Sunday’s column: Happy 80th, Texas Tavern — awful food & all
Texas Tavern employee Gary Gearheart (left) beams after serving customers during lunch on Tuesday afternoon. Gearheart has worked at the downtown Roanoke eatery for 7 months. By Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times
On Saturday, the Texas Tavern on Church Avenue turned 80.
The venerable, never-closed, value-priced restaurant is by far this town’s most famous, and that has a lot to do with the Bullington family, which has owned and operated it for generations..
The Bullingtons are honest and sturdy citizens who have earned their money via hard work, dime by dime.
The Texas Tavern’s look is distinctive, authentic and free of kitsch. Actually, it goes way beyond those terms. In its simplicity is a beauty that harks back to a bygone era.
It has qualities of a Tom Waits tune, or an Edward Hopper painting, or one of Hemingway’s short stories. It’s a clean, well-lighted place.
Not a bit of it is phony. That includes the red stools, the sassy signs, the 65 coats of red and white paint on the interior woodwork, and the restaurant’s spick-and-span metal counter.
The same goes for its wisecracking countermen.
They’re like characters from a Jim Thompson novel or a Quentin Tarantino movie. Some, like Tim Goff, who has worked there for 21 years, make careers out of the Texas Tavern.
When fourth-generation owner Matt Bullington talks about the ambience, it’s in terms of “cultural moorings.” By that he means there are very few places that never change.
The Texas Tavern is one of them, and I get every bit of that. Some people will want me hanged for the heresy that follows.
I will never understand the allure of the Texas Tavern’s food. The best thing that can be said about it is, it’s so inexpensive that you get your money’s worth.
And it’s not inedible. Neither is sawdust, but that doesn’t mean its particularly fun going down.
February 14, 2010 - 6:00 AM
FINALLY, somebody has the courage to mention the emperor’s lack of clothing, or in this instance, TT food’s lack of taste. I ate at TT once….or as my Daddy would say “twice, my first and my last”.
Well perhaps more downtown buisnesses should serve bad foo.Ive heard people say the Chile on Wiener Stand hot dogs is bad…but these are 2 long standing buisnesses that have watched many a trendy yuppie rstaurant rapidly go down the tubes.80 more for Texas Tavern…the hottest coffee in Roanoke..
Hey Dan, you don’t have any “open threads” so I thought I would post this here.
Hmm, that Alabama shooting involved a Harvard educated professor. You better check into that and research what other Harvard educated people have committed gun crimes. There is probably a pattern to it.
Here’s betting that you have already checked to see if she had a CHP from Virginia…..
BTW, I totally disagree with you about the food at TT. Good hot dogs and good chili.
I bought a bowl of their chile years ago, when I was working just down the street from TT, it didn’t impress me enough to ever go back. I’m kind of tempted to give them another try though after reading your column. I will never try a Cheesy Western, just the thought of it nauseates me.
Cannot speak to any of your personal reflections but I can speak to the food. It’s always the same. It’s always awful. I NEVER go there any more. I had to park in the lot at the back door once and found some food that lloked like cooked beef or maybe saw dust, cooling in racks covered with newspaper to keep the flys off. (A good use of the paper, I might add.) Always wondered what kind of gifts the owners buy for the health inspectors?
Bomb thrown.
Best kept secret in downtown Roanoke…….breakfast at the Texas Tavern;
it’s a bargain at the price they charge;
I eat lunch there about twice a month, not a fan of the bowl of chili but the dogs, burgers and other sandwiches are fine by me, an aquired taste for others obviously
Thanks for saying what many of us know, the chili at the TT is absolutely the worst imaginable. Anybody who thinks it’s good obviously has never tasted REAL chili. Even when we were teenagers we’d sit there late at night or early in the morning staring into the bowl and saying things like, “Look, I just spotted a speck of meat!!” We always got it “with” so we’d at least have the flavor of onions.
I did, however, always like the cheezy western. I can’t eat it any longer, though, because I can’t have anything with gluten. The hot dogs are, well, hot dogs — nothing special, nothing terrible. And, yes, the Wiener Stand hot dog chili is remarkable only in its blandness.
