Sunday, November 23, 2008
Roy L. Webber Florist has closed | Teaberry's Cafe | Seasonal retailers
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
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Bob and Gladys Morris have pruned flowers and memories inside a longtime Roanoke floral shop. Now, they're hanging up their watering cans.
The Morrises have closed Roy L. Webber Florist on Williamson Road, a shop that was founded by Gladys Morris' father and former Roanoke mayor, Roy L. Webber.
Because of an illness, Bob Morris no longer can run the shop. And Gladys Morris, who works full time as a medical technologist, said the family flower business is a challenge for her to operate on her own.
These pressures, as well as the strain of slow economic times, have forced the Morrises to shut the doors. They have been trying to sell off the shop's inventory through various sales. Dry flower arrangements, stuffed animals and other decor are discounted 50 percent. The next sale will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Webber, for whom a stretch of U.S. 220 from Elm Avenue to Virginia 419 is named, opened the floral shop in its current location at 4000 Williamson Road in 1946. Past newspaper articles state that he landed the store on the outskirts of downtown Roanoke because he did not want to compete with his florist friends who had shops downtown.
The Morrises took over the flower business in 1975, after moving from Northern Virginia to the Roanoke Valley. Bob Morris ran the shop, while Gladys Morris stayed at home with their three children and helped in her spare time.
The Morrises once had a second Roy L. Webber shop, which opened in the mid-1980s at Cave Spring Corners in Roanoke County.
Later, they merged the shop's inventory back into the Williamson Road location. In 1997, the Roanoke shop underwent an extensive renovation. Old additions and greenhouses were torn down, and the sales area was restored to resemble a small house.
Reflecting on her years working in the flower business, Gladys Morris said, "I'm not going to know what to do," especially at the holidays. The Christmas season is one of the busiest times at the shop, she said.
The florist shop houses some antique furnishings that the Morrises hope to sell. They're also selling the building, though a buyer hasn't yet been found.
A Teaberry's lunch spot
Wonder what happened to a Botetourt County eatery? Teaberry's Restaurant has a new spinoff -- Teaberry's Cafe -- and it has landed in downtown Vinton, serving lunch.
Owner Lisa Janney said plans still are in the works to reopen a new location for Teaberry's Restaurant for lunch and dinner inside an older home in Daleville. In May, the restaurant closed its Cloverdale Road location.
Renovations are going on inside an 1842 brick home on Roanoke Road for the eatery's new space. But it may be two to three months until the new Teaberry's Restaurant opens, Janney said. In the meantime, she decided to start serving lunch.
Teaberry's Cafe, which opened two months ago at 129 E. Cleveland Ave. in Vinton, offers homemade soups, sandwiches, salads and desserts. Janney said she's been floored with the community's response to the cafe's new digs.
She plans to keep this lunch spot open, even after the new Teaberry's Restaurant debuts.
"It would be a shame to close it," Janney said. "Everybody is so appreciative of us coming here."
The restaurant's catering operation also is based at the Vinton space.
Stopping in for a season
Seasonal retailers have arrived at Tanglewood and Valley View malls. These businesses land in retail spaces or sell merchandise from carts. Generally, they're open October through January.
The following are some of this year's seasonal shops at the Roanoke and Roanoke County shopping centers.
Valley View Mall: Santa's Treasure, Fun Zone, Ming's Studio, Day by Day, Hickory Farms, Tumbleweed Pottery, Fashion Place.
Tanglewood Mall: Aren't You Special, CDJ Creations, Country Moments, Hickory Farms, Hip Hop Fashions, Kit Katt Enterprises, Monties Collectibles, Planet Wear, Sweet Providence Farms, Tomorrow's Treasures.
News from the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/storefront/
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