Ease the pain of a lost key

Anyone driving a car that was made in the last decade or so probably has a "clicky thingy" that can remotely unlock the doors and the trunk.

But, as anyone who ever lost their keys will tell you, paying to replace that clicky thingy can be incredibly expensive.

That's where Key Harbor may come in.

The business opened last week in Raleigh's Triangle Town Center and offers discounted prices on key remotes, copies of those keys with the electronic chips inside or the high-security cut keys for some luxury cars.

The company can do the programming and also small services such as replacing batteries. Depending on the key, prices can be as low as $49.95. Dealerships can charge $100 or more.

The business began at the N.C. State Fairgrounds flea market two months ago, said Julie Overby, who owns the business with her husband, Glenn. Business was so good that the couple decided to look for a more permanent location and move to the mall.

Key Harbor is on the upper level of Triangle Town Center, in a kiosk space for now, near Caribou Coffee.

Dunkin' Donuts is most popular in the Northeast, but the chain is spreading its reach. I had a chance last week to speak with John Dawson, Dunkin's chief development officer.

He said the Triangle area is "a real linchpin" to the company's plans in North Carolina.

"Our goal is to have stores from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, and North Carolina kind of connects the central Atlantic [states] to the Southeast Atlantic states," he said.

Dunkin' is well on its way with almost 6,000 stores nationally.

Locally, two Dunkin' Donuts stores opened last week, at 3695 New Bern Ave. in Raleigh and 800 Perry Road in Apex, bringing the Triangle's total to 16 stores. Two more will open by the end of the year, at 4890 Hope Valley Road in Durham and 222 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh.

As for more stores, Dawson said: "We're going to keep providing new stores as long as people continue to provide us with their business."

In big cities, it's common to find "conveyor belt" sushi restaurants, where the sushi chef stands in the middle of a sushi bar and places plates of sushi on a conveyor belt, which takes the food around the bar to waiting diners.

Usually there's a color-coding system for the plates so that the cashier can easily count up how much to charge each person when they bring their stack of empty plates to the register.

Conveyor-belt sushi is a rare find in our area, but now we can add Domo Sushi to the list. The restaurant is at NE Maynard and Harrison roads in Cary.

OTHER ITEMS: In Chapel Hill, Mitchell's Home Studio opens Saturday at 241 S. Elliott Road. ... In Raleigh, Prime Only appears to be closed at 505 W. Jones St. None of my calls were returned. ... In Raleigh's Crabtree Valley Mall, Privilege by Casanova reopened after a two-month hiatus for renovation and a move into a new space on the upper level. ... Also in Raleigh, Metro Style men's grooming center opened at 4237 Louisburg Road, offering hot lather shaves, sports massage, haircuts and skin treatments.