Roanoke: City of Unexpected Delights
From the Miami Herald
“Hey, y’all, we’ll move over. Come sit on down,” the scruffy bearded man called to us. We had heard the Texas Tavern eatery in Roanoke was small, but didn’t realize it was this small — a tiny hallway of a café.
The Tavern’s loyal clientele flocks to it 24 hours a day, no matter that they have to stand outside and wait for one of the ten bar stools. Those $1.70 bowls of “chile” and $1.30 burgers and dogs hit the spot, as they have for Roanokers and others since the 1930s.
On this day, the stools were occupied by an extroverted South African, two burly bikers from Miami, our bearded new friend and his buddy, the three of us, and a spiffily dressed businessman. All races, all professions, all income levels rest their feet on the old foot rail. The Tavern even sports an ancient cigarette vending machine.
Just as the Texas Tavern surprised me, I was delighted by Roanoke during a recent visit. It’s a hodgepodge, with unexpected discoveries at every turn. “Star City” — called that because of the 100-foot-high man-made star that overlooks it from Mill Mountain — is not to be confused with North Carolina’s “lost colony of Roanoke.” This Roanoke is very much alive.
Virginia’s Roanoke Valley encompasses the lovely Grandma Moses-like patchwork of the city itself and the surrounding villages of Bedford, Catawba, Fincastle, Salem, Troutville, and others along the densely wooded Blue Ridge Parkway. With a population of more than 300,000, it is the largest metropolitan center in the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering a heady mix of outdoor beauty and recreation, culture, folk heritage, history and Southern hospitality.
From the awe-inspiring top of McAfee Knob, to an eclectic yet very professional performance of Opera Roanoke, to a moving film about a man with a passion for steam locomotives, I had experiences here I’d never had elsewhere.
Center in the Square, in the heart of Roanoke, houses three museums, state-of-the-art theater, and butterfly pavilion. Recently reopened after an expansive renovation, the Center is home to The Science Museum of Western Virginia, the History Museum of Western Virginia and Harrison Museum of African American Culture. Mill Mountain Theatre is a regional professional venue, presenting plays and musicals year round.
Just 20 years ago, almost no one lived in then-dilapidated downtown Roanoke. Urban renewal kicked in and today, there are 70 restaurants, a multitude of shops, bustling sidewalks, and restored lofts and condos filled with residents.
See the story in the Miami Herald for more.