The longtime destination for vacuum cleaners in need of repair has been spruced up with a bright coat of purple paint. And it's also home to a new business that helps students spruce up their dorm rooms or apartments.

Gigi Smith said she conjured up the idea of opening The Door Room while moving her son, Mike Hallow, to Chowan College last year. The business opened Saturday in the former home of the Vacuum Cleaner Hospital on 10th Street.

"The real reason that I thought of this was when I moved my son to Chowan and we loaded all his furniture up and took it and set him up in his dormitory ... I had to run to different places to get other things that he needed," Smith said.

Smith and her husband have operated Discount Mattress & Furniture on 14th Avenue for about one year. She said The Door Room offered some of the same items but was geared more toward college students — including a 10 percent discount.

"We've got very multi-use furniture," she said, "things that are compact and can be stowed away ... and things that are more contemporary. I just try to find some fun things that they would enjoy and not have to take mom and dad's hand-me-downs to school, because it's affordable."

Smith said The Dorm Room has pieces for dinettes, bedrooms and living rooms. Among the selections are beanbags, sofa chairs that convert into beds, bed-in-a-bag sets and indoor-outdoor furniture. What is not in stock can be some can be ordered, and free delivery and setup is offered, Smith said.

Hallow, who transferred to Pitt Community College with hopes of enrolling at East Carolina University, is helping Smith at the store.

Business hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Call 561-7666.

Biotech conference

John Chaffee, director of the Eastern Office of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, will be among a delegation from the state attending the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing next week in Toronto, Canada.

North Carolina is looking to capitalize on the growing opportunities in biofuels and other industrial uses of biotechnology, and Chaffee said the event would be a valuable learning and networking opportunity. He also recently attended a biotech conference in Chicago.

Chaffee took over as director of the eastern office after 22 years as executive director of the Pitt County Economic Development Commission.

Eastern North Carolina is a prime area for biotech industries, Chaffee said, with opportunities for plant bio-agriculture and processing and in the area of biofuels.

Beaufort County will soon be the home of a $150 million ethanol plant that will produce 114 million gallons of ethanol per year. The plant, to be built by Agri-Ethanol Products, will be the first on the East Coast and will consume more than 20 million bushels of grain per year and can use either corn or grain sorghum interchangeably.

Another ethanol plant is planned for Jamesville. EarthBiofuels, a Dallas-based company that sells biodiesel under Willie Nelson's brand name, "BioWillie," recently announced its intention to buy controlling interest in the plant. Under the agreement, EarthBiofuels will acquire a 51 percent interest in Albemarle Biorefinery Inc., a subsidiary of the Raleigh-based DFI group.

The new plant will initially produce at least 50 million gallons of ethanol per year and an additional 50 million gallons after Phase II is finished.

Ethanol is a blend of gasoline and corn and, less often, soybeans. Research within the region also is investigating the feasibility of using other forms of biomass such as wood by-products and canola to support ethanol production.

Biodiesel can be refined from vegetable oil. Only one station in Greenville — the Duck Thru on Greenville Boulevard — offers biodiesel.

Toyota showroom

Toyota of Greenville expects to open its new showroom by November, owner Craig Goess said.

The 21,000-square-foot facility under construction at the back of the dealership on Memorial Drive will be "much more inviting" for customers, Goess said, with the addition of televisions and separate bathrooms for staff and customers.

'Everything's going to be all under one lid instead of being split up like we are now in two individual buildings," Goess said. "Those two buildings will go away, and everything will be under one hat."

Goess said a factor in the expansion was striving for the annual President's Award, which the local Toyota dealership has received every year since 1992.

"They basically said, 'If you don't put a building up this year or (make) an attempt, we're not going to give you the points for your facility.' They know how important that President's Award is to me," Goess said.

Antiques, Etc.

Vesta Masten Merricks has opened Antiques, Etc. as the newest vendor at Big Red Bow in downtown Winterville.

Merricks, who has lived in Pitt County since 1982, said she spends hours scouring the countryside in search of old treasures.

"My fondest childhood memories are of going to auctions and flea markets with my mother," Merricks said. "... At these events, you never know what you might find. My favorite pastime is imagining how to transform something old and use it in a new and interesting way. Also, you never know who you may meet on antiquing ventures; they're usually really nice, knowledgeable people. We all share a love for discovering our next favorite treasure on Saturday morning jaunts to auctions, shops or antique shows."

Big Red Bow features several vendors under one roof at its gift boutique at 2582 Railroad St. and also has an online store.

Mike Grizzard can be

contacted at mgrizzard@

coxnc.com and 329-9580.