ROANOKE, Va. – As the holiday weekend kicks off, some industries are anticipating an increase in sales and customers; however, some Roanoke bars and restaurants plan on being closed on the Fourth of July.
Some businesses like Martin’s Downtown anticipate a slow day on Sunday.
“Normally, it’s a slower day for us on Fourth of July proper. There are usually people with cookouts or at the lake or the beach. Unless the weather’s bad, people don’t really look for indoor things to do. So, whatever day Fourth of July falls on we normally close,” explained Martin’s Downtown Director of Operations Jason Martin.
For new business Twisted Track Brewpub, Owner Will Landry decided to close on the holiday as well.
“It’s our first year, and we’re still learning the ups and downs and how things are going to work. The general consensus was most people are out at the lake or out of town and that it would probably be a slow day,” said Landry. “So we have decided, for the benefit of the staff so that they can be out with their families and enjoy the day, that we are going to close on Sunday.”
Despite the expected lag in sales over the holiday weekend, business has picked back up since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
“The last couple of months we have seen the switch was flipped, and we’ve just been as busy as we’ve ever been now getting this COVID thing behind us,” said Martin.
Both Twisted Track Brewpub and Martin’s Downtown will follow their regular schedules Saturday and Monday.