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Thanksgiving Day is less than a week away, and there's a new option this year if you want a break from turkey.

For the first time in a long time, all company-owned T.G.I. Friday's restaurants and most of the franchise locations will open for Thanksgiving Day. The eateries will open at 4 p.m., hosting football parties with half-price appetizers in the bar and five new wing flavors.

Sales have been slow for the restaurant industry all year, so it's no wonder that many eateries are trying to drum up business in different ways.

Let me know if you hear of any other local restaurants that plan to open their doors on Thanksgiving for the first time this year.

Here are the latest updates on two shop openings in Roanoke and Salem.

Cupcake bakery, Bubblecake, opened its second location in downtown Roanoke last week. The shop is at 16 W. Kirk Ave., and its new location specializes in coffee offerings.

Rob Lusk, husband of owner Lisa Lusk, told me about a coffee pass that the shop has introduced. For $25 a month, you can fill up your coffee cup throughout the month. This pass only applies to brewed coffee.

Click here to read my past blog post about Bubblecake.

In Salem, the Salem House restaurant now is open at 311 W. Main St. inside the former home of a tearoom. I could not reach the owner of the Salem House recently, but I learned that the restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday.

The mystery of a local restaurant’s sudden closing and relocation has been partly solved. The answer may involve a new Kroger fuel center.

Madison’s, a Southwest Roanoke County restaurant, closed last month, and the owners are making plans to reopen the eatery on Bent Mountain Road, in the former spot of Back Creek Grill.

Husband and wife team, Martha and Dennis Minnick, opened Madison’s on Old Cave Spring Road in July. Martha Minnick quit her job as a third-grade teacher to open the restaurant, her first retail venture. It’s named for Dennis Minnick’s uncle.

But in September, the Minnicks' found out that their lease would be terminated, which was unexpected news to them.

They packed up Madison’s and closed on Oct. 25. Now, they’re making plans to reopen at 6063 Bent Mountain Road in Roanoke County. Back Creek Grill closed last month, though the owner Jimmy Muscaro still owns the building.

Martha Minnick called the relocation “a blessing in disguise.” The new Madison’s space is larger, and it can seat more diners inside and in an outside area.

The Minnicks plan to serve the same breakfast and lunch menu of salads, sandwiches and wraps, but they are expanding the dinner menu with hamburgers, steaks and prime rib. Brunch is served on Sundays.
They also are applying for an ABC license to serve alcohol.
Madison’s likely will reopen within the next two weeks, Martha Minnick told me.

But there are new plans for Madison’s former site on Old Cave Spring Road. Kroger has filed a site plan to build a fuel center on 1.3 acres in that area. The site is across Brambleton Avenue from a Kroger store.

Kroger's plan still is under review in Roanoke County’s planning department, said Denise Sowder, development review coordinator. Sowder also told me that Kroger plans to lease this site.

Some of you commented recently on the closing of a Sonic drive-in on Apperson Drive in Salem.

I contacted Sonic's corporate office in Oklahoma, and below is the e-mail statement that I received today from Christi Woodworth, Sonic's director of external communications, about this closing:

"Over the past few months, SONIC and the franchisee have evaluated the drive-in. After careful review, we regret to announce that the drive-in closed for financial reasons."

"The decision to close a drive-in is never easy. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to bring our Carhop service and extensive menu variety to residents. We invite area residents to visit other SONIC Drive-Ins in Salem and Roanoke, Virginia to enjoy their SONIC favorites."

In the journalism world, we report what we know, even in cases when there is little information to share.

Many readers have asked me about the status of Bojangles', a fast food restaurant that's under construction at the corner of Colonial and Brambleton avenues in Southwest Roanoke County.

The owner of this Bojangles' franchise, Stan Seymour, has not returned my calls to him in the past month for status updates on this new restaurant.

So, I'll report to you what I know. It's obvious that construction is moving along at this site, from looking at the photo to the left. This new fast food restaurant will measure 3,800 square feet, and it will have a drive-through. This will be the fifth area Bojangles' franchise for Seymour.  Last year, he opened a Bojangles' on Peters Creek Road.

I don't yet know the projected opening date for this restaurant, as well as additional details, such as whether there will be another business near Bojangles'. Seymour owns the land, and he told me that the site is large enough to fit another business, such as a bank branch.

Now, it's your turn. If you've heard any news about this new Bojangles', let us know what you know.

