Expanded bar area now opens at Brock's
Brock's Riverside Grill, 503 Sophia St. in downtown Fredericksburg, has unveiled its expanded bar area.
There are a few small tweaks left before the renovation is done, said Brock's co-owner Leo LaPointe, but the work is mostly finished.
The larger bar area, which is to the left from the front entrance, was open for Sunday's opening slate of National Football League games.
City boutique getting a new name, location
A Fredericksburg boutique is getting a new name and a new downtown location at the former home of a recently closed store.
The owners of Two Sisters Boutique--which sells a variety of jewelry, gifts and accessories--are closing their store at 1711 Princess Anne St. on Saturday. They're moving to 721 Caroline St., which most recently served as a retail location for Greenbrier Music.
Jim and Heather Stapleton will open a new shop at the Caroline Street location next month called Heather. It will carry some of the same lines sold at Two Sisters, as well as many new offerings, including goods by local artists. Furniture and other upscale household furnishings will be taken on consignment, and many trunk shows and events are planned.
Jim Stapleton said he and his wife like the new location better. He also said the "Two Sisters" name, which they inherited from previous owners, never really worked for them.
Greenbrier Music closes store in city
Greenbrier Music has closed its retail location at 721 Caroline St.
Owner Stephen Whitesides said his customers prefer shopping at the company's Tyler Street warehouse in Fredericksburg's Battlefield Industrial Park. The company, which sells drums and other instruments, does most of its business through online sales.
It had received an incentives deal from Fredericksburg City Council to open the downtown shop. The deal involved tax rebates if Greenbrier hit revenue targets at the downtown store.
--Bill Freeling
Dollar General opens a store in Ladysmith
Discount retailer Dollar General has opened a freestanding, 9,100-square-foot store at Ladysmith Road and Allen Street just west of U.S. 1 in Caroline.
Dollar General also has withdrawn its rezoning request with Stafford planning officials to build a freestanding store on a half-acre lot near its current store at the Woodlawn Village Shopping Center on Deacon Road in Stafford. Instead, it is developing a site plan for a freestanding store on 1.5 acres at Deacon Road and Cleremont Drive.
--Cathy Jett
U.S. consumers cut credit card use again
WASHINGTON
--Americans cut back on their credit card use in July for the second straight month, suggesting many remain cautious in the face of high unemployment and slow growth.Total consumer borrowing dipped $3.3 billion in July from June to a seasonally adjusted $2.705 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Monday. The drop in credit card debt offset a small rise in a measure of auto and student loans.
The Fed also said Americans have borrowed much more than previously estimated after it revised consumer borrowing data back to December 2010. June's figure was increased to $2.708 trillion, or $130 billion higher than initially thought.
--Associated Press