Tudor’s is the latest, but will it be the last?
Jessica and Louis Tudor stand in front of Tudor's Biscuit World on Thursday, just after announcing the closure. Photo by Stephanie Klein-Davis l The Roanoke Times.
As most of you have already heard, Tudor’s Biscuit World will close on Sept. 14, one week from today. Here’s a link to my report in today’s newspaper. Many a downtown worker nearly cried over this news yesterday (and maybe some actually did cry).
Regardless of your personal opinion of Tudor’s, which opened almost 30 years ago, this is another big blow to the Roanoke restaurant scene. Just last week, I reported that Little Chef, a restaurant that had been in business for more than 50 years, was closed. And I have yet to report the closure of Downtown Soul on 1st Street in downtown Roanoke — consider it reported now. The restaurant closed about a week ago.
I have had people ask me, even after reading my stories about these closures, why these restaurants are closing. The question kind of surprises me because aren’t we all aware that the economy right now is brutal? Frankly, I’d be surprised if more beloved restaurants do not close this year. I hope that isn’t the case, but the situation right now is extremely dire.
These restaurateurs are citing a variety of factors in their decisions to close, but chief among them is the economy. It is the rising cost of food, which has caused them to raise menu prices, as well as the cost of other commodities. The Tudors told me their last electric bill was $1,400. Hopefully none of us are paying a residential electric bill that’s anywhere near that price, but I know we have all seen our own bills go up.
How do we stop the fall of these restaurants? Perhaps we should try to dine out more often, but it’s hard to shake a finger at families who are pinching pennies themselves. Some would argue that we should support local businesses because they don’t have a corporate chain to lean on, but we’ve seen chain restaurants close recently, too. Think Cold Stone Creamery in Roanoke, Burger King and KFC in Fairlawn, and others.
Yesterday, Louis Tudor told me he thought Roanoke had had a restaurant bubble, and it burst. Now, he said, he thinks there are too many restaurants in this area for the citizens to support. It’s an interesting idea and one that has been rolling around in my mind ever since.
What were your thoughts when you heard Tudor’s was closing? Do you agree that there are too many restaurants in the Roanoke Valley? How has the economy changed your dining out habits?
September 7, 2012 - 10:11 AM
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I’m so sad to hear this, they defintley had the best biscuits I think I’ll ever have. I will make sure to stop by before you close and get the Mickey, which is my fav!!! I’ll miss your resturant!! Thanks for all the yummy biscuits!
I’m not surprised at the closing of another local non-franchised restaurant. Not because of any defect in the restaurant, but because so many people these days prefer extreme homogenation whenever they dine out.
The next time you drive past the local diner that’s been around forever in order to stand in line at Red Lobster, Applebees, etc. for 45 minutes on a Friday evening, think about why the diner’s parking lot is less than half full.
It’s not because the diner doesn’t have good prices, they are usually better than the franchises. It’s not because they don’t have good food. It’s because of the advertising mindset that so many people have as consumers.
Until that mindset changes, this situation will not change.
I agree with crooked road. There’s a tremendous amount of whinging on the retail forum about the delay in X chain opening or why Y chain won’t open here or how long they had to wait to eat at whatever latest sprawl-chain just opened at Valley View … and few comments on indie eateries that open up.
We get what we pay for, and apparently we’d rather pay for a Subway or Sheetz “breakfast” on the fly than a handmade biscuit sandwich at a locally owned restaurant.
The Jessie was my breakfast of champions at Tudor’s. Great place, I’ll miss it.
Tudor’s………..so sad to hear this news…and yes you did have the best biscuits and sandwiches around…..we ate there weekly when I worked downtown….you have been a landmark in downtown Roanoke as long as I can remember….you’ll definately be missed!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone I ran into downtown today was talking about Tudor’s closing. It’s sad, but Louis is a smart man. He and Jessica made this decision for a reason. They will do well with whatever venture or adventure the future brings. On a side note, Thai Continental downtown is now serving breakfast. They are offering American and traditional Thai breakfast fare. Maybe Louis and Jess will come by and let someone serve them breakfast for a change! Hope to see you there.
I was very sad to see the announcement on Facebook yesterday. I went there this morning at 6:45 and people were steadily coming in.
My department in the company I work for used to order from them constantly years ago, and have the biscuits delivered. Then another restaurant came along that offered breakfast specials and platters and delivery and people started ordering less from Tudor’s. I would still go by there occasionally, but not so much. I guess I always thought that since their biscuits are so good, they were still doing good business.
