
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 18, 1994                   TAG: 9403180123
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ADRIENNE PETTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT                                LENGTH: Short

FIRE DAMAGES 3 STORES

Fire swept through a commercial building one mile off the U.S. 220 bypass Thursday morning, destroying a grocery store and damaging two other businesses.

Jones Produce Deli and Meats, a small grocery store on North Main Street, was gutted and its outside walls damaged by the 9:30 a.m. fire. The two adjacent businesses, North Main Video and Morgan Drive Away Inc., sustained severe smoke and water damage.

North Main is a video rental store, and Morgan Drive Away is a trucking company that hauls manufactured mobile homes.

Despite strong winds, firefighters were able to contain the fire quickly. "The wind was a real problem," said Claude Webster, director of public safety for Franklin County. "Fortunately, it was blowing in our favor."

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Melvin Jones, who has owned the building for 20 years and ran the grocery store until three years ago, said he plans to complete repairs and reopen in 90 days.

He wants to act quickly to avoid losing one of his longtime employees. "It would be kind of hard to replace her with someone else," he said.

by CNB