Having said that, I have good teenage and early college memories of the TT, which was virtually the only place in Roanoke that stayed open all night then. Once, a bag lady sidled up to me and my girlfriend (now my wife) as we stood waiting for a stool, looked at us, and declared “No divorce, no damn divorce.” Another time, the guy next to me, who was obviously under the influence of something mind altering, laughed at his bowl with for 10 minutes without touching it.
OTOH, maybe he wasn’t under the influence.
Good, guess we won’t see your uptight snobby ass in there again then.
Dan,
I was taken aback to finally read someone’s opinion of Texas Tavern’s food which agrees with mine. Everyone said the chili was the best. I tried it, and you captured the taste exactly – it was the worst, tasteless chili I’ve ever had, with way, way too many beans (tasteless ones at that). But the way people talk so favorably about it, you just can’t bring yourself to tell them the truth.
Inexpensive burgers? No way. Sure, the hamburger is very cheap, but it’s almost the size of a quarter, which you can verify if you lift the bun and take a peek at it.
The allure is possibly, in part, the ambience, but not the food. The allure is, in part, being somewhere that your friends say is great (when you know they must feel the same way you do – that it really isn’t), and you can tell them you went there. The allure is, in part, being in a very, very small quaint little ‘dive’ situated amongst much larger, more modern buildings.
But, I have to say, going out to eat somewhere, afterall, actually is more about the experience, the ambience, the environment, and the good feelings you take away.
ShutEyeThinkin
TT chili dogs rock. Also, they don’t frown on open carry, either.
How did they get away with calling it chile or even chili in the first place? Pinto bean soup with a few bits of ground beef. Bad pinto bean soup, at that.
You know, the chili there is really more like soup, but I love it, and the little burgers and especially the relish are great, BUT the hot dogs, eww. I’ve never understood how anyone could stand the hot dogs there. I had one back in the ’70s, it was awful. I tried another one in the ’00s, still terrible. I just don’t get it. They have that taste that a hot dog has right out of the package before it is cooked, or even heated, yuck! Having said that however, a double cheeseburger on a small bun is unmatchable, and one bowl of chili is just a sample, you must have at least two. I find the Texas Tavern is like the Three Stooges. Most women don’t like it (or them).
#9 Nothing snobby about telling the truth about the food. Jimiskin hit it on the head, the “chili” is bad pinto bean soup. I always enjoyed the atmosphere and the people who work there, but face it, even Wendy’s chili is better — and cheaper.
After reading Casey this morning I did not call him an idiot but it did come to mind. 80 years in business with bad food? Doesn’t make sense. What I think is that his liberal elitism is showing through. Perhaps he ould want the government to take over and erve things that taste like school lunches with “mystery meat.” Or maybe smoked tofu. He must be smoking something.
Really now…play nice! Couldn’t you have written that other than on the anniversary of a business that is an institution in the Roanoke Valley? Nobody asked you for a food review….after all after 80 years I think people can figure out for themselves whether they want to eat there or not and evidently somebody has since it has been open that long….! We have a successful business and you’re trashing it!! Shame, Shame!
Well said, Phyllis Pratt! I completely agree! To all the food critics: remember what your mom (should have) taught you: if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. Bashing the TT is like kicking a puppy. Happy Birthday, Texas Tavern, and cheers to the next 80 years!
Not a fan of The Weiner Stand either. I have never understood why people think the dogs and chili are so great. Their french fries are atrocious!
I agree. Highly disrespectful. Highly inappropriate. Harmful to the business. Harmful to a Valley landmark. Harmful to Roanoke pride. Happy Anniversary Texas Tavern and thank you for your service to the community.
I agree with Dan. The food at the Texas Tavern is bad. I don’t mind the Cheesy Western, and about every 7 years I eat one. When I was younger I would eat at the TT late at night. Most people did, it was about the only place to go after 2 a.m. besides the Kettle Restaurant at Jefferson and Albemarle. Both places were usually crowded.
I’m glad there are enough people who like the food to keep the TT open. Some people liked Kenny burgers too, so I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that some choose to eat at the TT even when other restaurants are open.
! do agree that its shameful to bash the Tavern on its 80th anniversary….and Debbie.I love those Wiener stand crinkle cuts!
To bad we cant get this ‘tell it like it is” journalism on our awful president..
I’m a picky eater, and as such have never had anything besides a ham and cheese sandwich at TT. I’ve had a LOT of them though, and I kind of dig them. The rest of it may well be awful. I love the place though, as I do most things old and historic.
