I have news about some work going on near Kroger’s store in Rocky Mount, after several of you inquired via this blog and elsewhere about what’s going on at this site off U.S. 220.

Soon, a Kroger fuel center will go up adjacent to its store at 400 Old Franklin Turnpike.

Kroger spokesman Carl York told me today that the new fuel center should open for business by mid to late July. It will be a 10-lane gasoline center also selling diesel fuel.

Kroger’s bringing a fuel center to Rocky Mount because this store is located off the “heavily traveled” U.S. 220 corridor, York said.

There’s another Kroger fuel center planned for West Main Street in Salem. Click here to read my blog post about it.

Once the Rocky Mount gasoline station is complete, Kroger will have eight fuel centers in the Roanoke Valley.

I learned a few more details about Kroger’s new fuel center slated for Salem, adjacent to the grocer’s store at Spartan Square on Main Street.

This gasoline station will have 10 pumps, including diesel fuel.

Construction of the new center should start this week or early in May, said Carl York, a Kroger spokesman. It could be several months until it opens, though York said he wasn’t ready to name a specific date.

This new Salem fuel center will be Kroger’s seventh in the Roanoke Valley. In January, the grocer opened its sixth fuel center near Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke.

Another Kroger fuel center is planned for the Roanoke Valley, and this time, it will land in Salem.

Kroger plans to build a gasoline center adjacent to its Spartan Square store on West Main Street. Melinda Payne, director of planning for Salem, told me that a building permit was approved for this work last month.

I’ve left a message with a Kroger spokesman for more details, and I’ll keep you updated once I find out more information.

UPDATE (Jan. 18): This new Kroger fuel center appears to have opened earlier than originally planned. Vehicles already are fueling up at this new gasoline station near Towers Shopping Center.

The fuel pumps are being installed, and the opening date for a new Kroger fuel center is nearing. On Monday, Kroger plans to open its new fuel center at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke.

This will be Kroger’s sixth Roanoke Valley fuel center, and its first for Southwest Roanoke. This new gasoline station on Brandon Avenue will be staffed from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. During the unstaffed hours, you can pay at the pump.

It will sell several grades of gasoline and highway diesel.

Milk lovers , there’s a new option for you in Kroger’s dairy cases.

Shamrock Farms’ single milk bottles are headed for Kroger stores in the Roanoke Valley. This Arizona-based company operates a family-owned dairy, producing traditional and organic milk.

The company is rolling out its product nationwide, landing in five markets initially, including Roanoke and Richmond, according to a news release

Shamrock Farms’ milk, sold in Subway restaurants, only will be available in single-serve, 12-ounce varieties in local Kroger stores. The milk flavors include whole white and whole chocolate, and 2 percent white, chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.

Sticker shock. That was the feeling that much of the country, including the Roanoke Valley, had last Friday when gasoline prices shot up in at least 20 cent increments throughout the day.

It’s not over. If you thought fuel prices rose to the highest peak possible last weekend, don’t hold your breath. Average prices are likely to move to $4 a gallon this week, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. Most oil refineries in the Gulf Coast have not yet resumed power and assessed wind and water damage, in the wake of Hurricane Ike. It could be three weeks before they are back in operation, states a news release from AAA Mid-Atlantic, based in Richmond.

Also, there are power supply issues for Gulf Coast pipelines carrying crude oil and refined products in other parts of the country.

AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts that September will be a “problem-prone” month for fuel prices and supplies.

Today, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Roanoke is $4.13, compared with $3.54 a week ago and $2.62 a year ago, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Next week is going to be a busy one for store openings around the Roanoke Valley. Here’s another date to put on your calendar.

The fuel center at the new Kroger, under construction in the Bonsack area, will open on July 9. This will be the fifth Kroger gasoline center in the Roanoke Valley.

It’s funny that this fuel center will open before Kroger actually opens its doors. Though the grocer hasn’t stated an official store opening date, the fuel center is coming three weeks before the store will debut, according to a news release.

Check out my retail column in this Sunday’s Business section for updates on other stores that will land at this center, named Kroger Square at Bonsack and located off U.S. 460 in Roanoke County.

You now can find Dunkin Donuts coffee in more places than just Dunkin Donuts. This coffee recently started brewing at some local Wilco Hess convenience stores.

You’ll find it at these locations: Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke County, Virginia Avenue in Vinton and Orange Avenue in Roanoke.

They’re all serving the hot coffee, but the Vinton location also is selling Dunkin Donuts’ iced java and tea.

But you’ll still have to go to Dunkin Donuts on Franklin Road in Roanoke for doughnuts. They haven’t been added to the Wilco Hess selection.

The options for fueling up along a section of Brandon Avenue in Roanoke could increase.

A gasoline station may land below Towers Shopping Center. Kroger has submitted plans to Roanoke City’s planning office to build a fuel center with five gasoline pumps at the corner of 23rd Street and Brandon Avenue in Roanoke. Construction crews already have been preparing this small corner area for some kind of development, though nothing has been formally announced. Kroger has a store on the lower level of Towers.

The gasoline center’s plans haven’t yet been reviewed nor approved, according to Danielle Bishop, a city development review coordinator.

The plans reveal that customers will be able to turn into this fuel station both from 23rd Street and Brandon Avenue. Crews also are installing a stoplight at this intersection.