Today, the Virginia General Assembly voted to pass a ban on smoking at all restaurants, except for at those establishments with separate, ventilated rooms. The bill would go into effect on Dec. 1.
The law isn't yet final. It has to go to Gov. Tim Kaine first, though he's expected to sign it.
Check out the online news update here.
The journey soon will end for two well-known retail chains that plan to shut their doors for good in this region and across the country. Walking through the doors of local Goody's and Circuit City stores, you'll find empty shelves and a mostly picked-over inventory. Both retailers are going out of business.
Recent advertisements for Goody's liquidation sale state that stores will close by Feb. 27. The price of leftover merchandise now is marked down 70 to 90 percent. Even the price of fixtures and office equipment is half off.
About 49 Goody's employees will be out of work when these stores in Roanoke and Christiansburg close. An assistant manager at the Salem Goody's would not disclose to me how many people work at that store and calls to Goody's corporate office haven't been answered.
As for Circuit City, I still do not know the closing date for the Roanoke store, but advertisements remind us that we're in the final weeks of the closeout sale. According to a recent ad, plasmas & LCD televisions, digital cameras and camcorders are 30 percent off at Circuit City, while receivers, speakers and satellite radios are 40 percent off. Also, GPS units, CDs, DVDs and video games are 50 percent off, and furniture and select mobile audio devices are marked down 60 percent.
The Circuit City liquidation sale excludes Verizon Wireless and Alltel phones and accessories.
If you have a Circuit City Advantage service plan, Assurant Solutions says it will assume responsibility for the service agreements after Circuit City stores close. Click here for more information.
Everywhere you turn, another peanut product is being recalled. It's the result of an investigation into tainted food products processed by Peanut Corp. of America's Georgia plant, after a nationwide salmonella outbreak. Are you confused about what's safe to eat?
You're not alone. Many Americans aren't sure what peanut products are included in the recalls and whether or not they should buy jars of peanut butter from the national brands. Some people are making drastic changes, from not eating any foods with peanuts to throwing away every peanut product in their home, according to this article.
What about you? Have you made any major changes in how you eat peanuts lately, because of the recalls?
Click here to read the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the salmonella outbreak and get the list of recalled foods.
With mall traffic slowing in this economy, it's only natural to assume that restaurants inside shopping centers also are feeling the heat. Sbarro, a pizza and pasta chain that you can find at most malls across the country, was named to Yahoo's list of the top 15 companies that might not survive 2009.
Don't forget that Sbarro has locations inside both Valley View Mall and the New River Valley Mall. Sbarro's troubles are detailed in this story in QSR Magazine.
Most of us are all about the deal finding right now. The latest issue of Shop Smart Magazine offered up a few Web sites that you can use to search for sales in a specific town or city.
I tried out the searches for "Roanoke," and they work pretty well, if you're hunting for general items, such as sales on coats.
Here are the Web sites:
Hello, blog readers! Here's a heads-up for those of you hunting for inexpensive furniture for your home. Since the middle of this month, Grand Home Furnishings' warehouse outlet store off Orange Avenue in Roanoke has been closed. But the closing is temporary.
The outlet will reopen on Feb. 28, in time for the furniture retailer's annual warehouse sale. The sale will be held on Feb. 28 and March 1.
The outlet, open Thursday through Saturday each week, closes each year to stock up for this mega event. Most any furniture piece that you can imagine will be crammed into this more than 100,000 square foot warehouse space. The outlet sells discontinued and slightly damaged furniture. The annual sale also features some manufacturer close-out furnishings.
The sale's been a hit in the past. It's not unusual to have 7,000 shoppers show up in two days, said Steve Davis, a Grand spokesman.
Though the economy has dampened consumer spending, Davis told me that the Grand outlet had a successful 2008. This outlet, the only one in the Grand chain, "is fitting for the times," he added.
Speaking of inexpensive furniture, IKEA opens its Charlotte, N.C., store this Wednesday, if you're up for a road trip! The first 100 people in line when the doors open will win a fee Poang armchair, and shoppers can start lining up tomorrow.
Click here to read about plans for IKEA's Charlotte, N.C., opening.