What a ignorant person you are to have taken such a wonderful positive occasion and turned your article into a selfish personal food review- who cares if YOU like the food or not?????
Sorry to hear some wanna-be columnist criticize the Texas Tavern on their 80th anniversary. I was their on Sat. and saw the owner and his employees put in more work than Mr. Casey probably sees in a week. They made their first 80 years without the approval of snooty critics like Mr. Casey and I would bet they will be in Roanoke long after Mr. Casey is gone . So congratulations Texas Tavern .
Well Dan with the schools needing money and you supporting the proposed meal tax increase it is astounding that you would criticize such an establishment. I guess tax revenue from the Tavern is not good enough for the children.
Or perhaps it could be another one of you personal issues with a business or individual that you try to publicize on your blog.
Any business that can make it 80 years must be doing something right, especially in a competitive market such as eateries.
Hey folks,
Big Momma seems to be suggesting a moratorium on any articles about any restaurants that are not uniformly positive while the city is considering a meals tax hike!
BM, please list the “personal issues with businesses or individuals” you’re aware of that I have publicized on this blog.
Thanks for trying to turn a positive into a negative.
No one would expect you to say that the food is the greatest if you don’t care for it. But taking shots as you did in your article were uncalled for. The point of the article was, and should have remained, the 80 year anniversary of a Roanoke landmark………Low blow!
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and bashing one another for it is immature. If you love the food great if you hate it that’s fine. Live and let live. I don’t think TT will close up because of one bloggers opinion.
Now for mine since I’m allowed to have one.
I don’t hate or love the place. Is the food great. In my opinion no. Is it horrible not really. for what you get I wouldn’t call it cheap. A burger patty the size and thickness of a 50 cent piece isn’t my idea of a great burger. This chili does very from day to day. One day it’s good for what’s in it another it’s as some have said tasteless. it is more like soup than chili has chili has actual meat in it. Not specs of something not much bigger than pepper grains. Many things keep the TT going. The nostalgia of it,the atmosphere,and they are open 24-7. Let’s not forget the drunks. I work a late shift and will stop by for something to go. But I don’t love the place enough to get nasty when someone says something nasty like others here.
I hope they are here another 80. There are bad restaurants that thrive. Denny’s manages to fill it’s parking lot. They have horrible over priced food and service.
Hey Dan,
Please let everyone know Big Momma is not suggesting a moratorium of any sort, I just find it curious the timing of your criticism only days after your push for school funding.
As for the issues I think the Spanky Towing Thread had a longer history of personal dislike, my opinion of course, the Eric Peters thread and previous posted comments about him also strikes me as the same.
Maybe I am wrong. If so I am sorry.
We ate there once. We don’t wind up in downtown Roanoke very much, less so when they’re the only available option. But, one such night we were there and they were open, and we were hungry. For what we paid, the food was good (food quality is always relative to the price paid…a fair dish at a great price can sometimes ‘be better’ than a good dish at a high price). It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it satisfied our appetites that early morning. To each their own, some folks like their food, others don’t…but they seem to be doing something right otherwise they wouldn’t be celebrating their 80th.
I am a fan of the place on Facebook. I may not love the food, but they are a Roanoke landmark and I’m glad for the owners and the folks who do love TT that they are still going strong. I hope they last another 80 yrs.
Wow Dan, my kids and their friends eat there probably 3 times a week. It’s amazingly cheap, smelly, unhealthy – and I think that’s exactly what people are there for. It’s a destination place but not because of the food quality for sure. As my son told me, if you can’t eat that sort of food at age 17, when will you be able to? I’ve never tried it – the smell that comes off their clothing when they get home is as close as I’ve gotten.
Not every place has to be Metro. There’s room in the world for all sorts of food, even what’s being offered up at TT. Where else are you going to go when the bars close and you’ve got $5 left?
Hey Big Momma maybe the meals tax supporters will get the same results as the Tobacco tax supporters.One of the main reasons our City is broke right now is lack of tobacco tax income.Because of the high taxes..and limiting where people can smoke..tobacco purchases are way down.The same may happen with the meals tax..keep on taxing restaurant food to the incredible total of 12%..per buck..then keep criticizing how unhealthy and how awful it is and “Voila” youve destroyed another buisness and tax scource! But hey..its the Democratic way..
