The story below is a preview from our January/February 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Jaybird Tavern is equal parts cozy neighborhood bar and destination pizza shop.
John Park
Central communal table
John Park
Jaybird’s general manager Dan Mock (left) and owner Jason Martin (right).
I’ve lived in Roanoke for more than five years and I’ve never wanted to live closer to downtown restaurants than now. I’m jealous of the folks who are within walking distance of Jaybird Tavern, but I’d happily make the 40-minute round-trip drive to sup on crispy, thin-crust Chicago tavern-style pizza, saucy chicken wings and excellent bar snacks in this laid-back corner of cool on Luck Avenue SW.
Jaybird Tavern was opened in July 2024 by Jason Martin, who also owns downtown spots Martin’s and Sidecar (both of which are a solid option for grabbing a drink if you find yourself waiting for a table at Jaybird, which is no-reservations). Martin was inspired to create an eatery centered around Chicago tavern-style pizza after taking multiple trips to the Windy City with a close friend who is a Chicago native. Tavern pizza, which is also called bar pizza in the Midwest, is so named because back in the day, it was often served for free to entice patrons to continue drinking. As is tradition, the 13-inch thin and crispy pizzas are sliced into squares, aka “party cut” to encourage sharing, although as Jaybird’s menu states, “Every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard and believe in yourself” (a quote attributed to Bill Murray but not verified).
1 of 3
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Cherrywood smoked wings
2 of 3
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Ace of Spades pizza
3 of 3
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Smoked trout dip
The “move,” also according to the menu, is to order one pie and another dish or two to split between two people. But the line-up is so good you might want to plan for leftovers or bring a few friends to pile into a booth or commandeer a section of the central communal table under the glowing suspended light fixtures. The composed pizzas reflect Martin’s desire to build an American pizzeria by featuring whimsical combinations and traditional takes alike. There are original pies like the Weird Al Pastor, scattered with chorizo and tajín-dusted pineapple and drizzled with salsa verde, and my personal favorite, The Shak, named for shakshuka, the Moroccan dish of eggs baked in tomato sauce, that stars sunny eggs with perfectly runny yolks, juicy sausage, feta crumbles, pickled onion and tangy African Bird Pepper sauce (pro tip: ask for hot honey to drizzle on top to add a sweet-spicy kick).
John Park
The Shak pizza
Contemporary American classics are represented here, too, like the best-selling Ace of Spades which eats like a souped-up pepperoni pie drizzled with hot honey and strewn with Peruvian drop peppers; the Nantucket, a clam pizza with roasted garlic-chili oil that calls to mind New Haven’s white clam pies; and the Rocky Top, which riffs on barbecue chicken by way of Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, topped with shredded house-smoked chicken, pickles and Peruvian drop peppers. And lest anyone feel left out, vegans and gluten-free folks can sub in gluten-free crust and vegan cheese or plant-based Beyond Pepperoni, or dream up their own inventive combos from the build your own pizza menu.
Jaybird’s other intended focal point is the cherrywood-smoked wings, available boneless (chicken thighs) and bone-in, both smoked over cherrywood and crisped up in the fryer before being drenched with your sauce of choice. If you can’t make up your mind, choose two sauces to split between an order of 12 wings. I highly recommend the hot honey, which yields a delightfully sticky and saucy wing, or the African Bird Pepper for something different, though Martin says that the Nashville, moonshine BBQ and classic Buffalo are perennially popular too, especially on weekends when football games and sporting events are broadcast on the large TVs mounted behind the bar.
Want to learn about even more of the incredible dishes and drinks on the Jaybird Tavern menu? Check out the latest issue, now on newsstands, or see it for free in our digital guide linked below!
The story above is a preview from our January/February 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!