Hometown Eats: Cardinal Bicycle

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - If there’s one thing we’ve told you over the years, it’s how bike-friendly Roanoke is. And with the greenway right off the Grandin Village, there’s a perfect spot to meet your biking and hunger needs for this week’s Hometown Eats.

“We like being able to have people come in and surprise them a little bit. Oh, yeah, there’s a café there,” said Cardinal Bicycle owner Whit Ellerman.

From the street, Cardinal Bicycle in the Grandin Village might seem like any other retail bike shop, but looks can be a little deceiving.

“It is first and foremost a retail bicycle shop. We’re here to take care of existing cyclists and make new ones,” said Ellerman.

Ellerman has owned Cardinal since 2019 and opened this ride center in September 2021.

While you can find anything from nuts and bolts and get a full service for your bike, there’s something else Cardinal Bicycle specializes in behind these double doors.

“It’s really unique to have a place that can merge very different businesses,” said Ellerman.

That business is food. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as local brews and coffee to wash it down.

And if you know your Roanoke history, you’ll recognize this space as the old Mick or Mack grocery store.

“The Mick or Mack had the existing footprint of the old lunch counter, so we were able to layer in the new café where the old lunch counter at the Mick or Mack was,” said Ellerman.

The menu was created with help from both the River and Rail restaurant and Crystal Spring grocery kitchens so expect that same quality of food on your plate here.

“Cycling is an inherent healthy activity, and we wanted a menu to go along with that,” said Ellerman.

So, whether you’re kicking off your ride, coming in for a pit stop, or crossing the finish line needing a hot shower.

This one-stop shop and café has you covered.

“Two things that are just great and fun for the community and we can put them under one roof,” said Ellerman.

Cardinal Bicycle, a hometown eat to fill your tank and enjoy the ride.

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