WAYNESBOROS RESTAURANT SCENE has been a topic of many local conversations, due to the recent loss of some important eateries. At the top of the list would have to be the closing of Stone Soup Books & Cafe, at the end of 2014. Because it was a personal favorite of mine, I ate lunch almost nowhere else, for more than 7 years. The closing was a definite blow to our community, but dont sound the death knell for local restaurants just yet. Waynesboros entrepreneurs are still alive and kicking. In the Asian food sector, two new Waynesboro restaurants are in the works. Sakura Japanese Steak House is in the process of renovating the old El Puerto location, at West Main Street & Vedette Avenue (across from Sheetz & the DuPont Credit Union). Silk Road Restaurant & Bar is renovating the old Shoneys location, at Rosser Avenue & Windigrove. Sakura has made significant progress on adding a light-colored stone exterior to the former Mexican restaurant building, but has unfortunately run into a problem that is sure to delay progress: they didnt have a building permit. That is a surprising mistake for a restaurant that already has an operating location in Staunton. Hopefully that will be remedied soon, and progress can resume. Silk Road just put up a new sign on their pole, in recent days and may be close to some news. The owner said that it would be a couple of more months back in December. Heres hoping that the cuisine is worth the wait! A new American eatery, with a meat-oriented specialty, is in the works in the location where Sweet Bean recently disappeared, in the midst of downtown Waynesboro. Blackjack & Company Steak, Barbecue & Burgers calls itself a Classic American Eatery. The owners say that their main focus is barbecue, then steak sandwiches and burgers. They said that the target opening date is early March. The burger segment is being well-served, with Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Orbital Grill opening in the city before Blackjack & Company, but the barbecue focus is only challenged by Chaunceys Smokehouse, on the west side, and the national chains, like Outback. There just might be a niche that needs filling. If the que tastes good, then there will always be a need for it. Just west of Waynesboro, on US-250, Seven Arrows Brewing Company and Rainbow Sno have begun operations. Seven Arrows is the closest brew house to our fine city, and is likely to be quite popular. Rainbow Sno brings shaved-ice snow cones to the area, and will see its popularity peak in warm weather. We can hope for a creative venture to fill the shoes of the beloved Stone Soup, but we have plenty of new and existing local restaurants to support, while we wait. Waynesboro is well-equipped for serving local foodies and we appear to be drawing enough new interest to ensure that stays true, for the foreseeable future.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 01:30:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015