Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407160010
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Jane Bonomo, owner of the Blacksburg-based company, said it will be open for customer appreciation days next week and probably will close by the end of the month.
She said there will be no clearance sale because the closing "will be more dignified than that."
The shop has been on Church Avenue for 19 years, she said.
Although the City Market is bustling, Bonomo said, the rest of downtown has problems. She said customers are reluctant to drive downtown, find a place to park, pay for parking and walk from store to store in inclement weather.
People who work downtown, on the other hand, are in too much of a hurry to shop before and after office hours. That means the only busy time is during lunch hour, and then shoppers are rushed.
Church Avenue has no business during evenings or weekends, she said.
Bonomo said she tried last year to spearhead formation of an informal group of merchants along Church Avenue, but found little or no interest. She wanted all the stores in the block to open at 8 a.m. for before-work shopping and to join in common promotions.
This is the fourth Bonomo's store to close in recent years. Bonomo previously dropped locations at Roanoke's Tanglewood Mall and in Lynchburg and Radford.
That leaves the chain with two stores at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke - Bonomo's and Bonomo's Plus - and the headquarters store at Blacksburg.
The two stores at Towers will extend their hours to 7 p.m. daily, Bonomo said. Both of those locations are performing well, she added.
Bonomo said she is planning to open a shoe store near the Blacksburg store.
Three people work in the downtown branch. Bonomo said the manager has been hired by another retailer, one worker will retire and the third will transfer to the Towers stores.
Bonomo owns the Church Avenue property, which is for sale.
Other businesses on Church Avenue include Macado's restaurant, Melody Haven music store, Furs By Don, Fallon Florist, Ewald-Clark Inc. photo supplies and Tudor's Biscuit World.
by CNB