A long-time steakhouse and bar in Blacksburg will shut down.
Bogen's Steakhouse and Bar is closing because of declining sales. It's been open since 1982.
Read more about the closing at the New River Notebook blog.
It's hard to imagine life without a cell phone. This small device has become our primary way of communicating, whether it's sending a quick text message to surfing the Internet or placing a call from just about anywhere. Several years ago, I tried to go a week without replacing a cell phone that stopped working for me, and I was lost without it.
The escalating importance of cell phones is one reason why Wireless Zone claims that it's expanding despite a national slow down in consumer spending and a recession.
This retailer of cell phones and accessories opened its third store in the Roanoke Valley on Friday. Wireless Zone opened its doors in Daleville at the Botetourt Commons shopping center.
And this chain, which is an independent franchise of Verizon Wireless, intends to keep expanding in this region. It's using the Roanoke Valley as its hub for future openings in Southwest Virginia and surrounding areas. The company is looking for new franchisees who are interested in taking the plunge and opening a Wireless Zone store.
There are two other Wireless Zone stores in this area, at Towers Shopping Center and on U.S. 220, both in Roanoke.
"That region is doing very well for us," Sean Fitzgerald, the company's vice president of franchise development, told me today. "It makes sense to continue growing."
If you visit the Daleville store and other new Wireless Zone locations, you'll find a more interactive environment. For example, you can pick up a cell phone model and immediately information about that particular phone type pops up on a screen.
Look for a well-known hamburger eatery to expand its presence beyond the Roanoke City Market Building's walls this summer. The owners of Burger in the Square, which opened in 1985 at the City Market Building in downtown Roanoke, plan to open a second location on Brambleton Avenue in Southwest Roanoke County.
Anita Wilson, co-owner of this eatery with her husband, Louis, told me that the restaurant will take the current Pitt Boss BBQ space at 3904 Brambleton Ave. Pitt Boss plans to relocate to a larger spot at 4301 Brambleton Ave., which formerly housed Tito's Restaurant.
The Wilsons, owners of Burger in the Square since 1999, are expanding the eatery's reach for several reasons. Anita Wilson said they've always wanted to have a second location.
Also, this new spot will act as a safety net for the Wilsons once the City Market Building closes for renovations for nine to 12 months. The city hasn't yet announced when the building will close. Wilson said she hopes to keep Burger in the Square at the downtown building, even after renovations are complete.
Still, "we'll have to see what happens as far as going back" to the City Market Building, she said. The new Roanoke County restaurant "is a contingency plan for us."
The Wilsons will expand Burger in the Square's menu at the Roanoke County spot, adding chicken, salads, sandwiches, corn dogs and hot dogs. This new cozy restaurant space seats more than 30 diners.
The Wilsons are aiming for a July 1 opening for the new Burger in the Square.
Photo by Roanoke Times photographer Justin Cook
The expanded Kroger at Westlake Towne Center at Smith Mountain Lake officially is complete today. Look out for special give-aways offered at the store if you stop to shop.
This Kroger added 25,500 square feet to its store, which opened five years ago. Some of the new features include a gourmet cheese shoppe, sushi bar, kitchen place department and a Bistro Bar selling prepared foods by chefs.
The grocer also has added 95 new employees, increasing its total workforce to 200 people.
Photo courtesy of Kroger
"Something sweet is coming to Salem." This catchy phrase lately has been heard on radio waves and splashed across billboards.
Here's the scoop: It's a new candy shop.
Nancy's Candy Co. will open Monday at Lakeside Plaza on Electric Road. This 22-year-old candy manufacturer, based in Meadows of Dan, is moving into a space between Kroger and CVS.
Look out chocolate lovers. This new shop, which is the third for Nancy's Candy Co., will carry 45 different flavors of homemade fudge and 65 flavors of chocolate, including a wide selection of sugar-free varieties. It also will sell oodles of hard candy and candy accessories, such as chocolate soap and bubble bath.
Nancy Galli, founder of the company, told me that she chose the Lakeside Plaza spot, because it reminded her of the former Lakeside Amusement Park. She plans to decorate the shop with memorabilia from this Lakeside park. Galli likes to hear people's memories of visits to Lakeside as children.
"What's more fun than a candy store?" she said.
Though the majority of her company's business is wholesale, Galli gradually has expanded into retail. Nancy's Candy Co. has an outlet store in Meadows of Dan, and Galli opened a Floyd store last year.
After the Salem location, Galli said she wants to open another store, but she wouldn't disclose the site.