Faithful E.I. Randle shoppers, your wait almost is over. This well-known Roanoke County shop will open its doors next week, after closing for more than a month to change owners.
On Wednesday, the upscale women's clothing store will debut with a new owner and a few changes. E.I. Randle, located at the Forum shopping center in Southwest Roanoke County, closed in early January, because its former owners, Henry and Diana Vaughan, decided to sell the shop after 31 years in business. They still own and operate a store in Lynchburg, called Jasmine.
Winter Hodges has taken over the E.I. Randle enterprise. He also owns 310 Rosemont, a trendy men and women's clothing store with various locations, including shops in downtown Roanoke and in Blacksburg. Hodges told me this week that he's changed the look of E.I. Randle, with new carpet, freshly painted walls and larger, modern dressing rooms. The color scheme is brown and cream, with a black marble entrance.
E.I. Randle shoppers, expect to find most of the same clothing brands and styles previously sold there, particularly spring merchandise. Hodges said he's also incorporating 15 percent to 20 percent of the merchandise from 310 Rosemont in the E.I. Randle selection.
Also, shoes no longer are sold at the store. Hodges said he's working on an arrangement to physically connect one wall of the E.I. Randle store to Yarid's Shoes next door. That would encourage shoppers to browse Yarid's footwear selection.
Finally, for those who arrive at E.I. Randle in need of a caffeine pick-me-up, Hodges is setting up a Starbucks coffee kiosk in the back of the shop, similar to what is offered at 310 Rosemont stores.
To find out more about the E.I. Randle ownership change, click here to read my story.
Valentine’s Day dining on your mind? You’ll need to act fast if you’re thinking of landing a table, not just on Feb. 14, but on the day before the holiday.
It’s no surprise that many local restaurants already are booked for dining this Saturday. But tables also are filling up this Friday.
As of yesterday, Frankie Rowlands Steak House in Roanoke already had a waiting list of 10 to 15 couples for dinner this Friday. And at Carlos Brazilian International Cuisine in Roanoke County, the reservations list is growing for Friday dining. The restaurant is booked solid on Valentine’s Day, co-owner Maggie Amaral told me yesterday.
Also, this Saturday, look for some restaurants to open their doors earlier to get a head start on the mega crowds.
There’s a sign posted on the front of Carrabba’s Italian Grill near Valley View Mall in Roanoke, stating that this eatery will open earlier than usual, at noon on Saturday. But don’t be fooled. This opening time isn’t any earlier than the Roanoke restaurant's normal Saturday hours.
The proprietor of the Roanoke Carrabba's, Jason Kroeger, said other Carrabba’s nationwide that do not typically open at noon plan to open early on Valentine’s Day. It’s a corporate push, though the Roanoke restaurant already is ahead of the game.
You can read more about what other local retailers are expecting for Valentine’s Day here.
A new fitness facility opened last month at the New Century Venture Center in Salem.
It's called Temple Fitness Studio, and it's a health facility for women, offering 30-minute circuit training, weight loss management and personal strength training.
If you're 30 years old or older and never have been involved in fitness training (or can't remember when you last worked out), you're just the customer that Temple Fitness wants, according to a news release about the business.
Leslie Ann Manning, a certified fitness trainer, owns Temple Fitness.
Click here to find out more about the New Century Venture Center, an incubator that offers services to start-ups and existing local businesses.
By now, you've probably heard the latest news about S&K Menswear. The apparel chain, based in the Richmond area, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday.
The fate of S&K's stores in Roanoke and Christiansburg is not yet clear. Bryan Kipp, an S&K spokesman, told me today that the chain will evaluate the performance of its remaining 136 stores across 23 states in the next 60 to 90 days.
At least 30 S&K stores could close as a result of the restructuring, according to this news story. Kipp said the specific stores haven't yet been named.
Regionally, S&K has a store in Roanoke County on Electric Road, near Tanglewood Mall, and in Christiansburg on North Franklin Street.
S&K's store near Valley View Mall in Roanoke closed on Jan. 31. Since at least December, a liquidation sale was being held at this store. In early December, Kipp said the sale was an attempt to swap a suit-heavy inventory with casual apparel. At that time, he said the Roanoke store was not one of the 37 S&K stores set to close. Those plans apparently changed.
