The Roanoker - November/December 2016 - 12

LUNCH WITH...

Breaking Bread Together
AS LARRY LANDOLT AND I SIT DOWN
to chat over our Brambleton Deli lunch (him,
the turkey club; me, the Philly cheesesteak),
his eyes light up with excitement. He's passionate not only about food and drink, but
the experiences people can have while breaking bread together. As the founder of "Experience Local" (formerly Tour Roanoke),
Landolt is creating unique food and beverage
experiences for visitors and locals alike thanks
to his interactive tours.
Landolt was looking for the next chapter
in his life when he came across food tours.
As he dug deeper, discovering food tours
in many other cities, he wondered if such
a thing could fit here in Roanoke. He and
his wife traveled to Chicago where they attended a food tour school (yes, they exist!),
and were excited about what they could
bring back home.
The Food Tours started three years ago,
with Craft Beer Tours quickly following a
year later. That led to Wine Tours, which
led to working with Step On tours, a Lexington food tour, corporate gatherings...and
so on. The success of his company is due to
Landolt's enthusiasm, as well as the unique
premise of touting Roanoke's history during the ride.
"We were just going to do this cute little
food tour," Landolt says, "but people ask
lots of questions. We became ambassadors
to the city, which is an interesting component I hadn't anticipated. We've had people on tour talk about moving or retiring
here, so I feel sort of responsible for bringing them and showcasing the best of what
we have to offer."
The tours are fun and informative. With
one iconic recipe on Roanoke's map (the
peanut soup at Hotel Roanoke), there are of
course other iconic locations such as Texas
Tavern. Due to the Lebanese community
that dominated the food scene so many
years ago, a downtown Lebanese restaurant
12 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

LIZ LONG

How Larry Landolt's Food Tours are giving Roanokers new friendships.

Larry Landolt
He takes on the hard job of sampling our city's restaurants one menu at a time.

is always included.
"The premise of all the tours we try to
do is pretty simple," Landolt says. "How
can we tell the story of a city or the neighborhood through its food? How does the
food showcase the history, our icons and
locations?"
All stops are strategically done to illustrate the food, but the focus is actually
about Roanoke itself.
"Even if you've lived here your whole life,
you'll take our tour and learn things about
Roanoke you never knew!" Landolt says
with a laugh. "Part of how we try to weave
the tour is piecing together the timeline
of how things have happened; it becomes
understandable."
While he'd worked plenty of events before, it wasn't until he started researching for
the tour that he began to understand Roanoke's story. It reignites his passion and appreciation with every new piece of research.
Even when Landolt isn't working, food
and beverage are a big part of his life. He

and his wife visit the local breweries and
wineries; when it comes to his favorite spots
to eat, he tries to divide his time equally
between restaurants, supporting those who
support his tours.
"I love watching some of the people
we work with," he says. "It's interesting to
watch the food scene emerge in town, and
is key to keep continuity with restaurants
coming and going."
Landolt's daughter is currently in her senior year, plus is a swimmer, so Landolt's
free time is currently occupied with meets
and a different kind of tour-the college
kind!
Landolt believes the best part about his
business is bringing people together. Most
of their public tours are full of groups of
people who start out as perfect strangers;
after sharing such experiences and bonding over food and drink, friendships merge
and stay intact.
"Who knew tours would do that?"
-LIZ LONG
THEROANOKER.COM

http://www.THEROANOKER.COM

The Roanoker - November/December 2016

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