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I wrote a story in today's newspaper about Ukrop's Super Market's performance more than six months after the grocer disclosed its troubles building sales and customers at its Roanoke store.

You may have noticed that this Richmond grocer is waving triple coupon offers on Saturdays at its Roanoke location on Franklin Road. Starting next month, you also can receive these triple coupon deals on Wednesdays. This is one example of the grocer's new efforts to pull in more customers in Roanoke.

June 27 marks this Roanoke store's two-year anniversary.

Also, you may be interested in this story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about Ukrop's battle for market share in the Richmond area. Ukrop's dropped to No. 2 behind Food Lion in the latest market share report.

Driving by this prominent corner in Salem, it's obvious that the vacant Fast Freddy's restaurant building at West Main and Fourth streets is trying to become something different.

There's a For Lease sign on its tall marquee. Gary Goldacker, owner of Fast Freddy's, is taking on the task of finding a new business to lease the property. This restaurant building sits in front of the site of the demolished West Salem Plaza, which awaits the coming of a big box store. There's no official word on what retailer will arrive there.

Goldacker told me recently that he will not reopen Fast Freddy's. The eatery closed suddenly last year.

"Not enough people liked it," Goldacker said. "It wasn't profitable."

Along with his wife, Amelia, the Goldackers run the Roanoke Bagel Co. on Virginia 419.

Elsewhere in Salem, Hibachi Express now is open at Lakeside Plaza. Read more about it on the So Salem blog.

This just in, outdoor apparel chain, Eddie Bauer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. The Seattle-based chain said it plans to sell its assets to a private equity firm, CCMP Capital. Read this New York Times story for the details.

CCMP has agreed to keep the majority of Eddie Bauer's stores open, according to this news release on the retailer's Web site. It's unclear which stores may close.

Eddie Bauer has 371 stores nationwide, including one in Roanoke at Valley View Mall.

The white house where Tony Pope Bistro & Wine Bar once sat may not be vacant for long.

David Trinkle, a city council member who owns this South Roanoke building, told me that he's tossing around several different plans to transform this former restaurant space at 2123 Crystal Spring Ave.

Tony Pope Bistro closed earlier this year, and Pope has opened a new restaurant, Le Bistro, on Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke.

Trinkle is considering using the white house for more seating for Fork in the Alley, a pizza restaurant next door that he also owns. The house's first floor could be used for a banquet room for parties or overflow space.

But Trinkle also has been talking with several retail businesses about moving into this house. And the upstairs rooms are ideal for office use. The total property is 12,028 square feet, according to Roanoke's real estate database.

Already, space to the right side of the house is filling up with a new cupcake bakery. Lindsey Nair is reporting this on her Fridge Magnet blog.

If you've followed the businesses at this white house for the past few years, you'll know that numerous restaurants have come and gone there. Trinkle told me that he's ready to shed the space's image as an area retail location that's apparently cursed.

"We don't want the whole house to be a restaurant like it was before," he said.

What do you think would work well at 2123 Crystal Spring Ave.?

Trio Market Bar Cafe in downtown Roanoke is closing at the end of this month.

I caught up with Sands Woody, the owner of this bar and restaurant, this morning, and he told me the news.  Woody opened the eatery three and a half years ago with high hopes.

Unfortunately, it hasn't produced the success and revenue that he expected. The business hasn't yet turned a profit, and "there's a million different reasons that it has never generated the revenue that it needed," Woody said.

He indicated that the reasons for the restaurant's failure aren't all related to the economic downturn and that he should have closed it two years ago. 

"In the end, there's just not enough business coming through the doors to justify keeping it open," Woody said.

Last year, he even tried to reinvent Trio's image by turning the fine dining space into a deli-cafe concept. Trio also sells wine.

Woody told the restaurant's 18 employees about the plans to close yesterday. He'll shut the doors by July 1. Trio already has booked several private events, such as a rehearsal dinner, and it will honor them, Woody said.

