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

DATE: FRIDAY, November 10, 1995                   TAG: 9511100081
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AT END OF YEAR, IT'S OVER

For most downtown-watchers, the announcement cannot be unexpected. Rumors about the future of the chain's downtown store have been flying for more than a year, ever since the company announced its decision to move some of its offices from downtown to its Towers Shopping Center location.

"The lease is up, and we've elected not to continue there," said Tom Hoskins, chairman of The Dunlap Co., the Fort Worth, Texas, company that purchased S.H. Heironimus Inc. from local owners in 1993. The store will hold a sale to clear out its merchandise, Hoskins said, and will close sometime after Jan. 1.

The downtown store is one of four Heironimus locations in the Roanoke Valley. The 105-year-old retailer also operates stores in Lynchburg and Christiansburg, as well as several Great Additions gift and home accessory shops.

Larry Drombetta, who became president when Dunlap bought the company, said any information about the downtown closing would come from Hoskins.

But according to Doug Chittum, assistant economic development director for the city of Roanoke, Heironimus has told city officials that no layoffs of store employees would be necessary.

"They're going to make every effort to relocate employees," Chittum said.

City economic developers have tried to persuade Heironimus to open a different, perhaps smaller, store elsewhere in downtown after the 80,000-square-foot building at Jefferson Street and Church Avenue closes, Chittum said. And store officials have been considering whether they can do that, he said. For several years, Heironimus has used only a fraction of the downtown building's space as a sales floor, devoting upper levels to offices and storage.

"I think they have a willingness. We just have to find the right situation," he said.

The Heironimus store has operated from at least six downtown locations over the years, Chittum said.

The building that Heironimus currently occupies is owned by the Edgar A. Thurman Foundation for Children. Crestar Bank, which manages the trust, has told area real estate brokers than the property soon will become available.

Matt Kennell, executive director of Downtown Roanoke Inc., said Thursday evening that he had not been officially notified of the closing. The organization would be sorry to see Heironimus leave, he said, but he emphasized that losing the department store wouldn't mean death for downtown.

"Every business that closes is an opportunity to have another new business open," he said.

Staff writer Jeff Sturgeon contributed to this story.