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Layoffs. Business closings. Typical headlines in these tough economic times.

What's not so typical? Members of one family opening not just one, but two businesses at the same time.

Ashley Cobbler and her boyfriend, Chris Moore, opened Jolly Rogers Tattoo in Greensboro on Tuesday with the backing of her father, who's a private investigator and former Greensboro police officer .

Not to be outdone, her brother Brian Cobbler opened MMA, a mixed martial arts clothing and accessories store.

The siblings share a 2,500-square-foot space at the Battleground Plaza shopping center, figuring their stores are a natural fit for each other.

"Most fighters have tattoos," Brian Cobbler said of those who enjoy mixed martial arts, a combination of sports including boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and jiu jitsu.

Ashley Cobbler, 23, and her boyfriend Moore believe opening a tattoo business in a suburban strip mall in a safe neighborhood means they can cater to a broad range of customers.

They include nurses, firefighters and women in their 60s.

Surprised?

"When I was a police officer, it used to be the Hell's Angels and the outlaws and motorcycle gangs and the real weird people having tattoos," said Ed Cobbler, Ashley's father. "My gosh. I have really learned a lot in the past several months. There's a lot of middle class and older people who have tattoos."

Ed Cobbler advised them running your own business means long hours and hard work. But it's worth it.

"I've always taught my kids they need to be business-minded," he said. "Think about owning a business."

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It's a pretty sweet deal on Inauguration Day: Krispy Kreme is offering a free doughnut of choice to customers Tuesday.

Krispy Kreme's biggest competitor isn't offering anything for free. But Dunkin' Donuts is unveiling a new "Stars & Stripes" doughnut, a frosted doughnut decorated with red, white and blue star-shaped sprinkles, for 89 cents, that's available through Tuesday.

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A sampling of some deals at Triad area grocery stores (prices good through Tuesday) :

Buy one, 2.5-pound bag of frozen boneless chicken breast, get one free at Harris Teeter.

Harris Teeter is also doubling manufacturers' coupons up to 99 cents (limit 20).

Buy three On the Go Bistro sides at $2.99 each, get a rotisserie or 8-piece fried chicken for free at Food Lion.

Five-piece packages of Sanderson Farms boneless chicken breast are $1.99 a pound at Lowes Foods, which is also doubling manufacturers' coupons up to 99 cents (limit 20).

Buy one frozen Tombstone pizza, get one free at Food Lion.

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Get a free Redbox kiosk movie rental on Mondays by signing up for movie codes at www.redbox.com. You'll get the codes as cell phone text messages.

In the Triad, you'll find Redbox kiosks in places such as Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods.

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Become Web savvy! Check out more deals and retail news at Mike Fuchs' Bargain Blog. You can also subscribe to the Bargain Bytes e-newsletter at news-record.com/bargains.

The free newsletter will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.

And be sure to sign up for his Twitter feed at twitter.com/bargainblog.

Do you have a retail news or shopping tips for Savvy Shopper? Contact Mike Fuchs at 373-3465 or
michael.fuchs@news-record.com