Au revoir to Le Bistro?
What’s going on at Le Bistro? I’ve heard that question several times over the past month or so, and I’ve been digging around for some clues. Here is what I found:
Chef Tony Pope’s Le Bistro on Campbell Avenue beside Alejandro’s Mexican Grille has been closed for several weeks now, and that it had a sign on the door for a time that said the staff was on vacation and would return in early June. Obviously, early June is gone.
I called and e-mailed Tony Pope, but received no response. I checked Le Bistro’s Facebook page, but the last activity there appears to be a comment on June 2. I called the restaurant and got a voicemail message saying they would be on vacation for the next two weeks. I left a message for Pope’s business partner, Lewis Gale emergency room physician Robert Dowling, but received no call back.
I talked to Chris Goodman, Special Agent in Charge of the Roanoke Region of the Virginia ABC, who told me Le Bistro’s ABC license expired in April 2010 and Tony Pope has applied for a new license, but they are now in a “waiting pattern.” Goodman said he believes Dowling has sold his part of the business to Pope, and added that is not a requirement that a restaurant be open during an application process.
Finally, what might be the most interesting nugget of all: A tip that there’s a listing for this business on a website called BuyBizSell, with an asking price of $60,000. The listed agent, Michael Hamlar, could not tell me anything about the circumstances behind the listing, but he did tell me it is current. Just this morning, I was notified that a “for sale” sign has appeared on the storefront.
Some folks have called me to fret about their unredeemed gift certificates to Le Bistro, but I cannot tell them for sure that the restaurant is gone. Is Tony looking to get out entirely or is he looking for a new business partner? Does anybody out there know anything more about this situation?
July 8, 2010 - 10:11 AM
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We were there for lunch a couple of weeks ago and the door was opened….I walked in and looked around, it was dark, so we left.
I love the food there and always told everyone what a great meal he served for such a reasonable price. I’ll be sad if it’s gone for good.
I bought dinner there several weeks ago and I was the only one there. Alejandro’s was always packed in the evenings and Le Bistro seemed to have very few patrons.
I’ve always heard that Tony Pope was a great chef, but a lousy business manager, which is why his resturants keep closing.
It’s a shame.
Average food, bad service, not really shocked that it’s closed.
Rude & pompus behavior by Tony is not excused by his cooking!
I attended a party at this place once and can only say it was absolutely HORRIBLE.
It was a party of roughly 20 people and it took over 2 hours for us to eat dinner at this establishment. The service and food were awful. We had to wait many many times for drinks and the only options we were given on our steak’s was medium rare. I remember Tony standing outside talking on his cell phone talking about buying a new car and leaving for an hour.
I am not surprised to hear the news and if anyone would go into business with someone like this they are crazy!
Does not suprise me. Tony pope needs to get out of the business. His restuarants are poor!!Dod not make it in south roanoke or downtown!!
It’s sad that Le Bistro is closed. We loved the food and service when we were there in May. Fine dining restaurants seem to struggle to survive in Roanoke. Most people here prefer to go to less expensive restaurants like Applebee’s or Hardee’s.
Chris,
Tony Pope is actually very talented but of course you would not know that because of your small town mentality. If you all haven’t realized this yet, there are no chefs left in Roanoke. 202 has no chef anymore, metro’s chef is also gone. Maybe the problem is Roanoke.
I guess Tony is supposed to be a little nutty but I always loved his food…especially when he was in SoRo and had things like sweetbreads on his menu. He offered unique dishes not seen on every Carlos/Luigis/Montanos menu in the valley.
I find the food at 202 to be swill. It seems that Roanoke has difficulty supporting a restaurant with anything but jalapeno poppers and spinach artichoke dip on the menu.
The quality of the food at Le Bistro was miles above anything else in Roanoke. Tony Pope is an excellent chef and will be missed. Nutty? He is a very good person. Stop attacking him personally guys.