Once Roanoke's Sleepy Blue-Collar Neighbor, Vinton Tries Making Itself a Hip Destination
Big things have been happening in Vinton, where $50 million in investment since 2015 has filled once-empty buildings with new restaurants and retail businesses.
VINTON — When Jason Boothe’s high school classmates came home for their 30th reunion during the summer, he took a bunch of them on a downtown crawl.
More than 100 people started on a Friday night by listening to music and quaffing beverages outdoors. On Saturday, the horde hit a couple of restaurants and then a brewery, walking to each nightspot that stood only a block or two apart.
This party parade didn’t happen in downtown Roanoke, where the City Market has long been the place to find weekend nightlife. No, William Byrd High School’s Class of 1994 spent their weekend of revelry in Vinton, Roanoke’s smaller neighbor, whose downtown has sprung to life in the past decade.