Sunday, June 21, 2009
Audiotronics expanding to new part of the valley
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
Recent stories
A longtime Roanoke County electronics retailer is poised to stretch into a new part of the Roanoke Valley.
Audiotronics plans to open a second store on Peters Creek Road in Roanoke County.
The owners of the Ogden Road business recently paid about $1.1 million for a vacant building at 6802 Peters Creek Road. This 7,000-square-foot structure formerly housed Autoway, an auto dealership.
By late July, it's slated for the new Audiotronics store.
The retailer, which sells, services and installs home audio and video products, car stereos and more, already covers much of the Roanoke and New River valleys.
Still, opening a second location is a move to drum up business beyond Southwest Roanoke County.
With the Peters Creek Road store, Audiotronics is "just looking to expand and reach out to a few new people in areas that we haven't necessarily in the past," said Will Callahan, retail manager.
Right now, minor renovations are taking place at the former auto dealership to make way for its retail transformation.
This is the first expansion by Audiotronics since the early 1990s, when the company had some locations in Richmond, Callahan said. The retailer was founded in 1976 as a stereo audio store.
John Ferguson is the president of Audiotronics, according to the State Corporation Commission. The retailer did not return a call for comment.
SoRo to debut in August
Plans are cooking for a new neighborhood grill aimed at South Roanoke diners.
Ron Revia and Angela Drinkard are opening SoRo Chill & Grille at Piccadilly Square on Franklin Road. SoRo is short for South Roanoke.
By August, they're hoping to debut the new eatery to the left side of the retail center, inside two vacant spaces.
Owning a food business is a dream for Revia and Drinkard, who both have experience in restaurant management.
"Once it gets in your blood, it's hard to get away from it," said Revia, who now works full time in logistics management.
Drinkard will be the general manager of the new eatery. The menu fare will include Southern foods and Cajun dishes, steaks and seafood. It will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, including a Sunday brunch.
Food entree prices will range from $12 to $25. Bob Kellehir will be the chef.
SoRo Chill & Grille, which Revia described as "upscale casual," also will have a full bar and a large, communal table that can seat parties of about 30 people.
Revia said he's "cautiously optimistic" about the new eatery's prospects for success, despite an economic climate of low consumer spending.
"People may be scaling back a little bit, but they're not completely abandoning eating out," he said. "Eating out is one of those escapes."
Delivery service expands
More restaurants have joined a Roanoke restaurant delivery service's lineup.
Dine on Time recently added 419 West, Fork in the City, Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill, Maggie Moo's Ice Cream and Geonetti's Specialty Subs to its delivery selection, for a total of 16 eateries. Others include Ragazzi's, Fork in the Alley and El Rodeo.
Through Dine on Time, people can order restaurant meals to be delivered directly to their homes, for a fee. For now, the service delivers mostly in Southwest Roanoke and Roanoke County.
A father-and-son team, Jeff and Mark Spar, launched the business last year.
Orders can be placed by phone or via Dine on Time's Web site at www.dineontime.net.
News from the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/storefront:
- Get the scoop on new plans for a former restaurant space in South Roanoke.
- Goodwill revamps its image to appeal to upscale shoppers.
- Dunkin Donuts aims for a July opening at Keagy Village in Southwest Roanoke County.
