Is Roanoke on the list of Bonefish Grill openings?
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At least two readers have left comments on the blog saying that while dining at Bonefish Grill restaurants in other cities they’ve heard from managers that the fish eatery is coming to Roanoke.
A spokeswoman for Bonefish said that several new locations are planned for Virginia, but she wouldn’t say specifically how many or where they would open.
“Although we definitely are opening stores in Virginia this year, I don’t have verification on Roanoke at this time,” the spokeswoman, Beth Rohrer-Hammer, said.
She was able to tell me that new restaurants in Virginia will open in the third quarter.
It has long been rumored that Bonefish would open at Tanglewood Mall on a pad site in the parking lot. I called Tanglewood’s spokesman, Brad Boothe, and he said he couldn’t comment on any potential new tenants until a lease is signed.
I plan to keep in touch with Bonefish’s spokeswoman, so hopefully we will know something soon.
Bonefish Grill was founded in 2000 in St. Petersburg, Fla. It is now owned by Bloomin’ Brands, which also owns Outback Steakhouse, Carrabas Italian Grill, Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, and Roy’s.
Have you eaten at Bonefish? Share your review with us.
January 9, 2013 - 5:00 AM
I ate at Bonefish Grill in Knoxville last week (they have two). Have also eaten at Bonefish in Raleigh. For a chain, they have fresh and very good fish dishes, with a selection of sauces for each. My favorate however, is Bang Bang shrimp, an appetizer, but with their Caesar salad, a meal by itself. Hope the rumor is true.
The Bang Bang Shrimp could be coming to Roanoke?!?!?! Hooray!
Didn’t we already have a Bonefish Grill at Valley View once upon a time?
I ate at Bonefish Grill over the summer while on vacation at Virginia Beach, and once years ago in Greensboro. Loved it both times. The food and service was excellent! I hope it’s true *squeal*
@Elena: You might be thinking of Flat Rock Grill.
Bonefish Grill is so good that it’s hard to believe that it is a chain restaurant. We ate at one numerous times when we lived in northern Virginia. Ditto on the bang-bang shrimp and a Caesar salad!
Elana, I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps Flat Rock had a similar logo.
I agree with the positive comments ahead of me. Bonefish is a destination restaurant.
Here is the recipe for Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish, if anyone is interested.
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/435/Bonefish-Grills-Bang-Bang-Shr108368.shtml
They have a great menu filled with delicious choices and the service is always excellent. Bang Bang shrimp is a must the 1st time you go. It would be great to see this restaurant locally.
Yes, you’re right Amanda…there were rumors that Bonefish Grill was supposed to go to Keagy Village. That’s what I was thinking of. Thanks!
The Bang-Bang shrimp is really good. Also some of the best Calamari I have eaten. We need a really good seafood place in Roanoke.
Now if we could just land a PeiWei.
As one of the “two” mentioned in the article I was interested in seeing the views of others before adding mine again. Obviously, it looks like everyone has had a similar experience as mine. BTW, if you stay at a motel near on of the locations you might ask the desk if they know a good place to eat near…and then follow with a question on Bonefish…and then maybe get a coupon for a free Bang Bang Shrimp. I did I did!! It is a meal in its own right. All this is making me hungry. Planning a trip somewhere this weekend. Not sure where but I’ll promise there will be a Bonefish near!
lets aim hirer Wison- PF Changs please!! They are coming to C’Ville. Bonefish rocks!!!!!!!!!
Bonefish Grill is stupid if they don’t come here. The pad site at Tanglewood Mall is ideal. The selection of seafood here is not up to par with similar sized cities. Sometimes I wonder if these chains have heard of Roanoke?
I ate in one in NJ a few years back. Sooooooooo good! I hope it works out & we get one.
How soon we forget… Bonefish was on the original plans (rumor?) to be a tenant at Keagy Village.
Would Love to see it there as that end of 419 is WAY under-served.
There’s a Cinnabon at NRV Mall? (As per the current Daily Deal) When did that happen? I love Cinnabon!
This is exciting news! They have great food, especially the bang bang shrimp, and the pan asian sauce. Hope this “pans” out.
Both my wife and I are big fans of Bonefish. The Bang Bang Shrimp is extraordinary, particularly on Wendesdays when, at $5 per serving, it draws large crowds all of whom delight in the social atmosphere, drink specials and general enthusiastic atmosphere. We often seek them out while traveling and have found the food excellent be it a full order or the Bang Bang appetizer with a couple glasses of white wine and a side salad with the equally delicious house citrus dressing and hot bread served with olive oil and pesto dipping sauce. This would be a great addition to our town, especially if it didn’t require handling the gauntlet represented by the already packed Valley View area. Let this note represent a very enthusiastic vote of support.
