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This Saturday is Halloween. Here's an interesting interview by the National Retail Federation with Steven Silverstein, who is CEO of Spencer's, which also owns Spirit Halloween. Both stores have Roanoke locations, though Spirit Halloween is only open temporarily through this Saturday.

In the interview, Silverstein talks about his stores and why he has been advocating to officially move Halloween to the last Saturday of October every year. What's your take on this kind of move?

If you're looking for places to take your children trick-or-treating this Saturday, keep in mind that several Roanoke Valley malls have trick-or-treating times for kids.

On Saturday, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. children can trick-or-treat at the stores at Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke County. At 5 p.m., there also will be a Halloween story-time event in the mall's center court area and a costume contest at 6:30 p.m.

Valley View Mall also has trick-or-treating at its mall stores this Saturday, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Construction is progressing at West Village, an outdoor retail center on Electric Road in Southwest Roanoke County. A large building is rising as part of the center's third phase, but no stores or other kinds of businesses have signed leases to land there yet. West Village already houses a variety of shops and restaurants, from Annie Moore's Pub to Fink's Jewelers and Henri Kessler Furs.

Waldvogel Commercial Properties, a Roanoke real estate firm, recently started marketing the available spaces for lease. Check out the firm's description of West Village online, including the nearby household income levels and the traffic counts. The average household income is $62,477 within 3 miles of West Village, and 29,000 vehicles drive by this shopping center each day, based on a 2008 count. Also, the name is changing to the Shoppes at West Village, according to the Web site.

The spaces fronting this third structure are nearly complete, but the developer is awaiting retailers who will sign leases and determine how to build out and design their individual spaces, said Krista Vannoy, who is marketing the center for Waldvogel. This includes 1,240 square feet of store space.

Vannoy told me that she is seeking "retail that goes along with a higher end market." That could be new restaurants, shoe stores and more, she said.

Those of you who are still trying to decide on your Halloween costume or one for your children may want to consider Spirit Halloween. This all-Halloween shop claims to be the largest retailer of costumes and decorations in the country. It has set up a Roanoke headquarters in the former Circuit City space off Valley View Boulevard.

The store is taking up about half of this big box space. Spirit Halloween, a temporary retailer, will close several days after Oct. 31.

With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, retailers are expecting to rake in the sales. Spirit Halloween says that Halloween-related retail sales typically are 30 percent higher when Oct. 31 falls on a weekend day.

Apparently, Michael Jackson, Transformers and super heros are the hot costumes this year, according to this story.

The beginnings of a new beauty salon are emerging on Market Street in downtown Roanoke. There's some remodeling work going on behind covered windows at the former spot of a candy store, Good Things on the Market, at 212 Market St.

Roanoke-based handbag designer and retailer, Claire V.,is leasing this space, and it appears that plans are moving forward for its newest concept, Polished by Claire V.

A sign posted to the window of this storefront reveals a price list for services that will be offered at this new salon.

They include 15-minute massages for $20, 60-minute massages for $55 and $10 manicures.

Polished by Claire V. also will offer private parties, according to this list.

I don't have more details about this new salon business, but I'll let you know when I do.

Claire V. shares retail space for its handbag sales with Twist & Turns on Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke. Claire V.'s wholesale offices are located on the second floor of the building at 128 and 132 E. Campbell Aves.

An upscale shoe store in downtown Roanoke will close at the end of this month.

In a letter sent by email to some regular customers, Kelly Fleming, owner of Dandelion Feet, says her store will shut its doors on Oct. 31.

Fleming states in the letter that she has become more involved with the CertaPro Painters business that she owns with her husband, Scott. Their franchise has been growing for the past three years.

"As life naturally shifts us from one phase to another we have to make hard decisions," Fleming states. "My decision to close Dandelion Feet has been very tough for me."

Fleming opened Dandelion Feet on Church Avenue in downtown in 2005. Last year, she moved the store to a more visible space, at 308 Market St.

Plans are in the works to bring Sam's Club to Christiansburg.

According to this story today in the New River Valley Current, Wal-Mart wants to file plans to open this mega warehouse retailer at the Marketplace shopping center.

Sam's Club has one Roanoke Valley store, at Towne Square Shopping Center in Roanoke.

If you're itching for more thrifty shopping venues, here's the latest on Goodwill's plans for its newest Roanoke store.

Goodwill Industries of the Valleys will open its sixth Roanoke Valley store on Thursday at 3418 Orange Ave. at Market Square East Plaza.

This 13,705-square-foot store is Goodwill's 29th retail location across its Roanoke, New River and Shenandoah Valley footprint.

On Saturday, to celebrate the opening, other retailers at Market Square East Plaza will offer discounts and giveaways. These festivities will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

I've also gotten word recently of a new Goodwill store planned for Daleville, near the Botetourt Commons retail center. Check out my retail column in this Sunday's business section with more details about the new store.

We've had some discussions here about the growth of the popular Redbox kiosks, where you can rent DVDs for $1 a day. Now, movie rental chain, Blockbuster, is moving into this kiosk niche.

Blockbuster said yesterday that it will close 960 stores and add 10,000 kiosks by next year for renting DVDs and games.

It's unclear which stores would close, and if they will include five Blockbusters throughout the Roanoke Valley and two in Blacksburg and Christiansburg.

According to this story, 18 percent of Blocksbuster's stores are unprofitable.

There have been quite a few retail and restaurant openings lately.

Two recent openings include Bella Beauty at Valley View Mall in Roanoke and Burger in the Square in Roanoke County.

Bella Beauty, a store selling mainly hair care products, landed a spot on Valley View's upper level near Macy's. This store is locally owned, but the owner has not responded to an inquiry for further information about the venture.

Burger in the Square opened on Brambleton Avenue last month. This is the same Burger in the Square that has a spot inside the Market Building in downtown Roanoke. You can read more details about this burger joint's opening on the SwoCo blog.

Just in time for college football season, a new sports store arrived in Christiansburg this week, bringing college, NFL, Nascar and other sports team merchandise.

But this store won't be selling Virginia Tech shirts, hats, mugs, t-shirts and other Hokie garb because of a non-compete clause at the New River Valley Mall.

B&C Sports Collectibles opened this week at the New River Valley Mall, which isn't too far from Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus. The retailer, which has stores in Roanoke and Lynchburg, sells other college team merchandise, from the University of Virginia to Miami and Florida State, all rivals of the Hokies. 

But B&C cannot sell Virginia Tech products, because another store at the mall sells Hokie merchandise exclusively, said B&C's owner Ernest Daniel. 

Many shopping centers have non-compete clauses that bar certain kinds of retailers from joining the mix and selling the same products as another store at the center.

Still, B&C can special order Virginia Tech-themed furniture from its Christiansburg location, Daniel said.

Though Daniel sells Virginia Tech items at his other stores, he told me that his Christiansburg location carries a variety of sports items, such as NFL jerseys and sports cards, that are in demand for that area.

The Virginia Tech retail market "is probably more saturated than I've seen it," Daniel said. Locally-owned stores devoted to selling Hokie garb continue to pop up throughout the New River and Roanoke valleys.

This is B&C's second year at the New River Valley Mall. The retailer came to the mall last year as a temporary tenant.

This year, B&C has a short-term lease there through January. Daniel told me that he's hoping to stay long term if the store has a successful several months.

At Lynchburg's River Ridge Mall, Daniel also is planning to open a seasonal B&C Sports store in October. B&C Sports already has a long-term store at that mall.