Sunday, October 18, 2009
Owner plans to close Olde Salem Furnishings
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
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The rigors of owning a business have caught up with Joel Spencer. He's leaving his longtime Salem furniture enterprise behind, after nearly 31 years.
Spencer plans to close Olde Salem Furnishings, a shop on Union Street known for its selection of mid- to high-end furniture lines and rugs. He's hoping to shut the doors by December, after he sells most of the inventory. Much of the furnishings are discounted 50 percent.
There are two reasons that Spencer, 56, is closing the shop. His children have other careers and are not interested in running Olde Salem Furnishings.
Also, some prospective buyers have approached Spencer about the property, which includes the 2,300-square-foot shop. A sale has not gone through, but either way, Spencer said, he wants to rent or sell the property.
The retail furniture industry nationwide has hit many bumps in the past few years, with the ailing housing market and pressure from overseas manufacturing. National furniture sales have dropped 18 percent to 20 percent this year from last year, said Jerry Epperson, a furniture industry analyst with Mann, Armistead & Epperson in Richmond.
These troubles specifically are not the reason that Spencer is closing Olde Salem Furnishings, though he acknowledged that he has seen up and down sales cycles in furniture sales through the years. Poor economic conditions in the past year certainly have not boosted his business.
"Anybody who says they haven't been fazed by this last year is lying," Spencer said.
Spencer isn't sure what he will do once he closes Olde Salem Furnishings, but whatever it is, he's looking forward to a lighter daily load.
"I don't want to work seven days a week anymore," he said.
Small steps for shoe shop
Tired of traveling out of town to find footwear to her liking, Cheryl Cobbs is one step closer to having her own shoe store in Roanoke.
Cobbs and business partner Dwight Steele are working hard to prepare the store, Sole II Soul, for an opening sometime this fall. They are leasing a small, 600-square-foot storefront at 133 W. Campbell Ave., and they're in the midst of making some changes to the space, including painting and putting up racks.
The partners are slightly behind their previous expected opening date for the store, but getting necessary permits and other logistics have taken longer than planned, said Cobbs, who also directs alternative education placement for Step Inc. in Franklin County.
Steele will be in charge of the day-to-day retail operations.
"It's all worth it," Cobbs said. "It's so exciting and exhilarating to be a business owner."
She would not disclose the shoe brands the new shop will carry, but the selection will feature contemporary dress shoes and accessories. The shoe lines will be unique to the Roanoke Valley, she said.
Look for the shop's decor, with pewter and black walls and turquoise accents, to match a contemporary flair that Cobbs said she's hoping to accomplish with the footwear selection.
Meanwhile, Dandelion Feet, a high-end women's shoe boutique on Market Street downtown, will close Oct. 31 after about four years in business. Owner Kelly Fleming said she plans to spend more time helping her husband, who owns a franchise of CertaPro Painters.
New space for collision business
A collision repair and body business settled into a new space in North Roanoke County late last month.
Hannabass & Rowe relocated 12 employees to a new building on Meyers Drive, off Plantation Road. The company built the approximately 7,000-square-foot structure, where it offers insurance services and collision repair, said Richard Doss, shop manager.
Hannabass still has its location on Broadway Avenue in Roanoke, and that office will remain. Earlier this year, the company moved out of a previous location on Salem Avenue in downtown Roanoke, after Integrated Imaging bought the building.
News from the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/storefront/
- The owner of a South Roanoke cupcake shop plans to open a second location on Kirk Avenue in downtown Roanoke.
- Get the latest news on the forecast for retail sales this holiday season.
- All food and other merchandise is discounted 20 percent at Ukrop's Super Market in Roanoke.