Southwest County and Salem are both underserved in the seafood and steak restaurant market. There is a huge void in seafood restaurants in the valley in general. 1 Red Lobster in the city, and it is always packed. Seems like some good restauranteur or investor would see that and develop something new.
Salemite, #9 above, references cdkitchen’s Bang Bang Shrimp recipe. Food Network Magazine, April, 2010, also has “their version”, in their “Copy That” article, saying that Bonefish would not give their secret receipe. Both are similiar, except that Copy That uses less Asian chili sauce and includes honey. I’m sure both are good, but nothing will top the real thing. Welcome to Roanoke, Bonefish!
Speaking of PF Changs…I heard a while back that they were coming to Christiansburg near the mall. What ever happened to that I wonder?
@Amy: That’s the first I’ve heard about it. I will check on it.
PF Changs in C-Burg? Not seeing that matching their target demographic. Just sayin’
For the past several years every time we visit family in NOVA we make it a point to eat at Bonefish Grill in Chantilly. The food is excellent, service great, prices reasonable, and reservations are a must. There are not that many seafood choices in the area and BF Grill would be an excellent addition to Roanoke’s many fine resttaurants.
PF Changs would be awesome anywhere in our market. It is the #1 chain that I wish we had in SWVA
agree RP!! PF Changs rocks!! They are coming to Charlottesville so lets hope Roanoke will be next!!
Just because it is SO easy – JCPenney has been named one of the most HATED companies in the US, all due to their horrible desecration of the company over the last several months.
All those folks who shortsightedly cheered on here about JCP’s disastrous strategy when it was announced? You remember posting on here about how WONDERFUL it would be?
For the record, JCP is now one of the most hated companies in the nation and considered one of the biggest corporate failures in years. Anybody else want to talk about how great it is to buy a $7 t-shirt like you did when the announcements were made? Does anyone even still have one of those $7 t-shirts? I said it then, I’ll keep reminding you – it was a stupid move, and I told you so.
Maybe the food is great, but the name is not. Who wants bones in their fish? Bonefish? Its about as clever a name as Awful Arthur’s. Yuck.
PF Changs, Bonefish, all good, if you build it they will come..then maybe some other big players will follow,,
So if Bonefish comes to town will they resume construction at the site they all but opened at Keagy Village? The only thing missing under the black awnings is their logo.
I just came across an announcement I had not seen. A new shoe store in Vinton (Lake Side Plaza) “Shoe Show” website for them says 2/8/2013.. Seems owned by the same folks as The Shoe Dept.
Now on more important – Any way to find out if Trader Joe’s even has any desire to even think about scouting or looking at Roanoke for a possible location?
@Scott: Thanks for the tip! I have heard that Trader Joe’s has indeed looked at the Roanoke area, but for whatever reason the company hasn’t made the decision to open a store here. I saw this week that there is a Facebook group trying to petition TJ’s to come here. It will take more than that, though.
While in Knoxville recently, I talked with the mgr of Trader Joe’s. I asked him why they chose Knoxville instead of other larger cities. He said that someone started an email campaing and it keep growing and got their attention, so maybe a Facebook petition is not such a bad idea.
@david: The Facebook petition certainly can’t hurt, but in my experience consumer appetite is only one of many factors that companies consider when deciding whether to open a new store. In general, they look at the area’s average income, population, site availability, etc. For anyone interested, here is a link to the Facebook group I mentioned.
Peter nylander, how do you possibly cope with Applebee’s.
BONEFISH is the best restaurant I have ever eaten out!!! BANG BANG IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE COME TO KEAGY VILLAGE
BoneFish has the perfect spot in Roanoke – it already looks like a BoneFish restaurant!!! Everyone in our new development Keagy Village LOVES BoneFish – Bang Bang Shrimp are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I literally dream of Bang Bang Shrimp. I was so excited when we all thought they were coming to Keagy Village…It’s such an accessible location and gorgous views with plenty of parking.Please tell me they’ve changed their mind. That is a perfect location, just can’t bare to go to Valley View.
If you’ve never eaten at a Bonefish Grill you don’t know what you’re missing.
Fingers crossed ! ! !