After a long night of drinking, Texas Tavern is like an island in the ocean. Far superior to a church.
People who hate on Texas Tavern so much are like people who tell me they don’t like The Beatles. It’s a moment of – “Oh,….you’re one of those.”
It’s a greasy spoon restaurant and not something I am going to recommend to someone looking for fine food, but it is what it is.
I love the place and eat there probably 6-7 times a year, usually after a late night spree downtown like many others.
I know you can get better quality food at many other places but the high food quality isn’t what brings me there. It hits the spot when you have the right craving for it and you either get it or you don’t.
What a low blow to the T & T. If Dan makes it to 80 the column will read: Congratulations to Dan on his 80th birthday. Over a 100 people attended Party to honor the colunmnist. I just don’t understand why they came, his articles are tasteless and the smirk on his face well it would look better with a little egg on it. Here’s to another 80 years for the T & T.
Tony,
I completely agree. If you look at previous CAFRs for Roanoke City it is amazing at the amount of tax revenue tobacco taxes produced for a small city such as Roanoke. However as you said these “small” increases continue to add up. Sort of like the straw breaking the camels back.
I would love for the folks who praise and bash the TT to tell us just what other place’s foods they hate and admire. Just for comparison purposes. So I can tell for sure whether or not they are idiots.
#38 OK, Chick N. I’ll leave out the higher priced places that I love because I don’t think that’s what you’re asking about. I assume you’re asking about something closer to the TT.
Wendy’s chili is far superior to the TT — and cheaper. The Hardee’s low-carb Thickburger (I can’t eat anything with wheat, rye or barley) is excellent, IMO. AND it’s much lower in calories, fat and sodium than the regular burger. Five Guys and Chik-fil-a fries are really good. Waffle House (yes, we used to call it Awful House) serves up a right decent omelet. In the past, Steve’s hot dogs were far superior to the Wiener Stand. I could continue, but I won’t.
I’m not a complete food snob. Yes, I love REALLY good food and I tend to “chef” when I cook (although I m very far from a chef).
OK. here goes for the Chick N experiences….
I once reported Man & Bobs to the Health Dept. after months of no hot water in the mens’ room. It was fixed in about ten days. This was probably a frustration get even call on my part after years of spotty, indifferent service. Why did I keep going back? The house sub and the fries. The rest of their food was pretty much what you’d expect in Salem.
Nawab gets permanent possession of my Best Food/Worst Service Award. Service pretty much comes to a halt after the food arrives and you can count on receiving your check sometime before they close for the night.
I have had lasagna at Montanos with cheese the texture of a Dr. Schols shoe inset followed up on my next visit by a brown lettuce salad. Mill Mountain Coffee burns their beans but at least they burn them consistently, year after year. That people put up with that stuff is mute testimony that style usually trumps substance.
Why would anyone who is really sincerely concerned about sodium, calories, fat, grease, salt,clogged arteries, hypertension, obsetity and cardiac arrest eat anybody’s hamburger, not just the Hardee’s Low Carb Rationalization and Denial Thickburger? Why is it that many cook/chefs do not know how long to mic the foods they are preparing? This happens too often at the good as well as the not so good places.
ChickN, basically, if you really need to know what goes on with your food and it’s preparation, you’re about 1000% better off cooking at home. It’s cleaner (or at least a level of dirt you can live with,because you already do), the food is healthier and less fattening, it’s a better value, and if it doesn’t taste right you only have yourself to blame.
Once you go out,it’s a crap shoot. That’s what makes going out so fun!
#40 I rarely eat burgers at all but I’m not going to quit completely. If I die a few months earlier, hey, that’s life. And I don’t eat the low carb as denial, I eat it, as I said, because I can’t eat anything with wheat, rye or barley. And it cuts out 1/3 of the sodium (still way too high) and more than half the calories.
Kristen in #41 reveals herself as a gastronomic gambler!
Dan, unless you challenge your immune system once in a while it ceases to be of use. Nothing like eating out to expose yourself to a wide range of god only knows what.
The piece was classless on a day that should be celebratory. Enough said.
I wonder who the Bullington’s angered at the Roanoke Times? What’s their voting record? Did they give money to the wrong candidates?
