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Presidential freebies are flying today with the inauguration of the 44th president. You can find free treats and deals at several national chain restaurants with local locations. Take advantage of these freebies and discounts before the day's end.

**Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is giving away a free doughnut of your choice, per customer, today.

**T.G.I. Friday's hosts what it calls the world's largest inauguration party. There are special deals on drinks and half price appetizers, with the purchase of an entree. And at 9 p.m., all restaurants will have a toast.

**Dunkin Donuts is selling new red, white and blue sprinkled Stars & Stripes doughnuts all this week, for 89 cents each.

The country is abuzz with the news of Barack Obama's inauguration tomorrow, and Ben & Jerry's also is celebrating the new president. The Vermont ice cream company has renamed its butter pecan flavored ice cream, "Yes, Pecan," reflecting on Obama's "Yes, We Can"  theme for change.

The butter pecan flavor will bear its new name this month.

Proceeds from the sell of the "Yes Pecan" flavor will go toward the education fund of Common Cause, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy group that encourages people to voice their opinions in the political process.

Regionally, Ben & Jerry's has shops at Roanoke's Valley View Mall and at Christiansburg's New River Valley Mall.

Time has run out for Circuit City.

After exploring various alternatives for keeping its doors open and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, this Richmond electronics retailer said today that it will close its remaining 567 stores nationwide. Liquidation sales at Circuit City stores will begin Saturday and continue through March, according to this story.

Circuit City has one store in Roanoke, near Valley View Mall.

Tired of clipping coupons? Try using your cell phone.

Cell phones are fast becoming a popular medium for retailers to reach out to consumers. Kroger is one of the first major grocery chains to make couponing available via mobile devices.

By registering your cell phone at www.cellfire.com, a free service, Kroger will zap coupons directly to your phone. They are automatically matched with your Kroger Plus Card.  The savings are deducted when you swipe your card at the cash register.

Sears, Hollywood Video and Hardees are other retailers that offer digital coupons through Cellfire. Visit www.cellfire.com to learn how to redeem coupons at these and other stores.

I haven't yet tried cellphone couponing, but if you do, let me know how it works for you.

Music fans should pay attention to the latest news about Plan 9 Music in Roanoke. This independent music retailer that opened a Grandin Village store in 2007 is cutting its hours, and it's offering special shows on Thursdays to drive business.

This news comes after Plan 9 circulated a bulletin in December begging for more business at its Roanoke store.

Check out Tad Dickens' cutNscratch blog for more information about Plan 9.

When consumers recently weighed in on the retailers with the best customer service, L.L. Bean came out on top. That's according to a National Retail Federation/American Express Customers' Choice survey this week.

Various Internet retailers ranked at the top. They included Overstock.com at No. 2, Zappos.com at No. 3 and Amazon.com at No. 4.

Other noteworthy retailers were J.C. Penney ( No. 7), Lands' End (No. 5), QVC (No. 8), Coldwater Creek( No. 9) and Nordstrom( No. 10).

The survey polled 8,167 consumers, who responded to the question "Thinking of all of the different retail formats (store, catalog, Internet or home shopping), which retailer delivers the best customer service?"

Let me know about your customer service experiences with any of these top ranked retailers.

UPDATE (Jan. 18): This new Kroger fuel center appears to have opened earlier than originally planned. Vehicles already are fueling up at this new gasoline station near Towers Shopping Center.

The fuel pumps are being installed, and the opening date for a new Kroger fuel center is nearing. On Monday, Kroger plans to open its new fuel center at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke.

This will be Kroger's sixth Roanoke Valley fuel center, and its first for Southwest Roanoke. This new gasoline station on Brandon Avenue will be staffed from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. During the unstaffed hours, you can pay at the pump.

It will sell several grades of gasoline and highway diesel.

The doors are chained shut at Florabella, a floral, decor and special occassions planning shop on First Street in downtown Roanoke.

A sign posted on the front door states that "the landlord and creditors of Florabella" have closed the business.

Another sign states, "We would like to thank everyone for letting us serve you. We will miss each and everyone of you."

Floral designer Mark Newcomb opened Florabella in 2006. It's unclear why this business has closed, though the sign's reference to creditors implies that a bankruptcy could be involved.

Happy Monday! To get your week started on a high note, read this article in U.S. News & World Report.

It evalutes some of the positive happenings from the holiday season, instead of  concentrating only on the bad news for the retail industry. 

What was actually good about the past few months, you ask? According to this article, the past holiday season taught consumers to spend wiser, with many shoppers and retailers turning to layaway programs or using cash for purchases, rather than credit cards.

Also, for certain items, the deals were the best ever. I'm sure many of you took advantage of some of the lowest prices yet on computers, televisions and other electronics.

Finally, next year's retail sales are in a position to shine, because they will be compared with the 2008 year. It seems that sales only can go up from there, or at least retailers hope that they will.

At the end of this month, Gap Inc. plans to close its store at River Ridge Mall in Lynchburg. But don't get nervous. The Gap stores in Roanoke and Christiansburg do not have the same fate.

Gap Inc. spokeswoman Sarah Anderson told me today that there are not plans to close the Gap at Valley View Mall in Roanoke nor the Gap outlet store at Christianburg's New River Valley Mall. 

She said Gap has closed 115 stores globally, but it opened 100 during this fiscal year, which for Gap Inc. runs from February 2008 to Jan. 31, 2009.

Click here for more details about the closing of the Lynchburg Gap.