The story below is from our January/February 2019 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Photos By John Park
Part sports tavern, part speakeasy, this public house serves up a bevy of comfort food favorites, including great appetizers and flatbread pizzas.
Long 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 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.
Taking all this into consideration, Keesee and Neel landed on the idea of several concepts in one: sports tavern, quiet dining, special events and speakeasy (Keesee and Neel’s name for the swank bar in back). It’s the public house, or social house as they’re now fashionably called, updated for the 21st century and with Roanoke’s downtown neighborhood specifically in mind.
Developing the menu for 202 Social House involved similar considerations: what could 202 offer guests that was recognizable but not repetitious? To help them create “twists on a classic,” as Keesee calls it, the owners hired Mike Jones, an area chef with 20 years’ experience.
Jones, who credits his grandmother for his sweet tooth and his mother for his ability to make something from nothing, took the owners’ guidelines and went to work.
“You gotta be different,” says Jones. “But you also have to streamline without using a lot of prep time. This is a big place and you have to get the food out. When it fills up, the kitchen gets very busy.”
Of course, 202 Social House has all the expected favorites. But their appetizer menu is where the fun’s at. Their chicken wings boast authentic flavor profiles without being smothered in sauce. Their fried shrimp & grit bites are a neat way to enjoy an old classic. Same with their loaded tots–a childhood lunchroom staple updated and seasoned with nostalgic comfort.
Speaking of comfort, in the vein of comfort foods runs two of my other personal 202 favorites: the Italian meatballs (offered on 202’s dinner menu) and the flatbread pizzas. Jones says while all their appetizers sell well, customers rave over the Italian meatballs. They are made extra large, smothered in fresh marinara and melted mozzarella. In fact, melted describes the entire experience quite well.
And then there are the flatbread pizzas, Jones’ take on the personal pizza. They are made in a rectangular shape and cooked on a wood plank inside a specialty pizza oven. There are nine pre-made options. My favorites are the chicken pesto and slow roasted pork shoulder. My husband favors the Philly cheesesteak. Or, you can build your own, though Jones says only about 15 percent of customers choose this option.
Other notables: the charcuterie and cheese board (the chutney is especially tasty), flash-fried calamari, market street pretzel sticks, onion rings…it’s all worth your tastebuds’ time. Especially when shared in the company of friends.
“We’ve hit the spot we wanted,” says Keesee. “It really is a social house. We wanted guests to be able to entertain themselves. We’re not babysitting people. We’re giving them a nice environment so they can come, be comfortable and have a good time.”
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