Despite rumors that Surf-N-Turf Grill on Grandin Road in Roanoke soon would close its doors, the eatery’s owner, Paul Gautier, said the seafood and steak restaurant will remain open.

In December, he closed Surf-N-Turf's Salem location. And Gautier said he was keeping his fingers crossed that last weekend’s business would bring in enough revenue for him to sustain the Roanoke eatery.

He said some leftover bills from the Salem Surf-N-Turf were piling up for him. He initially prepared some of his employees for the worse.

“We were at a time of weakness,” Gautier said.

But with some number crunching and budgeting, Gautier said he’s keeping the Roanoke eatery alive. He opened it in 2003.

Meanwhile, another local food business is shuttering one side of its business. Shopfoodex.com will no longer offer grocery delivery to Roanoke area homes, according to its founder and owner Greg Land.

The Roanoke resident started the online grocery delivery enterprise in 2003, but it hasn’t taken off as he expected. Lately he’s been drawing more sales through mail order delivery nationwide, rather than taking grocery orders to local homes, for which he charged a $5 fee.

For some reason, local home delivery has not been popular, though mail order delivery is in demand because people can order foods that they cannot find in a particular area, Land said. Also, manufacturers have been referring Shopfoodex.com to customers who are searching for certain products, Land said.

Recently, Land said he’s looking for a local warehouse location to expand the mail-order business.

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• Posted by Jenny Kincaid Boone in Restaurants
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