Blues BBQ’s debut in downtown Roanoke has taken longer than expected, but the wait may soon be over.
The owner, Patrick Maggi, initially said the new restaurant would open in May or June, but renovations at the Market Square space were more extensive than planned.
An opening date is nearing for this eatery that will serve a variety of barbecue dishes and feature blues and other music as entertainment. Maggi now predicts that next week, on Oct. 10, the restaurant will be ready to welcome its first patrons.
For the last three years, Maggi has operated a barbecue restaurant in Frederick, Md., and lately, he’s been splitting his time between that location and Roanoke. In a phone conversation from his Frederick restaurant recently, he spoke of plans for another barbecue eatery in Frederick that would be poised to draw tourists in that area.
Luckily, plans for that restaurant are farther down the road. It’s set for a 2009 opening.
Maggi’s putting his efforts into downtown Roanoke right now, including appearing at his first local festival last weekend. Blues BBQ had a food booth at the Henry Street Festival at Elmwood Park.
Blues BBQ is joining a line-up of barbecue eateries new to the Roanoke Valley in the last year. They include Pitt Boss BBQ in Southwest Roanoke County and a second location for Henry’s Memphis BBQ in Salem.
The apparent success of some local barbecue concepts here calls into question the announcement in May that Smokey Bones, a barbecue chain owned by Darden Restaurants Inc., was shutting down some of its locations nationwide and selling the remaining eateries. The Smokey Bones in Roanoke was for sale, but it will remain open.
A few reasons for Smokey Bones’ downfall were that the chain’s sports-bar and barbecue focus turned off some women, and other diners didn’t want to eat a heavy barbecue meal regularly.
What do you think? What makes some barbecue restaurants more successful than others?
Comments
[October 4, 2007 6:46 AM]
LucasBBQ, like jazz, is an art form. Darden's announcement about abandoning its Smokey Bones concept was an acknowledgement that the love of BBQ cannot be franchised- the tastes are too varied. The feuds over the origin and historical roots of Brunswick Stew pale in comparison to the epic battles fought between the advocates eastern and western NC BBQ. Political candidates know better than to take sides, it is that serious. Henry's and the Three Pigs and others try to appeal to a wider cross-section of BBQ tastes by offering more than one sauce - and they have done well. What must be behind the newest entry into Roanoke's expanding choices of BBQ styles - is a passion for BBQ. If Mr. Maggi truly is passionate about his "art of BBQ",sticks to his values and is willing to tell his story, he will be given a chance to succeeed.