My husband and I recently ate a BoneFish Grill in Richmond and just loved it. The atmosphere was lively and the food excellent. The sauces were fun and interesting and grilled shrimp and scallops cooked to perfection and the bread wonderful too. Didn’t know about the Bang Bang shrimp,but would like to go back and try.! We need more upscale restaurants in Salem and that would serve the Roanoke area and draw from Christiansburg/Blacksburg as well.
Never had a meal at Bonefish I didn’t like. My wife and I love Bonefish but have to wait until we are in Myrtle Beach to eat at one. They have an excellent menu and I have tried many of them. There are no places in Roanoke that have good fish dishes that we have found. I have been trying to get Bonefish in Roanoke for some time. Hope they come.
We need Bonefish Grill at Keagy Village. It is our family’s FAVORITE Restaurant. An upscale restaurant like this is sorely needed in this area !!!! Bang Bang shrimp is the BEST !!!
You’re right, Ron… everywhere I look there are starving rich people with nowhere to buy a $50 steak. You’d think Sally Struthers or Sarah McLachlan would do a commercial for them or something.
I just visited a 3rd Bonefish location recently. In total, the experience was pretty much the same. My dish was outstanding, being both flavorable and fresh. But there was a bit of tarnish on the otherwise shinny past experiences. An appetizer of fried oysters and fried pickles. Sounds crazy but the fried pickles were really not that bad. Unfortunately and truth be known that oysters are really not supposed to be eaten any way but on the half shell, the ones they served were small, overly done to the crispie stage and really strong of flavor. My companion ordered a dish of “wolf fish” with a lemon caper sauce. The sauce was outstanding but the fish was the pits. Soft mushy flesh, a hard smell and foul taste. She, however did not seem to object but had it been served to me I would have sent it back. I’m going to belay any sever criticism because anytime one orders fried oysters you just never know what to expect. And as to the wolf fish, I was aware when she ordered how ugly wolf fish are. And I had a general idea of what their diet was, so I would never have ordered it. My guess is that it was as good as “wolf fish” could ever be. I don’t see it as a flaw in anything but the initial selection of that item. Lesson here is that if you are not familar with a specific fish and how it might taste, best stay away from it. My bigger concern is that they seemed to have a rather limited menu of offerings. No striper or grouper for example. BTW, the server used an intereting device to take and place our order. It electronically sent the order to the kitchen even though he stayed and talked to us for a few minutes. No “paper” order ticket to be hand carried to the kitchen. High tech indeed.
The mood on this blog seems to swing between “Oh the economy is so crappy that all these inexpensive restaurants are closing” to “We desperately need high end chains here in Roanoke!” Which is it, folks.
Kristen: Not sure I follow exactly what you are saying as in the first you say “inexpensive” closings and then question if we need “high end” chains but whatever I’ll just add that I do not see Bonefish as “high end”. I cannot recall every one of the three visit tabs but I’ll promise if they were “high end” I would not have gone back two more times. My tab last week was under $60 without the tip. Two dinners and a shared appetizer with two SWEET iced teas. As you klnow we southerners are partial to SWEET tea. But beyond the dollar and cent cost you I have to consider what the experience was. Service and quality of the dish weight very heavily in my view. And you also need to consider that we would have been just as happy with two Bang Bang shrimp’s and SWEET tea. The normal price on the Bang Bang is $9.95. It would have been most adequate and a delight to the taste buds as well. A week earlier I supped with my companion at one of Bonefish’s sister places in Roanoke. Had two simple pasta dishes and split a ceaser salad along with a two glasses of red and the tab was just over $50. I tend to not see “high end chains” as very appealing however and certainly not in Roanoke. There are a lot of places in the area which are not chains that you can spend much more and not get anything nearly as good as what maybe you are calling high end chains. I find the draw back with Bonefish as being too reasonable; that I would want to go too often and that my pants would soon shrink from all the good food.
Sounds like a great business to fill the old public library building on 419. Carve out a little more parking and bring on the fish.
BubbaGreen, if they’re serving older or spoiled oysters, your pants would fit just fine.
And in a town where people are lining up around the block for a Cook Out pink slime burger, Bonefish would be considered “high end”.
Trader Joes? It’s like a Big Lots style co-op. Not even in the same league with Whole Foods or TFM or our very own co-op.
Greg, I don’t know what Trader Joes you’ve gone to, but I think it competes nicely with both of those, especially on price. The stuff is almost all their own house brand and great value and quality.