Sunday, August 30, 2009
Photo USA plans to relocate
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
Recent stories
A former photo business soon will be home to another.
Photo USA is making plans to relocate its Roanoke store to the previous spot of a photo retailer that closed earlier this year.
By the third week of September, Photo USA, a photography printing and design business, will move to 2140 Colonial Ave. S.W. in Roanoke, across from Towers Shopping Center.
The owner of Photo USA, Dan Brown, plans to purchase this building that last housed Ritz Camera. Long ago, this 3,182-square-foot structure was home to Ewald-Clark, a longtime local camera business.
Brown wouldn't disclose the sale price, but the building has been marketed for $479,000, based on real estate listings.
Ritz shuttered more than 300 stores earlier this year, including three Roanoke and New River valley locations, after filing for bankruptcy. Competition from the rise of digital photography and the slumping economy were some of the factors in the Ritz's closings.
Despite the rise of digital photography, Photo USA seems to have bucked the declining trend of some photography retailers. Though 85 percent of Photo USA's printing sales comes from digital photography, compared with film, the business has been a success because of a service-oriented focus, Brown said.
"You can get a digital print made a lot of places, but not with someone looking at it, taking care of it and adjusting it," he said.
Photo USA's new space on Colonial Avenue is easier for customers to access, he added. Its current building at 3736 Franklin Road fronts a short access road off a main thoroughfare.
Brown said he plans to renovate the new shop, and he's changing some of Photo USA's services. Its studio will close once the business moves, and there no longer will be a drive-through window.
Still, Photo USA is adding camera repairs to its list of services, upon hiring a technician who used to work for Ritz.
Once Photo USA moves out of its Franklin Road space, a neighboring business will move in.
Security Lock and Key purchased Photo USA's 3,000-square-foot building a few weeks ago.
The relocation will more than double the locksmith business' space, which has been at 3730 Franklin Road, next door to Photo USA, since the 1980s. Security Lock and Key first opened in 1974 in Tanglewood Mall.
The owners of Security Lock and Key paid $850,000 for the Photo USA building, according to property records.
How to go green
Interested in a green makeover? A national green business is spreading the word about how people can make their home and office spaces environmentally friendly, and several Roanoke Valley consultants are joining the company.
Don Coons of Vinton became an eco-consultant for Green Irene last month. He visits homes and workplaces, showing people ways that they can make their spaces more energy efficient.
The various green makeover ideas range from easy to complicated, such as swapping light bulbs with energy-saving brands, weather stripping or cleaning refrigerator coils.
Coons already had his own painting and home repair business, but he was interested in energy saving methods. He also runs a repair business, HelpuGreen.
Gerald Carter of Botetourt County is another local person who began training last month to become an eco-consultant with Green Irene.
Green Irene was founded in 2007 by the husband-and-wife team of Peter J. Stafford and Rosamaria Caballero Stafford. Based in New York City, the company has more than 400 eco-consultants in 45 states.
For more information about Green Irene and how to contact local eco-consultants, visit www.greenirene.com.
Bastians to hold tent sale
To pump up revenues, Bastians Bar-B-Q revived a popular tent sale this summer after a two-year hiatus.
Bastians will host its third tent sale of the summer on Sept. 4, in front of its restaurant on Apperson Drive in Salem, selling barbecue, baby back ribs, chicken and some side items. The sale is timed for Labor Day weekend festivities.
Bastians resurrected this well-known sale at the beginning of the summer, hosting it the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and the Friday of the Fourth of July weekend. For this tent event, the restaurant reduces prices on its pounds of pork barbecue, chopped chicken barbecue and racks of ribs.
Two years ago, Chris Bastian, co-owner of the business, stopped the sale, after holding it for five consecutive years, because his assistant chef hurt his back. Bastian couldn't prepare for the sale without extra help.
But so many people asked about it that Bastian decided to bring it back this year, producing between 800 to 1,000 pounds of pork barbecue.
It's a boost to consumers because of reduced prices for meats. It's also a revenue lift for Bastians' business, which has had declining sales this year because of the economy, Bastian said.
News from the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/storefront/
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