Beginning at 12:01 am on Friday, there will be no sales tax on many items through Sunday night. Items such as clothing, footwear, and school supplies of $100 or less per item; school instructional materials of $300 or less per item; sports and recreation equipment of $50 or less per item, computers of $3,500 or less per item; and computer supplies of $250 or less per item will be exempt.

Clothing accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, protective equipment, wallets, furniture, items used in a trade or business, and rentals are not covered by the exemption and will be subject to the applicable tax.

Here is more info from the NC Dept of Revenue:

• List of Items Exempt During the Sales Tax Holiday (.pdf)
• List of Frequently Asked Questions (.pdf)
• Sales and Use Tax Technical Bulletin  Section 34-24 – August Sales Tax Holiday (.pdf)

One of Raleigh’s oldest standing examples of sprawl is proposing a significant change to their Wade Avenue entrance. www.abetterridgewood.org outlines the plan, which includes tearing town the tiny doctors offices next to Kerr Drugs, tearing down the gas station, and (apparently) tearing down the houses that sit on the center’s entrance road.

After these buildings are removed, the center will have new sidewalks, bike racks, improved accessibility for the disabled, additional parking, and additional public art. The gas station will be replaced with a charging station for electric cars. There will be no new retail space added.

Ridgewood Shopping Center has transformed itself nicely through the years. While it did have Villa Capri and a great stereo store for a while, it also had a Winn-Dixie and the most depressing sewing store on the planet. Through the last two decades they have done an outstanding job of finding tenants that make the center unique.

Some of the plan’s choices are a little bizarre, though. While the gas station is outdated and is no longer the last chance to get gas before Durham, it still is needed in a part of town where gas stations are less common than they were 20, 30, and 40 years ago. Five years ago there were 241 billion cars on the road. Only a few hundred have been replaced by plug-in models. The McDonald’s in Cary has a pair of plug-in stations, but employees I spoke to have never seen anyone use them yet. A renovated gas station that isn’t a cookie cutter (one that houses a cool coffee shop or has drive-thru full service with grocery pickup) could be a great source of new revenue for Ridgewood.

Very small retail spaces in a safe part of Raleigh are extremely rare. Perhaps some creative thinking could be implemented to utilize the aging offices as a source of revenue, rather that just putting up a parking lot.

The additional parking spaces will be the most inconvenient ones in the whole center. People wanting to go to lower level shops like Brueggers will benefit from the spaces, but nobody seeking stores on the main strip with Whole Foods will be happy settling for a space beyond the drug store.

This plan looks like a way to spend a lot of money and get nothing in return. With a very big 3rd recession dip likely looming, Ridgewood ought to hold tight and do whatever they can to keep rents as low as possible for at least a couple of years. We are getting ready to see a big wave of retail closings in the second half of the year, and local merchants, including restaurants, will be greatly affected. This is not the time to spend tons of money trying to cutesy-up a retail center.

Space Savers’ website is no long taking orders, offering refunds, or accepting returns. The site carries this message:

After 20 Years in the organizational and storage business, we have concluded that we need to restructure our company. We are grateful for the loyal customers who have shopped with us over the years. At this time, we regret that we can no longer take orders, offer any refunds, or accept returns.

I was recently at their retail store in Cary and they were running a 30% off sale. Very interesting…

In the N&O today it is being reported that the Ruby Tuesday at Crabtree recently closed. While the culinary landscape in Raleigh is hardly shattered, it is kind of sad to see Applebee’s surviving and Ruby Tuesday faltering. There is still a location at Crossroads, btw.

Nevertheless the real reason for mentioning this is that the store had many historical photos and artifacts of Raleigh. If anyone is interested in getting some of these, now is the time to seek the management and see how they plan on getting rid of the items.

The Site Plan (.pdf) has been submitted for a new food market on Bickett Blvd. The 3,875 square foot market is in the former site of Bickett Galleries, near Bickett and Fairview.

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That’s right…it’s time for another LEGO Mini Build. This month’s project is a flower that appears to have a dozen parts. The free event begins at 5pm Tuesday at the LEGO store in Crabtree, and is open to ages 6 to 14 only. (Note, quantities are limited, and the line will get long in the 30 minutes preceding.)

REI at North Hills will be holding another free bicycle maintenance class on Tuesday night at 7pm. The class will teach customers how to lube a chain, fix a flat tire in record time, and make other minor adjustments to your bike. No experience necessary!

Wear extra wide shoes? Then the Wide Shoe Warehouse may just have what you are looking for. The SRI-styled warehouse features shoes for women and men who wear wide, extra wide Large sizes. Women’s sizes include 6 Wide to 13 Extra Wide and Men’s sizes include 7 Wide to 15 EEEEE.

The store is located at 6405 Westgate Road, just north of the Hwy 70 interchange. Store hours are: M-Th (10-6), Fri (10-7), Sat (10-6), Sun (12-6).

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The site plan (.pdf) for a new Golden Corral on Capital Blvd was released by the City of Raleigh today. The plan for another location of GC’s Pavilion-style restaurant calls for 14K feet of space with seating for 469 people. What’s really interesting is that the restaurant will be located on the outbound side of Capital Blvd next to Jeffrey’s Appliance Center, and across from Babies ‘R’  Us.

This is great news for a stretch of the corridor which has seen an increase in blight ever since the dawning of Triangle Town Center. No word on what will become of the Mini City GC location (Millbrook and Capital), though a GC employee mentioned the expected replacement of that structure should the Glenwood Avenue replacement be successful.

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