Dine out to help the Blue Ridge Parkway
Mabry Mill, Blue Ridge Parkway, Floyd County. The Roanoke Times l File photo.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has just announced a really cool event called “Plates for the Parkway.” It is a one-day event (Tuesday, Sept. 18) during which participating restaurants located along the parkway will donate a percentage of their profits to the foundation.
Right now, of the 23 restaurants participating, only two are in our area. Martin’s Downtown Bar & Grill in Roanoke will donate 10 percent of its profits on Sept. 18 to the foundation. Pomegranate Restaurant in Troutville will donate 10 percent of its dinner profits that night. To see the other participating restaurants (including 10 in Asheville), click here.
Martin’s owner Jason Martin said he likes the parkway a lot, so that’s one reason he wanted to do it. Also, Tuesday is always “a slow day for me, so I figured because of that, what’s the risk, really? If people get behind it and we are really busy for it, it’s a win-win.”
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is a private, independent group dedicated to protecting and developing the almost 500-mile road that winds along the Appalachian mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. The parkway is always in need of funding, and lately that need has only grown as federal funding for national parks is paltry and the parkway, unlike other national parks, does not receive any money from entrance fees.
Some examples of what the foundation does for the parkway include:
- funding a brand new BRP Communications Center and updating the radio telecommunications network, which will help law enforcement to communicate and get emergency response to visitors in need, among many other things.
- Improvements to the Abbott Lake trail in Bedford County. “According to Parkway staff, they have wanted to do the Abbott Lake project for years but lacked the time and the funding to do it,” wrote foundation development directory Christy Stone Bell. “Our board approved the funding for this project earlier this year and the project was finished this summer, although we are still fundraising for it.”
- The Kids in Parks TRACK Trail at Peaks of Otter, as well as other educational programs.
- Programming for the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax and other historical/cultural programs.
Three cheers to Martin’s and Pomegranate for being willing to help out the Blue Ridge Parkway. The foundation will keep looking to sign up restaurants through Sept. 14, so if you are a restaurateur who could take part in “Plates for the Parkway,” contact Christy Bell at cbell@brpfoundation.org or call her at 866.308.BRPF (2773) x 177.
August 28, 2012 - 5:30 AM
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Looks like another business in Fairlawn has closed. The KFC is now gone. Do you know if the same person owned the Burger King that closed a few weeks ago as well. Do you think cook out had any hand in why these places closed?
Seth, I’ve just put in calls to corporate relations for both companies. The KFC is definitely closed, but you knew that already. I’m supposed to get calls back from them regarding whether they will reopen. I wouldn’t count on them commenting in any way on why these places closed or whether a nearby restaurant drove them out of business.
The KFC was old and kind of nasty, and never seemed busy at all, even in the Sunday post-church crowds…and even before Cookout came along. Bojangles arrival a couple years ago did suck some business away though.
We know the guy who ran the BK, and there were some issues with the building, like roof leaks…they leased. Business there was down considerably after McDonalds rebuilt, Wendy’s expanded and renovated, and Cookout came to town. Looks like they just decided to close to avoid losing money, they were dead most of the time.
Fairlawn probably over built. There were over a dozen eateries in a 1-mile stretch of Routes 11 and 114…mostly fast food. Radford, and the eastern part of Pulaski County, simply were not enough to support them all, especially when a large chunk of the business comes from RU students, who are gone 4 months of the year.
There are now almost 2 dozen empty buildings and storefronts in Fairlawn…from Burger King and KFC, to Kmart and Food Lion, to Food Time/Citgo and more. It’s come into line with the rest of Pulaski County for business closures, sadly.
Anything from the Sweet Potato Contest yet?
No, Carol, but I’ll let you know.
As for the KFC in Fairlawn, here’s the statement I got:
“JRN is proud to have operated the Radford KFC
since 1978. We appreciate the customers that
made this restaurant a success.
The restaurant was closed Sunday, August 26,
and our business plans do not include reopening
the store at this time.
Wally Hebert, Communications
JRN, Inc – owner of Radford KFC
There are now four Roanoke-area restaurants participating! Peaks of Otter and The Village Grill have joined Martin’s Downtown Bar & Grill and Pomegranate Restaurant to help the Foundation protect and preserve the Parkway.
Right on!