Photo by Thinkstock
A glass of Scotch catches the flames from the fireplace, seemingly melting the ice in my tumbler. I watch the cube dissolve into topaz liquid. Time freezes. I know the Pine Room, Hotel Roanoke’s billiards bar and former officers’ club intimately — I had my first legal drink here with my father after years of bypassing it for special occasion brunches in the formal Regency Room, where the adults sipped peanut soup while the kids dreamed of escaping to the hotel pool.
Tonight, the pub feels different, exotic, due in part to the hotel’s refurbishing, and in parcel to the town itself. If you haven’t been to Roanoke lately, or even if you have, it’s impossible to explore all that’s new in a weekend, but it’s fun to try.
Something Old
Hotel Roanoke is a grand, 1882 Tudor-style lodge. It hugs the Historic Roanoke City Market, the oldest continuously operating open air market in Virginia. Saturday mornings, stalls bustle with vendors selling everything from crafts to crabapples. Walk to Ernie’s diner for potato pancakes before stocking up at Eli’s Provisions. Blocks of retail and restaurants include these favorites: atelier bonbons at Altus Chocolate; ukelele jams at Fret Mill Music Co., and Studio I Do; a bridal boutique.
Five minutes from downtown, Mill Mountain Park is home to the city’s iconic neon star. It’s also where you’ll find Mill Mountain Zoo, a nature center, hiking trails and picnic spots. Take the Blue Ridge Parkway to milepost 115 and Explore Park, notable for its dozens of historic structures, including a grist mill and log cabins. This outdoor attraction is rebooting into a 1,200-acre adventure park, with river access and camping. Disc golf opens this summer, and an aerial adventure course is slated for completion spring 2019.
Grandin Village, an established neighborhood in Raleigh Court, lies 2 miles from downtown. Book a massage at Roanoke River Massage Co., then comb through Black Dog Salvage, an architectural salvage and design mecca that’s home to DIY Network’s “Salvage Dawgs.”
Roanoke Valley Greenway biking (Photo courtesy Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge)
Inhale fragrant basmati rice at Taaza Indian Cuisine, slurp a milkshake at Pop’s Ice Cream & Soda Bar or lunch at Scratch Biscuit Company, then borrow a bike from the bike share dock at Grandin Village and work off those eats. Pedal to Crystal Spring Pump Station in South Roanoke to see the Star City’s oldest drinking water source, siphoned from underneath Mill Mountain. Try The River and Rail Restaurant for appetizers and drinks, like a Negroni with homemade amaro, before cruising back to the greenway behind the Hotel Roanoke, which extends to Valley View Mall, 3.5 miles from downtown. The Roanoke Valley Greenways snake through the valley, with 20 miles of connected trails.
Something New
Downtown has benefited from the craft brewing boon, adding four tasting rooms: Big Lick Brewing, Deschutes Tasting Room, Starr Hill Pilot Brewery and Side Stage, and Soaring Ridge Craft Brewers. Father afield, drink in Ballast Point Brewing, which opened its Daleville tasting room last summer. Cap off the day at Stellina, an 8-seat speakeasy hidden within Fortunato Italian restaurant. Try to find Andy Warhol in Stellina’s silver wallpaper. When viewed, a sea of men in business attire are found.
Roanoke Pinball Museum, located inside Center in the Square (Photo courtesy Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge)
Center in the Square is Roanoke’s all-in-one museum district. It includes Mill Mountain Theatre, which pulls talent from New York, and four museums: Harrison Museum of African American Culture, History Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke Pinball Museum and the Science Museum of Western Virginia. Kids Square, an interactive kid-focused space offering play pretend scenarios and an activity room for children, was added to the mix last fall.
Something Borrowed
The Frank Gehry-inspired Taubman Museum of Art rotates in 21 exhibitions throughout the year.
Gear Up!
Roanoke Mountain Adventures offers guided kayak or paddleboard instruction on the Roanoke River; Twin River Outfitters shuttles to a James River tubing access point in Buchanan; Underdog Bikes specializes in mountain bike instruction. All rent gear.
