Jenny Kincaid Boone covers retail and real estate.

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@roanoke.com
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Jenny Kincaid Boone

Retail Roundup columns

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• Bastians Bar-B-Q to reopen
• Woolworth's space is being renovated in downtown Roanoke

The Storefront blog

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Who writes checks for $4 lattes and $2 ice cream cones? Exactly.

Most retailers will tell you that check writing is losing its significance as consumers increasingly swipe credit or debit cards or use cash when they are standing in front of a cash register.

Though many stores and restaurants put no-check policies into place years ago, more local retailers recently have stopped taking checks. Some have posted signs blaming the economy for their decision.

Bad checks, from bounced checks to nonexistent accounts, forced Bruster's Real Ice Cream to ban checks at its two ice cream shops in the Roanoke Valley earlier this year.

The problem was especially aggravated after the ice cream retailer began taking credit and debit cards, said Gary Lierman, who is franchise owner of both Bruster's locations.

"The people who didn't have the funds just wrote checks," he said, attributing the problem partly to increased economic hardship.

When consumers swipe a credit or debit card, it's an automatic authorization that the necessary funds are available. That helps to prevent bounced checks, said Dan Butler, who is vice president of merchandising and retail operations for the National Retail Federation.

Also, a poor economic climate can cause the number of bounced checks to rise as consumers' funds are tighter, he said.

Similarly, as of May 25 at all Starbucks locations, including local shops, the coffee retailer stopped taking personal and traveler's checks. In a statement via e-mail, Starbucks acknowledged that consumers' use of checks has declined at most retail outlets.

"Starbucks reviewed the use of personal checks and traveler's checks in our stores and found that these forms of payment occurred in a limited number of transactions," the company stated. "In addition, this change improves operational processes for the organization."

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Claire V. is fashioning a new pampering business in downtown Roanoke.

The Roanoke handbag designer and retailer is making plans to open a day spa and nail salon at 212 Market St., according to a city building permit and the owner of this building, Don Peterson. This space formerly housed Good Things on the Market, a candy and gift store that closed in December.

A building permit filed with the city of Roanoke reveals that $22,500 in renovations are planned at this vacant space to make way for the new enterprise.

The proposed name of the day spa and salon is Polished by Claire V., according to plans submitted to Roanoke's Architectural Review Board this month.

The owner of Claire V., Laura Bradford Godfrey, said recently that she was not yet ready to share details about her plans there.

Claire V. shares retail space for its handbags with furniture and home decor store, Twist & Turns, on East Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke. Claire V.'s wholesale offices are located on the second floor of this building at 128 and 132 E. Campbell Ave.

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Four former One-Stop Cellular stores in the Roanoke and New River valleys have a new identity.

These retail outlets that sell wireless phones and pagers in Salem, Roanoke, Rocky Mount and Christiansburg now are Wireless Zone hubs. They are among 17 One-Stop Cellular stores throughout Virginia that recently have made this conversion, according to Kristen Healey, a public relations spokeswoman for Wireless Zone.

Wireless Zone, an independent franchise of Verizon Wireless, has been making a push to expand its presence in Southwest Virginia. Wireless Zone announced earlier this year that it was looking for additional franchisees to open more stores in this region.

News from the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/storefront/:

Get the details on Kroger's store remodel in Blacksburg.

La Finca, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Roanoke, will open a second Roanoke location on Orange Avenue.

Get the scoop on the closing of Brambleton Blend in Southwest Roanoke County.