The cupcake craze continues.

Yesterday, I noticed the beginnings of a bakery business in the Grandin Village area, inside the former location of Coda, a coffee shop, on Grandin Road in Roanoke.

The shop, called Viva La Cupcake, opens today, according to an email that I received from owner,  Pennie Ahuero. Here's a link to the Viva La Cupcake Web site. The new shop specializes in catering for special events, but it also serves individual cupcakes and beverages, such as coffee and milk.

Once I find out some more details about this new cupcake enterprise, I'll pass them along to you.

Viva La Cupcake arrives just as the owner of Bubblecake, another local cupcake shop, said that she will be opening a second location in downtown Roanoke.

A Roanoke cupcake shop is expanding, after only several months in business.

Lisa Lusk is making plans to open a second location for her South Roanoke cupcake eatery, Bubblecake. She's taking her sweet cupcake creations in all kinds of flavors to a small retail space at 16 W. Kirk Ave. in downtown Roanoke.

Success in South Roanoke has led Lusk to pursue a second venture in downtown, which she will call Bubblecake Cupcakes & Coffee. Lusk plans to bake her cupcakes in South Roanoke and do the finishing work in the Kirk Avenue space.

Business is hopping at her South Roanoke shop, where Lusk said she sells 600 to 1500 cupcakes a day.

Lusk told me that she chose a second location to cater to the downtown Roanoke office crowd. Often, downtown employees come to her South Roanoke shop on Crystal Spring Avenue for a sweet treat after lunch.

Lusk wants to be closer to this crowd of loyal customers. She's also hoping to make cupcake deliveries to downtown offices.

Demographically, 92 percent of Bubblecake's customers are women between 25 and 40 years old, she said.

Expect more focus on coffee offerings at the new Bubblecake shop, along with cupcakes, of course.

And look for Lusk's newest Bubblecake to open sometime in November.

Fast food restaurants and coffee shops rely on drive-through business to generate significant revenue.

And those of you who regularly pull your vehicle through a restaurant's drive-through probably already know which ones tend to be the fastest and get your order right.

So, how do your assessments match up with QSR magazine's recent ranking of restaurant drive-through service?

Chick-fil-A was first in overall drive-through performance this year, based on QSR's annual study. QSR ranks the speed of service, menu-board appearance, speaker clarity and order accuracy.

According to this story about the ranking, Chick-fil-A has been No. 1 for six of the last seven years.

But this year, McDonald's fell to seventh from second place.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told me in an interview last year that the chicken chain aims for a 90 second drive-through turn around time or better. Some Chick-fil-A's have 120 to 140 cars per hour in the drive-through, which equates to less than 60 seconds per vehicle, he told me.

Here are QSR's winners in each category:

Speed of service: Wendy's

Speaker clarity: Chick-fil-A

Order accuracy: Chick-fil-A

Menu board appearance: Whataburger

If you like Starbucks coffee, you may want to try the instant version of the chain's new brew.

Today Starbucks launched instant coffee in all of its U.S. stores. It's called Via Ready Brew, and it sells for $2.95 (3 pack) and $9.95 (12 pack).

You can find Via in some other stores, such as Target, and in some hotels, but it won't be sold in grocery stores until next year.

Click here for more details.

According to this story in the Wall Street Journal, Via is a strategy by Starbucks to offer lower cost regular coffee to customers who don't want to pay for pricier java. An instant packet of Via produces a cup of coffee that's less than $1.

And if you want to taste this new instant coffee, all Starbucks stores will host special taste tests this Friday through Monday. You'll be able to taste the Columbia Starbucks Via instant coffee next to the fresh-brewed Pike Peak blend and guess which one is the Via coffee.

Taste test participants will receive a coupon for a free tall brewed coffee on a future Starbucks visit and $1 off a Via purchase.

I have good news for those of you who are hot dog lovers and specifically, fans of the Roanoke Weiner Stand.

Gus Chacknes plans to reopen the Weiner Stand's Brandon Avenue location in Roanoke. Chacknes, who is the nephew of former owner, Gus Pappas, now owns this hot dog business at 3601 Brandon Ave. 

I reported earlier this month here that Pappas sold the Weiner Stand building. But Chacknes doesn't own the real estate.

Look for this hot dog stand to reopen next month. And check out my story in tomorrow's business section for more details.