There are just 12 stools in the new Vinton eatery where beloved Angelo’s Restaurant stood for 30 years. Yet — even though FarmBurguesa’s official opening is not until July 24 — every one of them is full.
Plus, there’s a takeout line four orders deep.
Jimmy Delgado, co-owner and grill master, doesn’t let the crowds shake him. He’s been testing the waters for his burger joint for about a week now and he knows what he has to do: flatten and flip the fist-sized balls of Virginia-raised beef, sizzle the waffle fries, toast the buns.
FarmBurguesa’s menu is fun — a choice of eight of burgers — including a black bean burger and a beef patty served between two plantains instead of bread. The decor is rustic: walls painted like a red barn with steel windmill blades and utensil baskets as accents.
The customers are patient and appreciative. And the concept is tight: as much local food as they can manage from the meat to the tomatoes to the cilantro. Burgers with an international flair — topped with green tomatoes and pineapple sauce, or chili mix and diablo sauce, or Roma tomatoes and basil pesto.
“It’s been overwhelmingly exciting,” says Kat Pascal, Delgado’s fiance and restaurant co-owner. “I’m so thankful that it’s been so well received.”
Pascal and Delgado are second-generation Americans with family from Colombia but long-time ties to Roanoke. Pascal was born and raised here. For the past eight years they’ve focused their energies on getting their first business venture, Spotless America, up and running like clockwork. The corporate cleaning service counts among its clients Roanoke’s City Market Building and the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
But Pascal says owning a restaurant has always been the goal. Delgado has food service experience from host to line cook; Pascal worked in her dad’s food truck when she was a teen.
The past several months have been a blur of permits and menu planning and learning what it really means to source local food. The couple has leaned on family to make it all come together.
“It’s brought my family closer, my mom and dad, my brothers and aunts,” Pascal says. Relatives helped renovate the space, keep up with paperwork and prep meals. Pascal’s 11-year-old nephew takes orders and busses dishes. Even the couple’s six- and seven-year-olds help out when they can.
“It’s been really nice,” she says. “We’re now seeing each other a lot more frequently.”
Everything’s moving so smoothly that FarmBurguesa is already making plans to expand. A patio, off to the side of the building, would be a lovely place to set a few more stools.
About the Writer:
Christina Nifong is a freelance writer with a decades-long career of profiling fascinating people, places and ideas. She’s also a committed locavore, an urban gardener and mother to three kids, five chickens and the sweetest kitty on the planet. Sign up for her monthly newsletter, Eat Healthy/Eat Local at christinanifong.com.