How are your Memorial Day weekend plans shaping up? I've been making some travel plans, which include heading to an out-of-town wedding.
This upcoming long weekend marks the start of the summer vacation season, but last year, fewer Americans took trips because of cost concerns, including high gasoline prices.
This year may be a little brighter for Memorial Day travel. AAA predicts that the number of Americans traveling for the holiday weekend will increase 1.5 percent from last year. That's approximately 32.4 million people taking trips that are 50 or more miles away from home.
Apparently, an abundance of travel bargains (likely spurred by the ecomomic slowdown) and much lower gas prices are some reasons for a jump in holiday travel, according to AAA.
As for gas prices, AAA predicts that the average price will stay at or below $2.50 a gallon.
This group estimates that about 83 percent of people will travel by car during Memorial Day weekend, while about 7 percent of people will travel by airplane.
If you've ever shopped at a Goodwill store you know that $3.50 jeans and $4 sweaters are hard to beat in price at most any other retail outlet. But you may not know that Goodwill has another retail concept with even steeper discounts, and it's coming to Pulaski.
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, based in Roanoke, plans to transform its store in Pulaski into a clearance center. Goodwill's clearance centers are considered the last chance stores for all merchandise before it is sent away for recycling. These centers slash the prices of merchandise that isn't moving off the shelves at regular Goodwill stores.
Merchandise is rotated every four weeks at typical Goodwill stores. Now, leftover items will be shifted to Pulaski, said Kelly Sandridge, a spokeswoman for Goodwill.
This new Pulaski clearance center will sell clothing and shoes for $1.50 and books for 25 cents. It also will carry furniture and household goods, but prices vary for those items.
This will be the first clearance center across Goodwill Industries of the Valleys' 28 store-network in the Roanoke, New River and Shenandoah valleys.
Pulaski was chosen for this super discount concept because of the region's growing number of layoffs, Sandridge said.
"That community has been particularly hard hit by the economy," she told me.
Pulaski County's unemployment rate was 14.4 percent in March, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. Comparatively, Roanoke County's rate was 5.8 percent in March, and Montgomery County's was 7.3 percent.
The Pulaski Goodwill, located at 1130 E. Main St., will close May 17 through 19 for the transformation. It will reopen on May 20, as the new clearance center.
Warm weather always increases my ice cream cravings, and here's some news about a well-known frozen treat that's testing a new taste.
The founder of Dippin' Dots is crafting a new concept: Coffee Dots
According to this story, founder Curt Jones fears that the $5-$7 ice cream sold in colorful pellet form won't sell as well this summer. Dippin Dots are a popular treat among children, but with the recession, more parents are cash-strapped.
He thinks coffee dots (dubbed "coffee of the future") could give his product a wider adult appeal that's not specific to the summer season. One could add hot water to the ice cream pellets and have brewed coffee without actually brewing it, according to the story.
Jones will roll out his coffee dots next month at a specialty coffee trade show in Las Vegas.
Would you buy it?
Look for another retailer to open this week at Keagy Village in Southwest Roanoke County.
Investment firm, Scottrade, opens tomorrow at this retail center at Virginia 419 and Keagy Road, according to an email announcement from the company. This will be the firm's 12th Virginia location.
Scottrade is an online investment firm. At its branches, stock brokers answer account-related questions, offer tutorials about the company's online trading options and other customer service. The branches do not provide investment advice.
Scottrade will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with after-hours support on weekdays and Saturdays.
Keagy Village also houses Ntelos and Firehouse Subs, which opened last month. Click here to read my latest blog post about Keagy Village.
Tomorrrow is a furlough day at The Roanoke Times, so catch me back here on Tuesday.
Hi, blog readers. I'm back at the Storefront with much retail news to share with you.
I've learned a few more details about the closing later this month of Xtremes Comics, Games, Toys and Puzzles at Tanglewood Mall. Store manager, Jan Keister, told me that the shop will close because the owner wants to cut out his commute between the Roanoke store and his similar retail shop in Charlottesville.
Rob Lightburn, the owner, plans to keep open his games, comics and toy store in Charlottesville, called The Place, though he's closing Xtremes after at least 10 years in business. All leftover Xtremes merchandise will be shifted to The Place, Keister said.
Meanwhile, if you're a regular comics customer at Xtremes, Keister said the store is referring shoppers to B&D Comics in Roanoke. B&D has agreed to take on Xtremes' comics customers' accounts so that they'll continue to receive comics monthly.
Xtremes will close at the end of this month, and all merchandise is discounted.
