The Roanoker - January/February 2019 - 55
Part sports tavern, part speakeasy, this public house serves up a bevy of
comfort food favorites, including great appetizers and flatbread pizzas.
written by SHARI DRAGOVICH
photographed by JOHN PARK
L
ONG BEFORE GIANT television-screen
sports bars, disco balls, night clubs and dance
halls, there was the public house. The public
house was a gathering hole where friends and
neighbors, strangers and enemies came together for a
pint of brew, a bite to eat and a bit of reprieve from all
life's woes. It was a place established by the folks who
frequented it. If you wanted to know the character of
a community, you'd spend time inside its public house.
Somewhere along the way, the public house was
dismantled into a series of themes: sports, dance, dining,
drinks and even therapy. Thankfully, in Roanoke this
trend is reversing itself with establishments like 202
Social House leading the way.
Neal Keesee, a Roanoke resident since 1988, worked
his way into restaurant ownership via his law practice.
Several of Keesee's clients were local restaurant owners.
Keesee became dear friends with these folks, which led
to eventual collaboration and partnership on several area
TheRoanoker.com
restaurants. In establishing each restaurant's concept,
Keesee and his partners would ponder the same basic
question: What does the neighborhood need? It was
this question that drove Keesee his business partner,
Roger Neel, as they considered the venture of 202 Social
House.
"You have to look at the neighborhood you're going
into," says Keesee. "What does the neighborhood need?
People kept telling us Roanoke needed a sports bar.
We agreed, but we didn't want to open a sports bar.
We wanted to separate ourselves from the [chain sports
bars] of the world."
202 Market Street is a large, unwieldly building. It
has several sections to it beyond what is visible from
the street corner. It has an open upstairs area, gorgeous
wine cellar with quiet dining lounge in its middle and
a large hidden space that can be accessed from the back
ally. It also has a sordid past, at least in the way of failed
attempts at compartmentalized themed restaurants.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
55
http://www.TheRoanoker.com
The Roanoker - January/February 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - January/February 2019
The Roanoker - January/February 2019 - Intro
The Roanoker - January/February 2019 - Cover1
The Roanoker - January/February 2019 - Cover2
The Roanoker - January/February 2019 - 3
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The Roanoker - January/February 2019 - VL1
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