Babies and Children still plans to close store, sell online only
Last week several readers asked what was happening with the Babies and Children clothing store on Franklin Road in Roanoke.
Last year store owners Fred and Anne Willis announced they would close their store and transition to online-only sales as soon as they cleared out their inventory. That was in February 2011, but the store remains open, and merchandise is still discounted up to 90 percent.
Anne Willis said this in an email:
“We still plan to close the store and go all online. We are in the transition of doing that now. We just brought out most of our inventory from the warehouse and we have been trying to sell what is not on the website or is discontinued in the store.”
Babies and Children have been in business for 26 years.
June 19, 2012 - 6:00 AM
something is going on at the closed Food Lion next to the Pet store on 220…? Have any knowledge?
@Stephanie: What have you seen happening there? I’ll ask around.
@Stephanie: I talked with the listing agent, and he said that they’ve had some interest from retail tenants, but no offers yet. The property is on the market for $2.6 million.
Were you ever able to find any information on when the Riverside development should begin? I read the article in the paper today about expanding the downtown service district to include the development, but it didn’t mention any starting time. Thanks!
Roa10: I am going to ask the reporter who’s been covering that development. I’ll be back with an answer of some sort.
Would you happen to know what’s going on with the old bank in the parking lot at the Kroger shopping center in Vinton? I’ve seen people toiling, but no useful signs.
Went by the Pit Boss On Brambleton and they are working on it.Were you able to find out what is going on in there?
@barbara: There is a new restaurant, Hometown Family Cooking, moving in later this summer. I’ll have more details for you soon.
@Roa10: Reporter Mason Adams said construction was initially going to start in July, but has been pushed back to this fall.
Thanks as always!
No problem!
Thanks Amanda.Because of you I am always the first to know what is happening in Roanoke.
Amanda – thank you so much for looking into all this for us! Not to mention all the great reporting.
Happy to do it!
Any updated info on Thomas Market?
I heard that a Wendy’s is coming to Vinton in the spot where the old Carter Bank and Trust was across from McDonald’s. If that is true, then the owner of Bojangle’s will probably cause problems like he did in Salem. I have not been back since then. I loved the food at Bojangles, but refuse to eat where the owner acts like a child.
@shopping lady: I wrote in Sunday’s Retail Roundup column about that. You can read it here, but essentially it doesn’t look like Thomas Market is coming back, according to Center In the Square president Jim Sears.
@shopping lady, @Jess: Roanoke County says there is a new Verizon store going in the old bank building at the Kroger shopping plaza in Vinton. Contractors are in the process of removing asbestos.
Bummer. I had heard it was going to be a Wendy’s as well.
Bah. A Verizon store isn’t very exciting. Oh well, thanks for the info!
At one time there were statues on how long a Going Out of Business Operation could continue. Are these no longer enforced?
@Steve: I didn’t know about this, but I called the city’s business license office and learned that any business holding a going out of business sale has to obtain a permit which is good for 60 days, and can be renewed once.
The inspector I spoke with said the city visited Babies and Children a few months ago. He didn’t know the outcome of the visit, and referred me to business license inspector Patrick Woods, who is out of the office until Monday. I’ll follow up with him next week.
Reminds me of the old DeLong’s Furniture store in Lynchburg, where the DAV store is now. They were “going out of business” for well over a year, and I think they even got into some legal trouble over that.
@Steve: I just received a follow up call from the city’s business licensing office. The inspector I spoke with earlier said that because Babies and Children isn’t going out of business – they are changing from a brick and mortar store to online only – they are in compliance with the state codes regarding the permit.
Thanks for the insight Amanda. They’re taking the technicality to an extreme IMHO.
Amanda, it might be worth investigating exactly what they mean by “up to 90% off”… that might explain why they’re taking so long to clear out the merchandise.
Oh, and given the distinction noted in your post above, I wonder if they should even be allowed to have “going out of business” signs up if that’s not really what they’re doing. I’m with Steve… they shouldn’t be allowed to SAY “going out of business” if they’re not held to the same standard as those businesses that truly are. I say make them buy new signs that clearly state the situation instead of misleading the public in an effort to move merchandise.
There used to be an Oriental Rug store on 220 (near where Starbucks is now) that was “going out of business” for years. And then, one day, it did.
Good grief Spiny, give it a rest! If it bothers you so much, look away! As for me, I hope they hang on as long as they can because it’s the only place I can get my daughter’s school shoes. It’s difficult to order shoes on-line when her feet are constantly growing.