Hello Cardinal News readers. Welcome back to Cardinal Commerce Notes, our regular feature catching you up on various recent business news items.
If you missed last week’s edition, check it out here to learn more about a recent increase in unemployment benefits, Roanoke’s new GIS website and more.
I’m always on the lookout for news tips. Please email me at matt@cardinalnews.org or connect with me on LinkedIn and message me there.
What’s inside
Tuggle’s Gap Restaurant reopens on Blue Ridge Parkway
The Tuggle’s Gap Restaurant on the Blue Ridge Parkway has reopened with new owners and a new chef.
The restaurant and its accompanying motel, the Tuggle’s Gap Roadside Inn, trace their roots to a small service shop established in 1938 at what is now the parkway’s milepost 165 in Floyd.
The restaurant celebrated its grand reopening on July 2 after closing last year. Under chef Max Hayles from Texas, the eatery serves breakfast, burgers, chicken, its signature Tuggle’s Gap pie and more.
The motel and restaurant were bought last winter by Blue Ridge Escapes, a hospitality company owned by the Andrus and Beckett families, who live in the Riner area.
“We’re trying to keep it as local as possible, bring it back to its roots,” Wally Andrus said of the Tuggle’s Gap establishment.
Besides the motel and restaurant, the site offers a self-service convenience store. The new owners plan to add dinner hours at the restaurant within the next couple of months and restore the gas pumps to operation within a year or so, Andrus said.
Hours and more information are available at the Tuggle’s Gap Roadside Inn website.
Wingstop heading to Vinton
The national chicken-wing franchise Wingstop appears to be planning a location at Lake Drive Plaza in Vinton.
The company has leased retail space at the shopping center at 915 Hardy Road, according to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, which handled the deal on behalf of the landlord.
Wingstop media contacts did not return a message asking when the Vinton location will open.
Wingstop’s Virginia locations include Bristol, Lynchburg and Roanoke.
Bedford County joins Roanoke Regional Partnership
Bedford County has joined the Roanoke Regional Partnership, a regional economic development organization.
The partnership now has nine localities among its members: the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke; the cities of Covington, Roanoke, and Salem; the town of Vinton; and now Bedford County.
The partnership aims to increase economic development in its service area by connecting businesses with the resources they need to relocate or expand.
“Bedford County adds significant strengths to the Partnership, including strong tourism assets, a thriving outdoor recreation economy, business-ready sites, and a shared vision for economic growth that will further strengthen our entire region,” John Hull, the partnership’s executive director, said in a news release.
After leaving the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance in July 2025, Bedford County supervisors spent the past fiscal year looking at the county’s economic development strategy and whether the county should join another regional economic development organization, said county spokesperson Shelley Basinger.
“We were impressed by the [Roanoke Regional Partnership’s] dedicated economic development staff, use of data analytics to make informed decisions, and their clear focus on business growth and regional promotion. We also value the Partnership’s strong connection to the outdoor economy and the Blue Ridge Mountains lifestyle, which aligns well with Bedford County’s identity and assets,” Basinger said.
Bedford County left the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance last year due to a “lack of positive return on investment,” Basinger said.
Megan Lucas, CEO and chief economic development officer of the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, said in a statement that the alliance’s partnership with Bedford County “met and exceeded the performance measures established in our agreement, and those documented results were shared annually.”
“Regional economies don’t stop at jurisdictional boundaries, and our focus continues to be on creating jobs, attracting investment, strengthening our workforce, advocating for infrastructure, and supporting the long-term competitiveness of the Lynchburg region,” Lucas said.
Share your thoughts about new paid family and medical leave program
The Virginia Employment Commission will hold nine virtual listening sessions to hear from Virginians as it develops regulations for the commonwealth’s new paid family and medical leave insurance program.
The program, established by legislation passed during this year’s General Assembly, begins in December 2028.
It will provide up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave each year to any eligible Virginia worker during certain life events such as caring for a new child or recovering from a serious health condition, according to the VEC.
The listening sessions are designed to provide “a space for anyone to tune in virtually, hear brief remarks from state and agency officials, and share comments as the Commission embarks on this first stage of the regulatory process,” the VEC said in a news release.
A schedule of virtual listening sessions and a form to RSVP to one or more sessions are available here.
Main Street in Covington to see utility work
Columbia Gas of Virginia is beginning work this month on natural gas infrastructure upgrades in the 200 and 300 blocks of Main Street in downtown Covington.
Work is estimated to wrap up in early October. It’s part of a larger upgrade project that is expected to end by March 2027.
The natural gas utility also has a separate upgrade project underway in Covington that originally was scheduled to end in June but now will last into September.
The company recently announced that it has finished building a new satellite office in Covington to serve its approximately 2,100 customers in the Alleghany County area.
For the Main Street project, crews will work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and possibly on weekends. Columbia Gas asks drivers passing through work zones to slow down; watch for workers, signs and road flaggers; and expect changes in speed limits or traffic lanes.
Columbia Gas serves 290,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in 98 cities, towns and counties throughout Virginia, including in the Lynchburg region, part of Southside, and Alleghany and Giles counties.
That’s a wrap for this week. Do you know of a new business expanding or relocating in your town? Excited about a restaurant opening up soon? Maybe you’ve got an update on a story we’ve reported before. Please send me your tips and suggestions: matt@cardinalnews.org or connect with me on LinkedIn.