I’ve always thought Tudor’s biscuit was the best. However,the downtown location is just not a good location for my family.
Most of the people traffic downtown are local employees. As forthe parking situation, forgid about it!!
With the economy in the ditch, has anyone ever noticed how many restaurants there are. There MUST be some extra money out there
This is a bummer indeed. It made me want a John Madden sandwich for lunch.
One thing I have never understood: Is the downtown location the Original Tudor’s Biscuit World? Because there’s a bunch of them in WV, KY, and OH. and Wiki says it’s run by a guy named John Tudor. I assume there’s some relation? They use the same logo, but the insides look totally different than our Tudor’s!
wish I was still in town to go get a last biscuit!
What a shame. I used to love hating myself for eating two great big loaded up biscuits and an Orangina before work. I’ll miss it.
IMO, the city has done a terrible job of keeping downtown alive. Tudur’s would have had an easier time getting walkin traffic with the help of a merchant community. Roa City don’t want any new businesses down there from the looks of it. You get no real incentives to move your business there, they allow King Walker to do more and more residential projects without ensuring that other neseccities are included like a decent grocery store. They allow major projects to go on at the same time so all of dt is basically closed off for months instead of spacing the projects out some.
Why do you suppose people in roanoke want to give their money to these chain stores instead of locally owned one? i don’t see that trend in my area (RVA). I see the opposite. Is it a differnce in mindset from urban areas to more suburban areas? Too cool for school in the big cities perhaps? Maybe the culture isn’t right for the small business in Roanoke Va. In which case i’d say you might have a strong argument to move if you don’t fit that description either. Trying to make Roanoke a place its not is not nearly as easy as moving to a place that is exactly what you were always looking for. I’m not hating, just asking the question. I’ll possibly make Roanoke my home again someday. WHen i’m scared of change and things that are differnt.
What? Say it isn’t so!! I am left speechless! I have been going to Tudors since 1999 when I first started working Downtown Roanoke. I have enjoyed watching the Tudor’s kids grow up and my morning talks with Dave – he knows anything about WWII – better than the history channel! The people and the great food will be sorely missed! Hopefully they will pull a James Brown and come back? How about a biscuit stand!? You name it and I am there!
I’ve always been amazed at how many restaurants the Roanoke valley has. With the economy down, the herd’s going to get culled and unfortunately, local places usually have less margin for error. Add into that the restaurant business is rough even when the economy is doing well.
Personally, my wife eat out a lot less, especially spur of the moment “I don’t feel like cooking” meals.
Hey Scott, I explained that confusion a bit in today’s paper, but here’s the deal: Louis and John Tudor’s father opened the first TBW in Charleson, W.Va. in 1980. After that, a bunch more opened, including the one in Roanoke in 1985 (Louis and his father opened that one). But many of the others were franchised. Louis owned the one in downtown Roanoke and John owns several out-of-state.
Tudor’s is a great family business. People are just starting to realize what downtown restaurateurs have known for some time now. There are too many restaurants! Not enough growth in population and not enough retail shopping to keep people interested! Roanoke restaurants fight the same economic issues and cost issues as everywhere else. However, 2 years of heavy Local government endorsed Construction disrupting business has driven out and stopped the growth of Retail Shopping Downtown! But, there has been a boom in New restaurateurs because of the availability of cheep floor space. Landlords need to fill space and generally restaurants are a “start up” industry. Everyone who thinks they inherited a great apple pie recipe from grandma thinks they should sell it in a restaurant! Problem is… Roanoke’s demographic has not grown in years! I have been involved in Roanoke Restaurants since 1982 and Nobody in our industry has seen it this bad!
Am so sorry to hear of the closing. Before I retired in ’07, I worked a couple of blocks from Tudors. Had coffee there about every morning. And biscuits (a couple, or more, every week). If you brought your own mug, you could fill up at a discount. The breakfast platters for lunch were great. My agency was headquartered in Chicago. Whenever one appeals referee was in town for hearings, he ALWAYS asked to go to Tudors for the breakfast platter! Nothing like this in Chitown. Yes, there are a couple of Tudors in Huntington WV. My parents used to go there every week, esp. the one in the west end run by John Tudor (always sounded like a British actor to me). The brothers do look alike as well.
All the best to Louis & Jess.
So many things to say….Tudors is awesome. I’m sad to see them go. Though downtown is changing, for the better. It’s just going to take time. Sadly Tudors will get lost in the transition.
