Sunday, October 21, 2007
Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea will have larger digs
The latest from The Ticker blog
Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea will brew new and larger digs in downtown Roanoke.
Dave Johnson, the owner of the local coffee retailer, confirmed that he will move Mill Mountain's flagship location to a new building by the end of this year.
In 2006 Johnson purchased a building at 117 Campbell Ave., which is across the street from its current location at 112 Campbell Ave. The coffee shop's lease will be up on Dec. 31, and already the building's owners are advertising that this retail space is coming available.
Johnson said Mill Mountain's new space will be larger than its current one, and once open, it will feature a lunch menu similar to what it offers in other area locations. Johnson may create an outdoor seating area in the back of the building that will face Kirk Avenue and the Mill Mountain Star.
"You will be able to drink Mill Mountain and view Mill Mountain at the same time," Johnson said.
The new structure sports a tin ceiling and hardwood floors inside, and it most recently housed an antique shop. Johnson will spend the next few months renovating the space to ready it for the coffee shop.
A Washington native, Johnson opened the first Mill Mountain Coffee location at 112 Campbell Ave. in downtown Roanoke in 1990. Others have followed. There are three other Mill Mountain locations in the Roanoke Valley, and one in Richmond.
Watson's Tobacco
A well-known cigar and tobacco shop at Tanglewood Mall has moved to Vinton.
Watson's Tobacco opened on 109 W. Lee St. in March. The owner, Danny Watson, said he moved from Tanglewood because mall management wanted him to leave his space on the mall's upper floor, near Belk.
At his new location, he's selling the same selection of cigars, pipe tobacco and sports collectibles.
Next month, Watson and a business partner plan to launch a Web site to sell cigar and tobacco products, called www.cigarfivers.com. It will offer a selection similar to Watson's retail location.
Mall shops
Temporary stores that sell merchandise only during the holiday season are landing inside Tanglewood and Valley View malls again this year. Some of these stores already are open, while others will debut in the next month.
This year's seasonal lineup at Tanglewood includes Tailgaters United, Fashion Buzz, Hickory Farms, Candle Accents, Ultimate Spa Heat, and Nuts R Us.
At Valley View, some of the temporary retailers are Calendar Club, GO! The Game Kiosk, Perrywinkle Toys, Hickory Farms and Glass Gallery.
From the Storefront
News from last week's Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/storefront/:
Dickey's Barbecue, a Dallas-based restaurant chain, will open a location on West Main Street in Salem next month.
Fancy That, a gift and home decor shop, has opened at the District at Valley View, adjacent to Valley View Mall.
The Salem Orvis outlet will close in January, according to the company.
