Sunday, May 06, 2007
It's a (small) dog's life
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
Recent stories
Kennels are becoming posh resorts for dogs in the Roanoke Valley, and some appear as comfortable for canines as upscale hotels are for humans.
At a recent expansion of Klub Kanine in Salem, small dogs can stay in studio or loft-style suites. They can receive blueberry facials and hot oil treatments or take a dip in a mini Jacuzzi whirlpool tub.
Klub Kanine, a 3-year-old kennel, recently has created an upscale overnight and day care option for dogs that weigh 25 pounds or less. It still operates a neighboring kennel for larger dogs.
When Sara Scott and her husband, Chris, opened Klub Kanine, the center housed dogs of all sizes and also offered unique services, including candlelight massages and dog birthday parties.
The Scotts have spent the past year remodeling a 2,000-square-foot space beside this facility on Apperson Drive. At the new entrance, a small sign states "Just Small Paws."
Sara Scott said there was a need to create an area exclusively for small dogs because they require different kinds of care.
The services at Klub Kanine's additional facility include overnight and day care and spa services. Dogs can wear heated bath towels and robes. They can drink purified water. They can romp about with canines of similar sizes and temperament in a large play area.
At a new boutique there, dog owners even can find unique outfits for their pets, such as velvet dresses made for teacup-sized canines. There also are Italian leather dog leashes and bite-sized truffles and tarts for sale.
The fee is $18 a day for overnight care for dogs that are spayed or neutered. The cost is $10 a day for daytime care for spayed or neutered dogs.
The Scotts also plan to eventually renovate the rest of the facility, Sara Scott said.
Willow Grove
A newcomer to the Roanoke Valley has created a different niche at a local home decor shop.
Mary Barton, who moved to Roanoke County last year from Nashville, Tenn., recently purchased Willow Grove at The Forum on Starkey Road.
She wandered upon the store while shopping for decorations for her new house, after moving to the area for her husband's job as a heart surgeon at Lewis Gale Medical Center.
When the former owner of Willow Grove decided to sell the shop, Barton decided to take over. She closed the shop for about a month to change out some inventory and reopened it in early April.
Along with its previous selection of upscale home decorations, Barton is building the store's bed and bath lines and selling smaller gift items, such as jewelry.
She's carrying jewelry by the company Jewelry Design by TED, based in Dallas. Camille Beckman, a skin care and lotion product, is another new line.
Barton also said she will receive shipments of L'Occitane, a French body and skin care product, to sell by the end of May.
Barton said she believes that she has found a calling in retail, and her takeover of the shop seemed inevitable. Jeanne Long, a former owner of Willow Grove, sold the store to move to Nashville.
The Blues BBQ
The Blues BBQ, a new restaurant planned for 107 Market Square in downtown Roanoke, will open in late May or early June. Its owner, Patrick Maggi, a trombonist who plays blues and jazz music, wants to create a blues music atmosphere at the eatery.
Along with a varied barbecue menu that also will include crabcakes and chicken barbecue pizza, Maggi said he will invite musicians to play acoustic blues music for entertainment.
Marshalls
Marshalls at Towne Square Shopping Center in Roanoke is one of the discount retailing chain's 15 locations that has spiced up its juniors department.
The newly designed department has been renamed The Cube, and it is supposed to resemble a separate boutique.
The apparel is organized by style rather than by size. You will find tunics and leggings hanging on racks near each other, while matched with a selection of ballet flats and jewelry. Dresses are arranged near coordinating jewelry.
Amy Cafazzo, a spokeswoman for Marshalls, said the retailer wanted juniors' shoppers to have "a department that they felt like was all their own."
She declined to be specific about whether any new lines of clothing have been added to the department.