Regarding the number of restaurants, yes, there are too many. BUT, there are very few good ones. Which is why the chains succeed so well here. They bring products, systems and service. Which is where so many locally owned fall short. Often the local restaurants are dirty, the food sub par and the service is horrible.
I’m from Roanoke. I own a business in Roanoke. I love Roanoke. However Roanoke accepts mediocrity too easily. We should really expect more when we go out to eat. And we should hold the establishment accountable for our experience by choosing whether or not to support them.
I’d say a good 30-40% of the restaurants in Roanoke could close, and no one would miss them. Sorry, but it’s true.
El Establo on Williamson Road appears to be closed.
The Hometown Family Rest. on Brambleton Ave is now open. Can you give us some news about this new place.
You will be dearly missed , this feels like a death in the family , I ordered 8 mountaineers at a time when I came in or had them delivered , I hope you & your staff have success in your new ventures ! I hope to see things turn around and you get another location that has parking and that has good flow to get you back up and running ! I haven’t been there in a while because I live in Bedford & I am Ill ! Wishing You & Your Family the best Louis ! You & Your Family are in my Thought’s & Prayer’s ! You Will Be Missed ! I agree with Cricket Maiden on a biscuit stand or something of the sort , You start it , We will be there ! Thank You For the Years of the Family business that you ran and we were able to enjoy !
I think part of the problem affecting the established places in Roanoke is how Roanokers seem to love their trendy food places. Remember a year or so ago when gourmet cupcakes were all the rage? People were lining up in droves to buy a $3 cupcake, now that seems to have died off and has been replaced with frogurt which has people lining up out the doors to shop there. Course in a year or so frogurt will be replaced by something else and the cycle will continue.
What does this mean for the local places?
2 things:
1 – people spending their $$ on the trendy stuff are paying a lot for a little bit of food, leaving less to spend at other places, including the locally owned ones
2 – unless the local spots become trendy with the “hip crowd” nothing will change.
Doug
I have to agree with Mr. Tudor, there are too many restaurants here in the ROA area to support the population and the economy. Its a shame, but when you read the marketplace blog, its only about restaurants, and not actual business. may of my other posters in this blog sum it up better, but Bill nailed it how Roanoke thrives on mediocrity. its depressing.
Doug, the cupcake places are still going and thriving. I think it’s a combination of walk-in business and mass party orders. I’m surprised by happy for the owners.
As for the yogurt, I think we’ve reached mass saturation at this point.
I can’t explain how sad I am sad to hear this news. I wish I still lived in Roanoke so I could have eaten there just one more time.
I worked there for Louis for a couple of years while I was in college back in the mid 80’s.
It was a great experience in my life when I was younger. They made it a fun place to work!
And you won’t meet a more standup guy!
I wish him and his family the best in future!
Good News for DOWNTOWN SOUL fans: They have re-opened at 515 2nd Street in Vinton as of this morning! I have heard a lot of good things about the food while they were at their former Downtown Roanoke location and am looking forward to trying out their new location in Vinton!
With all of the BAD HEALTH – FAST FOOD BIG CORPORATE (Franchise) Restaurants across the country; it is tough for the independent restaurant to survive; especially as food prices, utility prices continue to increase.
I would like to meet with the proprietors of these closed restaurants to introduce a NEW CONCEPT IN FOOD SERVICE THAT NO ONE IS DOING.
This will be a GREAT FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY – NOT DEPENDENT ON PURCHASING HIGH COSTS FOOD – TOTALLY ORGANIC – WE CONTROL THE PRICES AS WE GROW THE FOOD ON SITE.
Tudor’s; Library; Lil Chef; Hooters; or others who are restauranteurs – PLEASE GIVE ME 20 MINUTES TO INTRODUCE THE NEW HEALTHY FOOD RESTAURANT BUSINESS.
Question – Does ROANOKE HAVE A FRANCHISE FAST FOOD BUSINESS THAT STARTED HERE? WE CAN DO IT AND PUT ROANOKE ON THE MAP OF THE NEXT SUCCESS STORY IN FRANCHISE FAST HEALTHY FOOD.
I invite serious people with the wherewithal to contact me.
Use my e-mail to contact me: Nmensch862@aol.com I do not want to be flooded by phone calls from unqualified people. SERIOUS ONLY…
Nelson Mensch – Fish and Veggie Express – Friends and Family Foods.