Renovations are now under way to redevelop the former Vinton Library on Washington Avenue into a full -service Macado’s Restaurant over the course of the next five or six months. Demolition is almost complete and renovations will begin shortly with trenching and plumbing work.
Owner Richard Macher hopes the restaurant will open around the end of the year, if not sooner. Lucas Construction of Roanoke is the general contractor.
Macher purchased the property from Roanoke County in May 2016. Their agreement allowed him to purchase the structure and 1.27 acres for $700,000. The property was subsequently rezoned in June 2016 by Vinton Town Council from Residential Business to General Business on the recommendation of the Vinton Planning Commission.
Macher owns and operates about 19 restaurants located in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. He lives in Salem and has been based in the Roanoke area since 1978.
At the rezoning hearing in 2016, Macher told council that he loves the downtowns and small communities where his restaurants are generally concentrated. He sees his restaurants as long-term investments, which he hopes will continue through the generations of his family.
This week Macher said that he is “excited to be coming to Vinton” which “has a positive momentum going,” with the Roland E. Cook and former William Byrd High School projects.
He thinks his restaurant will help the community as they generally hire young people as part-time wait staff and their restaurants traditionally get involved with the community. He estimates that the Vinton Macado’s will employee five full-time and as many as 70 part-time staff.
This Macado’s will seat about 190 diners inside and 40-50 in the patio area. It will feature the same menu and eclectic décor as his other restaurants.
There will be a dining area, a bar, and also patio dining with about 3,000 square feet of dining area— 750 on the patio and 2,250 inside. Those figures determine how many parking spaces are necessary— 30 is that approximate number.
The entrance will be located at the front of the building on Washington Avenue. Parking spaces will be added in the front as well.
Vinton Town Council authorized a Performance Agreement with the Vinton Macado’s and the Roanoke County Economic Development Authority (EDA) in July 2016 as part of the redevelopment project.
According to Assistant Town Manager Pete Peters, the terms of the incentive package include “appropriating to the EDA on an annual basis an amount equal to the annual meals tax collected by the town from the Vinton Macado’s location, not to exceed $50,000 annually for the 10 years of the agreement.”
“No existing town funds will be required to meet the obligations of the performance agreement and all town expenditures associated with the agreement are solely based on the future performance of the proposed Macado’s location,” said Peters.
“It is important to note that the total private investment for the property is anticipated to reach $1.25 million and in addition to the prepared meals tax collections, the new Macado’s restaurant will also generate additional positive revenue to the town via sales tax, property tax, and business license tax,” Peters said.
