On the product edit page, general tab, there's a checkbox for Low Stock Qty and another checkbox for Warnings Enabled.  I swear I read about this somewhere but can't find it now and I think this is exactly what I need right now --

Am I right that this will generate an "warning" email when the inventory reaches the Low Stock Qty?  If so, how do I set which email address should receive the warning?

If you check the Warnings Enabled checkbox, you will be sent an email when the on-hand quantity of the product dips below what you have set for the Low Stock Quantity setting.

The email will send to whatever alert addresses are setup on Global Settings > Email Alert Addresses

It would be nice if the the Low Stock Qty + Warnings Enabled feature also displayed a line of text on the product page (and cart) for customers to see.  Our store may not want to display remaining inventory amounts to customers, however letting them know of a product's limited availability is helpful.  

I realize this isn't a valid merge code, but you get the point.

  ##IF[LOWSTOCKQTY=1]##  LOW INVENTORY - PLEASE CALL FOR AVAILABILTY  ##ELSE##  ##ENDIF##