POWERGRAMS

18 Words on a mural covering a building wall in a midtown park accurately reflect Roanoke: Small Town with a Big Heart, where people love people. U.S. Route 431 bypassed Main Street a half-century ago, as fast-food restaurants and big businesses were built, diverting former pass-through traffic to the outskirts of town. Yet, someone walking along the downtown sidewalks might cause a traffic jam if failing to notice that cars in both directions await the visitor's crossing the street midblock. Friendly males and females open doors and hold them; strangers say hello and "How are you?" Like old business districts nationwide, Roanoke's is fighting for a rebirth. Sweet Melissa's Boutique is among new stores finding a growing clientele. Attorney Kesa M. Johnston renovated the three-story former First National Bank building for her legal offices. Cocina Real Mexican Restaurant will soon occupy a vacant building. The Main Street Theatre lost to fire in 1980 has become – through community donations – an open-air concert and performance venue. In June it will host the Summer on Main Street Festival. Farther down the road, Jo & Friends Country Kitchen's dining room is packed every day with customers enjoying home-cooked meals at old-fashioned prices. Out on the new 431, the ceiling of Gedney's Restaurant & Grill is lined with U.S. currency donated by diners for church mission work. Just off the bypass are Randolph County's two largest manufacturers: Mohawk Industries (264 workers), which makes carpets, and Steelfab (214 employees), which has fabricated structural steel for the Georgia Aquarium and Daytona International Speedway. Roanoke was once home to the W.A. Handley Manufacturing Co., whose owner gave land and buildings to the city two years Roanoke Rebound DOWNTOWN REVIVAL LOOKS TO BUILD ON BOOMING BUSINESSES by Chuck Chandler PHOTOS BY MEG McKINNEY Mural painted by Wes Hardin in 2016.

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