Sunday, February 10, 2008
Men's shop closing
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
Recent stories
Another downtown Roanoke retailer is blaming a lack of space for parking as a reason for its demise.
Longtime retail maverick Harry Maghera is closing New York Fashions on Campbell Avenue because he said sales are declining.
He opened the menswear shop in 1983, and Fridays grew to become the busiest day of the week for him. Young men would flock to the store in search of the perfect party-going ensembles for the weekend, Maghera said.
But sales began to slow when the city changed the traffic pattern on Campbell Avenue to two-way in 2003. That has made finding nearby parking difficult for customers, Maghera said.
"There's a lot of parking problems in downtown," he said.
Also, some construction projects on Campbell Avenue have slowed traffic to New York Fashions, he said. Maghera installed bars on the outside of his shop because of numerous break-ins through the years.
The store carries an inventory of suits, brightly colored dress shirts and men's shoes.
A closing date has not been set, and currently, all items are discounted 50 percent.
Maghera is the fourth business owner in recent months to cite a lack of parking as a reason for leaving downtown.
In December, Dorie Howard closed Retrospect Interiors, a furniture store on Church Avenue. Also that month, Read Lunsford shut down Lunsford Realty & Investment on Church Avenue and moved it to Millboro.
Also by early January, Meador & Co. Locksmith had relocated its Church Avenue shop to Orange Plaza Shopping Center, which has a large parking lot, on Orange Avenue.
Lack of parking spaces and increased weekend fees have stirred up strong emotions among downtown business owners and city officials.
In October, the city began charging a $2 parking fee in downtown garages after 4 p.m. on weekends. Many downtown business owners have not been in favor of the fees. A new event parking rate also will go into effect this summer.
The parking rates are intended to cover the final $2.6 million of debt on a $7.2 million parking garage under construction on Campbell Avenue.
Meanwhile, Maghera, who also once owned a Scandinavian-style furniture store on Apperson Drive in Salem, won't leave retailing behind entirely.
Once New York Fashions closes, he said he plans to help his son, Rana Maghera, manage a similar shop, Harry's Menswear. The Maghera family opened the men's apparel store in 2005 at Towne Square Shopping Center in Roanoke.
1-800-Got-Junk
Clearing out musty basements, hauling away unwanted furniture and sorting through junk does not sound glamorous.
But Jeff Sharpe has turned to it as a new career path, and he's bringing this concept into Southwest Virginia. Sharpe opened a local franchise for 1-800-Got-Junk in December.
A Martinsville native, Sharpe moved back to Virginia from Louisiana and converted a former Salem Tire and Auto building on Salem Avenue in Roanoke into a local office for 1-800-Got-Junk, which is a national junk removal company.
Sharpe and a two-person team schedule times to pick up unwanted items from customers' homes. They donate the used items to various organizations, and they recycle some items. Sharpe also works with a company that recycles old computers and other electronic waste.
The charge for hauling items depends on how much space the items take up in Sharpe's company truck.
For detailed pricing and other information, visit www.1800gotjunk.com.
City Electric Supply
This month, an electrical supply company landed at Smith Mountain Lake, and it's planning a location in Roanoke.
City Electric Supply opened at Westlake Towne Center in three separate spaces last week. Later this month, it will open at 3118 Salem Turnpike in Roanoke, according to a news release. City Electric Supply has more than 450 branches nationwide.
News from this week's Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/storefront/
n Grandin Village is losing Coda, a coffee and food shop.
n Build-a-Bear Workshop appears slated for Valley View Mall this summer.
n What's your Valentine's Day budget? Discuss your gift ideas and spending plan for Thursday.