Woody, who lives in a condo above Trio, said he's retiring from the restaurant business. He used to own Trio's building at 315 Market St., but last year, he sold the commercial spaces.

Now, Woody, 64, only owns his condo on the building's third floor.

"I've had a love for downtown, and that was part of me doing this [opening Trio]", he said.

Daily deliveries of designer goods. Increased marketing in trendy, high-income neighborhoods. Prada handbags and Pucci shirts sold on an auction Web site.

Goodwill is trying to change the image of its thrift stores nationwide, according to this New York Times story. Thrift stores are thriving locally and nationally, and that's not surprising, given the economy's state.

But Goodwill is making a concerted effort to look and operate more like a traditional retailer. It is reaching out to shoppers who aren't typically thrift-store spenders, according to the article.

Have you noticed these kinds of efforts by Goodwill stores in the Roanoke and New River valleys?

I haven't been a huge thrift store shopper in the past, but I've stopped in to browse more often in the last six months. Earlier this year, I found a great Old Navy sweater for $3 at an area Goodwill.

I know many people who find super deals on name brand clothes regularly while thrift store shopping. If you've uncovered some great thrift store finds, tell me about them.

I won't be blogging tomorrow, because it's a furlough day for The Roanoke Times, but catch me back here on Tuesday.

Today, I've been reporting about unhealthy conditions at a Salem bread company. Federal authorities seized all food, ingredients and baked goods today from N2 Dough, which is known as Plantation Pride Foods. 

Several inspections of this facility, including one last month, found live and dead rodents, insect infested raw ingredients and mold and mildew on the walls and ceilings.

Apparently, the owner neglected to clean up these unsanitary conditions after previous inspections by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, according to court documents.

Plantation Pride sells its bread products to some local restaurants, though it's unclear how many.

In case you're wondering where this company is located, it sits behind Bastians Bar BQ on Apperson Drive.

Check out my story in tomorrow's newspaper for more details.

Okay, here's the latest update on Dunkin Donuts' debut at Keagy Village in Southwest Roanoke County.

From the outside, it appears that this retailer is ready to open its doors. But that's not the case on the inside. Franchise owner Andy Rod told me today that he's running into last minute repairs that must be made before this doughnut chain can open.

But there is some good news. He's already hired up to 25 employees. Rod's plan is to open Dunkin Donuts by the end of this month or in early July.

The doughnut shop is slated to move into an end space in the same building as Firehouse Subs and NTelos. It will have a drive-through.

Scottrade, an investment firm, also is open at Keagy Village.

The rest of this outdoor shopping center, planned for 105,000 square feet of total retail space, is empty. It sits at the corner of Electric and Keagy roads.

Attention thrifty shoppers. The Roanoke Rescue Mission's new and upscale thrift shop, 2nd helpings, is planning its grand opening for July 2. That's the day when all three components of this shop--a cafe, store and art gallery--will be open.

Still, this new thrift store, headed for the Civic Mall on Williamson Road, may open its doors a little earlier than July 2.  But it won't have all three departments up and running at that time, said Lee Clark, development director for the Rescue Mission. This June opening date hasn't yet been set.

The new shop will be the nonprofit's second Roanoke thrift store.

Click here to read more about 2nd helpings.

I learned today that the Roanoke Toys "R" Us store is slated to land an "R" Market section this year.

This "R" market is a new concept for the mega toy chain. It includes basic items, such as paper towels, cleaning supplies and snack items,  to lure time-starved shoppers.

The "R" Market is being rolled out in about 260 Toys "R" Us stores. Here's my blog post from last week with the details.

Apparently, the Roanoke store on Valley View Boulevard will have this "R" Market by the end of the year, said Katie Reczek, a Toys "R" Us spokeswoman.  She didn't have these details last week when I spoke with her.

The specific roll-out date for the local "R" Market wasn't available.