BLACKSBURG, Va. – When you walk into Lefty’s Main Street Grille in Blacksburg, you’ll notice pictures of Babe Ruth, Steve Young, Michael Vick, Wayne Gretzky and Kurt Kobain on the wall. All are famous lefties who probably never had the pleasure of dining at this New River Valley staple.
At the helm since the mid-2000s is the most important lefty, owner Frank Perkovich.
Perkovich, a California native, has brought a lot of that West Coast influence to Lefty’s menu.
What qualifies as West Coast food? He says it’s, “the freshness of the food, the creativity of the food, the mixtures of flavors and colors and textures.”
Some might even say that this place was ahead of its time in our area. It may seem funny, but Perkovich tells us, “when we first started here, a lot of people didn’t even know what an avocado was.”
It didn’t take much to draw people in, especially in a college town like Blacksburg. The restaurant also has a brewery inside, but that’s on hold for now.
Perkovich said, hopefully, it will be back up and running by the holidays or the end of 2020.
So, yes. Even the best have seen some changes, but manager Michael Carter said it’s Lefty’s longevity that’s kept it going strong.
Speaking to the loyalty of customers, Carter opines, ”We wouldn’t have been able to operate the last three months without the same people that have been coming in for 15 years.”
Now that restrictions are being lifted, locals are flocking back to the joint and favorites they’ve missed. Colorful items like the Lefty’s salad, grilled chicken sandwich and burger are just a few items they had us sample.
The dinner menu changes each season, which gives you something different to look forward to.
We have so many other great restaurants in our area featured in Tasty Tuesday. You can find them all here!