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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."

Modern technology dominates most of our daily communicating, and Santa Claus is getting into the action this Christmas.

Children can receive text messages from Santa through TextSanta.net, a service and a Web site that Valley View Mall in Roanoke is promoting.

Parents can pay $5.49 for a text message package from Santa that will be sent to their childrens' cell phones. There are different kinds of messages, including greetings from Santa on Christmas Eve or Santa talking about Rudolph.

Also, for his "chit chat," Santa encourages children to act good.

Parents can personalize text messages from Santa on Christmas morning. They also choose the date and time that the messages will be sent.

For every child who is registered, TextSanta.net will donate $1 to the March of Dimes, which seeks to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, infant mortality and premature birth.

Click here for more information about Santa's texting service.

Several nation chain restaurants with local locations are rolling out the red carpet in the form of free food in honor of Veterans Day, which is on Wednesday.

If you're a veteran or an active duty military personnel, Applebee's and Golden Corral want to give you a free meal.

At Golden Corral, there will be a free buffet meal from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 16 for current military and veterans.

At Applebee's, active-duty military and veterans will receive a free entree from 11 a.m. to midnight on Wednesday.

Restaurants with other kinds of Veteran's Day promotions are Outback Steakhouse and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

According to this story, you'll also receive a 10 percent discount at Lowe's and Home Depot if you're a military officer or a veteran.

This story also shows a breakdown of the states with the most veterans.

Good morning, blog readers. I'm back at the Storefront and ready to let you know some news.

The National Retail Federation is warning consumers about buying certain household items on online auction sites because these products could be tainted or stolen.

This week, the NRF updated its Buyer Beware list of the most popular health and beauty products that may be stolen and resold by criminals. It also includes certain electroincs and food items on this list.

"Most stolen merchandise is not stored properly and could expose unsuspecting shoppers or their children to a host of risks from spoiled baby formula and pain medication to inaccurate results from diabetic test strips or pregnancy tests," said Joe LaRocca, NRF's senior asset protection advisor, in a news release.

Consumers should buy health and beauty products from reputable sources, such as retail stores or legitimate Web sites, says the NRF.

Below are some of the items on the NRF's Buyer Beware list. For the complete list, click here.

Abreva

Alli weight loss pills

Benadryl

Gillette Fusion razors and replacements

Cover Girl cosmetics

Matrix

Oil of Olay

Pureology

Cigarettes

Red Bull energy drinks

Blu-ray movies and players

Braun electric razors

High-end liquor

Hi, blog readers. I will be away from the Storefront some this week.

Until I'm back with daily updates, here's the latest on the holiday retail front.

As you've probably noticed, the holiday promotions are out in full force now that Halloween is over.

One of the ways that online retailers entice holiday spenders each year is with free shipping. And Target recently said that it is offering free shipping two weeks earlier than it did last year. According to this Target news release, shipping is free on orders of $50 or more through the Christmas holiday.

Also, Target claims that additional items are eligible for free shipping this year. This promotion began on Sunday.

Along with Target's deals, look for special discounts each Saturday at Sears until Christmas, according to this story. These deals are marketed as Black Friday door buster sales. But Black Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving, still is weeks away.  It marks the official start of the holiday shopping season.

Every year, there are Web sites that post some of the Black Friday sales early as a sneak peak for those of you who will brave the early morning shopping crowds that day. Here are two of those sites:

http://bfads.net

www.theblackfriday.com

The next time you buy a new pair of Levi's jeans, it may have a new kind of care label.

By January, the care label of Levi's jeans will include a note encouraging wearers to donate used clothing to Goodwill.

This is a partnership between Levi's and Goodwill to reduce the large amounts of clothing and other textiles that end up in U.S. landfills. It's called "A Care Tag for our Planet."

Click here to find out more details.

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.

Look for a major expansion of Les Cheveux Salon & Day Spa's services at Towers Shopping Center this year and in early 2010.

The owner of this Roanoke salon and spa is making plans to open a new spa on Nov. 18. This spa will be an extension of Les Cheveux, offering body wraps, microdermabrasion, couples massages and facials in a 750 square foot space beside Weight Watchers, in the enclosed portion of Towers.

Owner Sherman Argenbright told me that this expansion will give Les Cheveux more space for additional spa services. The salon will continue to offer pedicures and manicures at its original location on the upper level of Towers, near Fresh Market.

But the spa isn't the only new addition at Towers.  A cosmetology and aesthetics school is in the works.

Argenbright told me that he plans to lease a 1,500 square foot space near Ram's Head Book Shop for this new school, called Les Cheveux School of Cosmethology and Aesthetics.

Two instructors will teach cosmetology and one will teach aesthetics.

Argenbright said now is the opportune time to open this kind of school because hairstylists jobs are in demand.

"That industry has not been affected as much as the economy," he told me.

Sales for Les Cheveux's current services are up 15 percent from last year.

Argenbright's hoping to open the school by Jan. 15.

The tuition isn't cheap. It costs $10,000 for the full year cosmetology program and $6,600 for the aesthetics school. According to Simply Hired, a job listings Web site, the average stylist has 1,500 to 1,800 hours of education, with the costs ranging from $6,500 to $15,000.

At the new Les Cheveux school, students would have 1,500 hours of cosmetology training and 600 hours of aesthetics classes.

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.