales and using coupons.

2) Don't try to serve everyone's favorite dish. Pick certain foods and spread out the offerings among vegetables, protein, starches and desserts.

3) Use frozen vegetables where you can. They are cheaper than fresh vegetables and usually offer the same nutrient quality.

4) Buy the whole turkey, rather than buying the pieces separately.

5) Designate certain dishes for your guests to bring.

UPDATE (Nov. 14) : Click here to read the story about Flat Rock Grille's bankruptcy filing.

I have more details about Flat Rock Grille's Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The Roanoke restaurant owner is listed as Andyboo LLC on bankruptcy documents. The members under this limited liability company are Tracey Anderson and Kimberlee Boothe.

The Roanoke Flat Rock is independently owned, and it is not affiliated with other Flat Rocks, including those in North Carolina. 

Unfortunately for those of you who have gift certificates for Flat Rock in Roanoke, there's not much hope for getting your money back at least from another Flat Rock location.

Trenda Boone, who is regional operations director for three Flat Rock restaurants in North Carolina, told me that she cannot repay customers for the gift certificates, because her restaurants are not affiliated with the Roanoke eatery.

But you can redeem the gift certificates at Flat Rock's North Carolina restaurants in Hickory, Charlotte and Asheville. Or course that means you'll have to drive there.

Alcohol was sold today at an auction at the former site of the Flat Rock Grille restaurant in Roanoke. But the restaurant's equipment and other fixtures were not sold, because the Flat Rock owner filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy yesterday, according to bankruptcy documents.

Roanoke city treasurer Evelyn Powers said the equipment now will be sold through trustees.