I seriously doubt anybody at the RT knows the voting record of the Bullingtons.
Here’s an email I got today from Jim Bullington, retired owner of the Texas Tavern:
Mr. Casey,
My name is Jim Bullington and I am the retired owner of the Texas Tavern. Ran the place for 38 years. Some years ago when the newspaper wanted to erect the building to put the new Heidelburg press in I was the only business owner in the downtown area (or anywhere else) that went before the zoning board and spoke in favor of granting the newspaper a zoning variance to build their building. Many others were there to speak against it. My niece’s husband sits on the zoning board and he told me later that my message to the board helped them decide in the newspapers favor. It was not a “slam-dunk”. (The publisher at the time, Wendy Z., came over to me later, shook my hand, and said “we owe you one”. I don’t think she meant you).
Why am I telling you this? Well, for one thing to illustrate to you that we are all downtown business people trying our best to make an honest living. At my place we serve a product that many people like. Some don’t. Personally, I hate the smell of fish cooking and would not eat one for anything. My wife loves fish. That’s o.k., we all like different things. Imagine my shock when you had to be so insulting in your column regarding our food and demeaning towards our customers who love our products. I certainly do not viciously attack people who like fish or other things that I happen not to like. I don’t think you have to be vicious to express an opinion about someones products. It almost seemed as if you were retaliating about something. I don’t think you did yourself or your newspaper any favors with your column.
Some people live with the philosophy of “if you can’t say something nice, do not say anything at all” and some have the philosophy of “if you can’t say something nasty, do not say anything at all”.
Which one do you think best fits you? I know what most people would say.
No reply is necessary. My business with you is concluded.
Jim Bullington
p.s. Prediction: The Texas Tavern will be around long after you are gone.
Cheers! Mr. Bullington! Sorry you had to read what a bunch of malcontents feel they need to voice about probably THE GREATEST downtown landmark Roanoke has. I’d be willing to bet T&T gets more through their doors and onto the 10 stools than enter The Taubmann Museum, another brilliant idea that will be gone long before T&T.
TT could pay for that museum, Walker.
The problem Mr. Bullington is that Mr. Casey probably doesn’t seem to give a flying (obscenity) and there in seems to lie a problem.
Dan Casey. Harmful to the business. Harmful to a Valley landmarks. Harmful to Roanoke.
#50 Dan’s column almost certainly did no harm to the TT. The people who like it will continue going and those who don’t like it will continue not going. Heck, the ones who like it might go more just because of the column.
gdad, that response is ignorant.
I’m missing something here. There was no viciousness in Mr. Casey’s column. He simply made an observation about the quality of the food, much as any food critic might do. He went in, checked it out, and reported his opinion. Nothing nasty at all. It actually seemed that he was trying to be as tactful as possible, while stating what I personally feel (and I’m sure many others) was the obvious – that it’s difficult to understand why one hears so many people speak so highly of the food there, yet it’s not even close to being average in taste or quality, and is not a bargain for the money. If you observe the rule that “if you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all”, that would obviously shutdown all food critics line of work and end all dissent on just about everything.
I think Mr. Casey actually did us all a great service, and has made many of us feel that are not alone in our opinion of the place.
Kristen. Been there. Done that. I have worked in kitchens from Shoney’s to the Hyatt and I know what goes on in those places. I don’t think my comments had anything to do with anybody’s cleanliness though. ButI have walked through M&B’s kitchen and the floor was the color of the bottom of my shoe.
Just for the record I want it noted that the column referred to Texas Tavern as clean. I have been in their kitchen and it is that. Matt Bullington told me Friday that he would stack his health department inspection scores against any other restaurant’s and TT would be come out ahead in that comparison.
I wouldn’t take issue with that one bit.
I think the appeal of the TT and the wrath it is drawing in these comments for it’s food both stem from the same source- it has not changed for 80 years.
Dan, let’s see who is reading YOUR drivel in 80 years. Bad form, my friend. Bad form. If I get invited to your 80th birthday party, I’m going to insult you for your hirsuteness – or how is has migrated from your head to your back. One shouldn’t expect 5-star quality at a lunch counter. But with the TT you know what you will get and I’ve YET to go there and not have to wait. 80 years in business… more restaurants should serve awful food, perhaps?
