The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - 58

dining

In the heart of
downtown Roanoke,

Facing Page:

Portal to Europe
Sidecar calls upon the
best of the Old World's
charms and foods,
transporting Roanokers
into the beauty of
a European dining
experience.

58 JAN/FEB 2021

a block off Church Avenue and sandwiched
between two great American restaurants: the
iconic Texas Tavern two blocks diagonally one
way and Roanoke's neighborhood bar and grill,
Martin's Downtown, right next door, sits a quiet
and unassuming, yet powerful portal to Europe.
To step across its threshold is to be transported;
to find oneself in the doorway of a café in Paris,
an English pub in London, or a bistro in the
heart of Brussels. It is a complete immersion in
the culinary traditions of a continent ever-ancient
and somehow, as if by magic, ever-new. It's also
the kind of experience you'd expect to find in New
England's gastronomic elite city centers. But for
almost a year now, this magic portal has been open
to Roanokers. The place is Sidecar.
Jason Martin, owner of Sidecar, has lived in
the restaurant world his entire working life.
The Roanoke-area native, started waiting tables
right after graduating Salem High School, while
attending classes at Roanoke College.
" It was always in my blood, I guess, " says Martin
of his career in the restaurant industry. " It always
came easy to me, and it was something I found I
liked to do. "
Martin soon discovered his passion for working
in restaurants far outweighed his love for staying in
school. He decided to forego a college education
and instead focus on cutting deeper paths into the
world of food and drink.
" I don't have any regrets, " says Martin of his
decision. " I think it's turned out all right. Certainly
I could have taken different paths to get here; we
all could have at some point. But, here we are. "
In 2005, at the age of 30, Martin took his first
step into restaurant ownership. With financial
backing from his family, who'd watched him over

the past decade successfully working and moving
through the ranks of the restaurant industry,
Martin opened Martin's Downtown.
" Without [my family], none of this would
be possible, " says Martin. " They believed in my
passion for it. They gave me the seed money for it.
We did it on a shoestring and just made it work. "
The vision for Martin's Downtown was
quintessentially American: a neighborhood bar and
grill in a downtown setting, offering live music
and a top-notch selection of American-made craft
brews. It quickly become a destination spot for
local Roanokers, known and beloved for its easy
community vibe, lively music scene, and great food
and drinks menu.
With the success of Martin's Downtown and
the America's craft brew scene hitting saturation,
Martin began to consider how he might introduce
one of his long-time passions, European-style
brews, some of which are the oldest in the world,
to his local community.
" I'd say more than half of what we offer on tap
[at Sidecar] you're not going to find anywhere
else in Southwest Virginia. You'd have to go to
Richmond or the D.C. area to find them. "
It wasn't just European style brews Martin had
an affinity for, it was everything about European
culinary fare and dining that inspired him; there
was an artistry and cerebral quality to them that
captured Martin's imagination. After dining in
European-themed restaurants in the Washington,
D.C. area and Philadelphia, Martin started
wondering how he might bring the European
bistro experience to Roanoke.
" I started looking around Roanoke and saw no
one's really doing anything like this. But I didn't
Continued on page 61

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The Roanoker - January/February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - January/February 2021

The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - Cover1
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - Cover2
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - 3
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - 4
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - 5
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - 6
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The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL1
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL2
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL3
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL4
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL5
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL6
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL7
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL8
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL9
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL10
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL11
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL12
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL13
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL14
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL15
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL16
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL17
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL18
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL19
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL20
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL21
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL22
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL23
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL24
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL25
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL26
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL27
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL28
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL29
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL30
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL31
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL32
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL33
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL34
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL35
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL36
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL37
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL38
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL39
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL40
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL41
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL42
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL43
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL44
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL45
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL46
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL47
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL48
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL49
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL50
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL51
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL52
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL53
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL54
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL55
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL56
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL57
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL58
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL59
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL60
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL61
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL62
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL63
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL64
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL65
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL66
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL67
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL68
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL69
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL70
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL71
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL72
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL73
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL74
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL75
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL76
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL77
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL78
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL79
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL80
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL81
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL82
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL83
The Roanoker - January/February 2021 - VBRL84
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