ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – After almost two years of hard work, rebuilding the Friends & Family Restaurant after a fire burned it down, is starting to pay off.
People have put in a lot of long days, planning, building, and working toward a grand opening, and finally making more meals and memories.
Thursday’s soft opening was the first time customers were allowed in the new building. The main message from both staff and customers: it’s great to see you again.
“A lot of the regulars and a lot of the people we used to see over the years were in, so it was nice to see them and everybody seemed excited,” Jeremy Workman, a management worker at Friends & Family, said. “We’ve got a few issues here and there but for the most part everybody was just excited and happy to be back.”
It was also a great day for the visitors who waited a long time to return to the restaurant.
“I believe the whole community will really appreciate this restaurant,” Frederick Teats, a Friends & Family customer for the past 27 years, said. “I believe it will become one of the top restaurants in the area.”
While it was nice to see the place up and running again, owner Becky Young said the restaurant still has some work to do before the grand opening.
She said the staff, both in the dining room and the kitchen, have to learn how to work together and stay organized.
“We found out that our organization is off by a lot as far as being where we can get more hands-on to things we need as far as cooking and even some things out here,” Young said. “We need to work on organization and time.”
Friends & Family will continue to work out the kinks with these soft openings over the next week, and Young thinks the restaurant could be ready for a formal grand opening as early as next Friday.