Gordie Z #57
I accept your measure that 80 years in business is a mark of quality. On behalf of The Roanoke Times, which has been in business longer than that, I thank you for the compliment.
The chile at the Tavern is still the worst I’ve ever eaten.
Not every review has to 100% positive. Not every statement has to be PC all the time. We have what is called freedom of speech in this country. You all have expressed it here. Some of the comments here are 100X worse than what was stated in this story. Yes it was a negative review. He stated his opinion. Yes it’s a landmark. Yes it has been there 80 years and quite possibly be there another 80. Is the food great? No. I’ve eaten there and I’ve had worse. I don;t eat there often because it’s nothing special. It’s in no way is something to write home about or get nasty with each other. He knew he was going to step on a few toes when he commented on the food. The way people talk here it sound like some want him hanged in the middle of downtown. It’s a restaurant people. It’s not like he talked bad about your mothers cooking. It’s a lot of people favorite stumble in after the bars close, it’s been there a long time, and is considered a landmark. The TT is the TT. Simple as that.
Dan I respect your right to express your opinion about the lowest rung on your chile ladder. However, you have 150-200 OTHER columns a year in which you could have done so. Doing so on the occasion of the TT’s 80th anniversary, is, in MY opinion, tantamount to insulting the guest of honor at a birthday party. I think you’re better than that.
I have to agree with those that say the timing of Mr. Casey’s article was poor. He could have written a positive article about the TT being in business for 80 years, the traditions and the customers. Then a few weeks later if he still wanted to review the food, he could have done so. When in high school on the early 70′s, we ate at the TT at least two times a weekend, sometimes more. A bowl with and a cheesy western were the usual fair. I rarely go there these days as I watch my diet, but when I do, I still get a bowl (without now, onions no longer like me) and a chessy western. And yes, I realize this is not the best chile in the world, but it’s not the worst either (I like to squirt a little mustard in mine) and a cheesy western is still a favorite.
The Texas Tavern is what it is. Those who are looking for fine dining should not go in the door. The Texas Tavern is a tradition, it’s part of our lives. I wouldn’t trade my visits there for anything. The Bullington family should be praised for keeping it the same through the years. When I go there I am flooded with great memories of this Roanoke landmark. As someone who didn’t grow up going to the TT, maybe Mr. Casey didn’t understand this aspect of the Tavern. I’m imagine though, wherever he grew up there may have been a place that was beloved by many and misunderstood by others.
That’s my two cents. Long live the Texas Tavern.
Dan is the Village Idiot.
I think the whole point of the matter is that Casey is dreaming of someday becoming a journalist, and in the meantime is practicing his poor writing skills by showing that he has no manners, grace, or eloquence… and that’s the reason he launched a visciously-timed attack on the TT. If he had any sense of community-belonging or pride, or even basic professional common dignity, he would have picked another target at another time, and written a different type of review using actual journalistic professionalism. What Casey has demonstrated is that he’s nothing more than the “playground bully” who tries to make himself a bigger person by attacking others at the prime opportunity. The fact is that Casey has shown himself as very, very small and insignificant. That’s why he won’t ever be anything more than he is… a ‘wannabe’.
Did anyone else notice that in Bridge’s comment above, he DID NOT say that he likes the chile or Cheesy Western?
Sounds to me like there’s a fair chance he agrees with me. I’m just sayin…
Nope, no chance I agree with you, Casey. I like the food at the Tavern…
Actually, Casey, there’s NO CHANCE I AGREE WITH YOU. My comment was meant to capture the lack of professionalism that you exhibited… not to take issue with the TT food. I LIKE the food that the Bullington family offers!! In fact, there’s nothing that I’ve tasted that I haven’t liked. So, you’re just plain wrong.
I’ve never understood arguing over food and taste. A person’s preference/taste buds can be as varied as their political opinions or religious beliefs.
In this case it seems one man’s trash is 80 years worth of treasure to many Roanoke patrons. Congrats Texas Tavern
I’ve got to weigh-in on this issue, somewhat late as usual, as I’m currently living in Atlanta, and only get my Roanoke news through http://www.roanoke.com. Michael’s March 9th comment above nails it. ’nuff said. Congratulations to Matt and the Bullington family for keeping TT up and humming along. Dan, I’m looking forward to returning to Roanoke and seeing you on the Tuesday night ride!