Jenny Kincaid Boone covers retail and real estate.

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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

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Amateur cyclist Bob Welsh did not leave the bike business behind entirely when he moved to the Roanoke Valley from Raleigh, N.C., two years ago.

He's taking his chances on a new seasonal bike venture in Roanoke using a heavily traveled greenway as its platform. Earlier this month, Welsh launched River Greenway Bicycle Rental.

On Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, Welsh loads 12 Trek hybrid bikes into a trailer that he pulls behind his Ford Explorer. He parks the trailer in a lot beside the Ramada Inn on Franklin Road in Roanoke, fronting a section of the Roanoke River Greenway.

From there, passers-by can rent the adult bikes for $10 each, including helmets, for one-and-a-half hour time slots.

Welsh, who used to own a bike shop in North Carolina, said he saw the perfect opportunity for this new biking enterprise, given the Roanoke Valley's expansive greenway system. He spent about $6,000 to purchase the bikes.

Though customers can ride the bikes where they would like, "I encourage them to stay on the greenway," Welsh said. "It's the only flat ride in Roanoke."

He joins some other bicycling entrepreneurs. Sharebike, which opened last year and is headquartered in the Roanoke City Market Building, places bikes at different local businesses for people to ride throughout the area.

River Greenway Bicycle Rental is seasonal for now. Welsh expects to rent out bikes through October or until the weather turns too cool for the casual cyclist.

He will bring back the business in the spring if this fall is successful. For now, Welsh is operating River Greenway Bicycle Rental part time, but he's still involved in biking sales during the rest of the week.

His other job is at East Coasters Bike shop in Roanoke County, where he is a salesperson.

Hours for River Greenway Bicycle Rentals: Wednesday and Friday: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday: Noon to 4 p.m.

Artist to relocate studio

Jim Privitera's search for a larger pottery studio led him to Vinton.

The artist said he will relocate his Earthworks Pottery studio on Main Street in Roanoke to a building at 228 S. Pollard St. in Vinton. Last month, Privitera purchased the building for $145,000, according to property records, and he's planning to move his studio into a 2,000-square-foot space there in the next few months.

The retired professor said he will open up this new space to other artists for studio rentals, and he will also teach pottery classes.

At the end of this month, Privitera plans to move out of his 500- to 600-square-foot studio at 1902 Main St. in Roanoke, where's he's had a studio for a year and a half.

He has no formal date set for moving to Vinton, but Privitera said he will host the first pottery retail sale there in December.

Consignment sales

A nine-day consignment sale for children's clothing, toys, furniture and more is around the corner.

The sale, called Lauren's Friends & Alex, will be held from Oct. 3 to Oct. 11 at Madison Square Shopping Center on Electric Road in Roanoke County, inside the former A&N space.

This retail event, held each fall and spring, began nine years ago. Ellen Cleveland, a Roanoke County stay-at-home mom, took it over in 2008, drawing more than 100 consignors.

A portion of this sale's proceeds will go to local elementary schools, though Cleveland did not disclose the school names.

For more information, visit www.lfaconsignment.com.

Back on the Rack, a similar nine-day consignment sale held at Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke County, begins Sept. 26.

For more information, visit www.backontherackroanoke.com.

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

Lounge at Fork is open in South Roanoke.

A new drive-through at Bratcher's Ice Cream Parlor in Roanoke is closed.