Jenny Kincaid Boone covers retail and real estate.

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Jenny Kincaid Boone

Retail Roundup columns

• Readers, thanks for your support
• Bastians Bar-B-Q to reopen
• Woolworth's space is being renovated in downtown Roanoke

The Storefront blog

• More from Jenny's blog

The Getty Mart name no longer is part of the Roanoke Valley's gasoline retail scene.

You may have noticed that Getty Mart signs have come down at the company's local gas stations.

Getty Petroleum Marketing of New Jersey has sold its assets and inventory to Lukoil Pan Americas, a subsidiary of Lukoil, a Russian oil company, according to a Lukoil news release. In November, Getty announced that it was restructuring and getting out of the retail gasoline business. The reasons for the restructuring are unclear.

This corporatewide decision leaves former Getty Mart owners and operators in limbo. At least two in the Roanoke Valley still are determining whether to continue selling gasoline or change their business model entirely.

Gasoline pumps have been removed at a former Getty Mart on Colonial Avenue in Roanoke, and manager and operator Nirat Bhatt said he's not sure if he will continue to sell gasoline in the future.

For now, he's considering ways to expand the convenience store's food business, such as adding more grocery items, such as meat and frozen foods, and creating a small cafe with ice cream and smoothies.

On Peters Creek Road in Roanoke, another former Getty Mart eventually will sell gasoline again, said owner Vijay Mistry, though he did not know when that will happen. Bags now cover the gas pumps.

There are six Getty Mart stations in the Roanoke Valley, according to Getty Petroleum's Web site.

Quilting business opens

Quilt retail veteran Jill Setchel worries that the traditional American craft is not reaching younger generations.

Years ago, young women learned to quilt, but that's not happening much nowadays, she said.

"It will be a dying art if we don't get young people involved," said Setchel, who recently returned to brick-and-mortar quilt retailing.

Setchel opened a quilting supply shop, the Quilting Connection, several months ago in Boones Mill, on U.S. 220.

She's not new to this kind of business. Setchel owned and operated the Quilting Connection in Roanoke County on Brambleton Avenue for nine years before closing the store in 2002.

She continued to sell quilting supplies online and set up booths at quilt shows.

Her renovated and rustic Boones Mill shop, formerly an antique business, was a chance to return to brick-and-mortar retail sales and earn extra income that was much needed during tough economic times, Setchel said.

Plus, she offers quilting classes at her shop. Along with traditional quilts, people can learn to make home decoration projects such as pillows, purses and aprons in what Setchel calls "contemporary patterns." Some of the purses resemble the popular Vera Bradley designs.

"You can establish that same look making your own," Setchel said.

Visit www.quiltingconnect.com for more information.

Unusual combo in Salem

Haircuts and furniture. It's not the typical business combination, but Alan Blankenship is making a go of it in Salem.

Blankenship opened the House of Alan in November, a hair salon and furniture business at 213 E. Fourth St.

In one area of the shop, Blankenship, a hairdresser for 24 years, cuts hair, gives perms, colors and other related services.

In another part of the store, he sells tables, chairs and other furnishings that he finds at flea markets and on Craigslist. Blankenship refurbishes the furniture pieces.

"I love working with my hands," said Blankenship, a Roanoke native who has sold furniture in the past.

His aim is to make prices affordable. Haircuts start at $8, and the furniture sells for less than half of the typical retail price. Blankenship also will negotiable some prices.

"Everybody wants a good deal," he said.

He also has partnered with an local catalog business, Rainbow Ventures, at www.rainbowventures.biz. Shoppers can order collectibles, home decor and other gift items through Rainbow Ventures' Web site and pick them up at the House of Alan. The Rainbow Ventures catalog also is available at the shop for browsing.

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

A new CVS store planned for Roanoke County, near Bonsack, is expected to open in May. A CVS store on Orange Avenue in Roanoke will relocate to the new Bonsack spot.

Some fast food restaurants have new and healthy menu items to coincide with New Year's resolutions.

Cheddar's Casual Cafe expects to open its new Roanoke restaurant in October.