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The team at Crystal Spring Grocery Co. brings fine dining to their grab-and-go menu.
John Park
It’s not often small business owners are able to marry their concept with the perfect people for bringing that concept to life. When it does, something like Crystal Spring Grocery Company is born.
Devon Steiner, general manager at Crystal Spring Grocery, grew up in Hagerstown, Maryland. She attended Virginia Tech where she studied hospitality and event planning. After graduation, she worked for a short time in the Blacksburg area before landing a job at River and Rail in Roanoke. Steiner quickly fell in love with Appalachian food, wine and the magic that happens when the two come together in a beautiful setting.
Matthew Lintz, executive chef at Crystal Spring Grocery, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He lived most his childhood in Pennsylvania until he was 16 years old, when his family moved to Chesapeake, Virginia. Like Steiner, Lintz also graduated from Virginia Tech, though his degree was in Biology. He went on to graduate school, with the goal of becoming a science teacher. The summer after he graduated with his master’s degree, Lintz took a job at an area restaurant. He never stepped foot in a classroom after that.
Whit and Lauren Ellerman are the owners of Crystal Spring Grocery. The long-time Roanoke residents also own River and Rail Restaurant, located on the same block as Crystal Spring Grocery.
“They are people who love investing in this community,” says Steiner, who developed a close relationship with the couple during her years working at River and Rail.
The Ellermans must also have an eye for recognizing the talents of others and a vision for how those talents might be harnessed for creating something new. They saw a natural talent in Steiner for bringing full expression to regional foods, wine and the craft beverage industry. They also saw – and tasted – a similar passion in Lintz and his thoughtful attention to locally grown foods.
“[The Ellermans] were always big fans of Matt,” says Steiner. “He does these unusual things with vegetables … but they’re always so delicious.”
Lintz, former executive chef at Local Roots Restaurant in Grandin Village, credits Bloom Restaurant & Wine Bar owner, Nathanial Sloan, for opening his eyes to the many ways vegetables can play a lead role in any fine dining experience. For several years the chefs worked together – along with Alex Tyree, Crystal Spring Grocery’s kitchen manager – at Local Roots, tending the restaurant’s garden and creating delicious meals from the humble vegetable.
This is the inter-woven web of relationships that brought Crystal Spring Grocery to life. In 2019, when Tinnell’s Finer Foods was ready to close their doors after 82 years serving its South Roanoke community, the Ellermans bought the space with Steiner and Lintz specifically in mind.
“They let us have this space to do something with it we’ve always wanted to do,” says Steiner, gratitude filling her every word.
Crystal Spring Grocery offers something new to the area, while honoring the spirit of that which came before it. This is most evident in their grab-and-go case. Here you will find a direct head nod to Tinnell’s: ham biscuit sandwiches, pimento cheese, deviled eggs and cheese slaw.
Lintz took these Tinnell’s staples and gave them his “Chef Lintz” twist, bringing his fine dining experience to bear in every item. But, this is only the beginning of Crystal Spring Grocery’s grab-and-go offerings.
The story above is a preview from our March/April 2021 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!
