The story below is from our January/February 2020 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Government offices are moving out, but new, exciting businesses are moving in, creating rejuvenated excitement for Botetourt County’s tiny seat.
Dan Smith
Two historic buildings will be renovated for downtown business.
There was a time not many centuries ago when Fincastle was the county seat of a land mass that went all the way to Lake Michigan and included Virginia, not-yet-born West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. Then, as now, not many people lived there, and some of those who did looked for greener pastures.
Today, Fincastle’s county is the Botetourt we know, and the town has recently grown from 375 to 525 worthies with the boundary adjustment in 2018 that saw its physical size grow from 90 acres to two square miles. By comparison, Vinton is 3.2 square miles and 8,000 population.
Add to the growth the movement of many of Botetourt’s county offices from the county seat to the Greenfield Center closer to rapidly-growing Daleville Town Center—and Roanoke—and you can spot a trend with either an opportunity or a reason for depression.
Fincastle Town Manager David Tickner sees mostly opportunity, especially with the often-overlooked downtown area off U.S. 220 where the traffic can be heavy. At the center of a new excitement in Fincastle is Erryn and Virginia Barkett’s Woodsdale Group, which has just finished renovating two historic buildings in the center of downtown with a coffee shop (the Fincastle Café) and a French gourmet chicken pie restaurant (The Pie Shoppe). Already, the Barketts have found success with the Woodsdale Events Venue. It is an Airbnb off U.S. 11 and home to an estate encompassing a 97-acre farm and manor house where all kinds of celebrations, including weddings, are held.
The plans for the coffee shop and restaurant include a roof-top venue which can house entertainment and dining. The Woodsdale Group is just a year old, but its ambition is to work with other downtown businesses and bring an excitement to the old town. It is a plan that appears to be working.
Tickner talks about the town being “energized” with recent developments, especially the coffee shop, which is busy all day, and The Pie Shoppe, which replaces the old pharmacy that had been vacant “for seven or eight years,” according to Tickner. Across the street from The Pie Shoppe is the Barketts’ indoor event venue and nearby is the Kyle House, a wedding venue owned by Roanoke events coordinator Jim Schaal. Schaal’s facility, says Tickner, “has about two weddings a weekend and the guests need something to do downtown.”
The Barketts’ “investment is a tremendous asset,” says Tickner. “They have a long-term plan and it will lead others to invest in downtown property. We need to find a reason for some of that U.S. 220 traffic to come up the hill to downtown.”
Virginia Barkett is a Botetourt County native (daughter of a noted physician, Dr. Bob Allen) who married Floridian Erryn Barkett and they wound up back on her home grounds, which he enthusiastically adopted as his own. They acquired Woodsdale Events Venue, an 1811-era manor house with Mill Creek running through the adjoining 97-acres. The couple has four children who are steeped in Botetourt County. “As the children grew, it all morphed,” Virginia Barkett says.
Their son became a chef in Roanoke and, as the Woodsdale Events Venue attracted events, there was a need for a kitchen. One came available in downtown Fincastle and the Barketts jumped in and bought it. They hired one of their son’s mentors, Stephanie Payne, as director of hospitality and she set about creating a coffee shop with what she calls a “hospitality heart,” one where relationships and community are center stage. “The townspeople and community have embraced the welcoming atmosphere our team has created,” says Virginia Barkett.
The Mennonite-owned Heritage Market (similar to Roanoke Co+Op in Grandin Village) and the rejuvenated Leonardo’s Pizza have added interest. “The timing has been really good,” says Virginia. “The town’s people have kicked in.” And those people for so long have been noted as artists, writers, crafters, high-energy creatives, lawyers, and government workers.
Payne foresees music, readings, storytelling, and a variety of other entertainment events, along with outside dining. “It takes all of us to make something happen,” says Payne, “and people have our backs here. We want to be a catalyst for regrowth.”
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