Babe's Chicken Dinner House is synonymous with the city of Roanoke and Mark Snopek is a 15 year regular. He says, "When my mom and dad come down from St. Louis, it's the second question my dad asks.. The first question is, "How are the girls?", and the second is, "When are we going to Babe's?"
Babe's is one of more than 3 dozen restaurants in the Denton County city of 65-hundred. Many of them small, family owned, niche eateries that can now put this on their menu.. An official resolution from the Texas House of Representatives, recognizing Roanoke as the Unique Dining Capital.
A city spokesperson says this designation could be a huge economic boom for Roanoke. A very powerful tool to add to its already 39 restaurants. Mayor Carl "Scooter" Gierisch says, "It's drawing people here. We continually get calls from other establishments wanting to come to the city of Roanoke."
Justin Springfield is a commercial developer bringing restaurants Twisted Root and Chowbaby to Roanoke in upcoming weeks. Drawn he says, to bringing back the local feel and flavor to suburban downtown areas. Justin Springfield says, "I think you see that happening with all of the major developments. We've gone away from all the big indoor malls with the indoor food courts, everybody's trying to develop town center type developments and try and create downtowns."
Springfield says Roanoke's deep history and proximity to large corporations makes it a perfect fit. Babe's owner Joel Vinyard says the city's restaurants are more of a co-op than they are competitive and he's excited for more diners to discover what makes Roanoke unique. Joel Vinyard says, "It's kind of a small town that's had so much growing up around it and we're still sitting here in a building that's over 100 years old."
Babe's is one of more than 3 dozen restaurants in the Denton County city of 65-hundred. Many of them small, family owned, niche eateries that can now put this on their menu.. An official resolution from the Texas House of Representatives, recognizing Roanoke as the Unique Dining Capital.
A city spokesperson says this designation could be a huge economic boom for Roanoke. A very powerful tool to add to its already 39 restaurants. Mayor Carl "Scooter" Gierisch says, "It's drawing people here. We continually get calls from other establishments wanting to come to the city of Roanoke."
Justin Springfield is a commercial developer bringing restaurants Twisted Root and Chowbaby to Roanoke in upcoming weeks. Drawn he says, to bringing back the local feel and flavor to suburban downtown areas. Justin Springfield says, "I think you see that happening with all of the major developments. We've gone away from all the big indoor malls with the indoor food courts, everybody's trying to develop town center type developments and try and create downtowns."
Springfield says Roanoke's deep history and proximity to large corporations makes it a perfect fit. Babe's owner Joel Vinyard says the city's restaurants are more of a co-op than they are competitive and he's excited for more diners to discover what makes Roanoke unique. Joel Vinyard says, "It's kind of a small town that's had so much growing up around it and we're still sitting here in a building that's over 100 years old."
