Collegiate Times

Students returning from Thanksgiving break found a familiar bar in downtown Blacksburg gone for good. Awful Arthur’s closed its doors permanently on Saturday, Nov. 19.

“It’s something the partners have discussed, and it ended up just being the right time to close,” said Michael Soriano, one of the restaurant’s four partners.

Soriano began planning for the 12,000-square foot restaurant five years ago, but it became difficult to run successfully because of its large size.

Soriano said he and his partners hoped the large restaurant and entertainment venue would fill a niche in Blacksburg.

“I think that in general, the concept we had just didn’t work in Blacksburg,” he said. “Five years ago (when) we started planning in detail, there was nothing like that in Blacksburg.”

Other Awful Arthur’s locations in Roanoke and Salem are not as large as that of Blacksburg. 

In August, Blacksburg’s Awful Arthur’s leased the upstairs portion of the restaurant to the digital advertising firm Modea as an effort to make the restaurant smaller and more manageable. But the downturn in the economy and the pressure of operating a large restaurant for four years had already taken its toll.

Soriano and his partners decided their efforts would be better spent focusing on their other businesses and the other Awful Arthur’s locations.

The restaurant’s sudden closure has left local music promoters looking for other venues.

Joey Paulekas, who manages marketing for the local event production and promotion companies Third Eye Presents and Boogieburg Soundsystem, is worried how this clos

ing will affect the music scene in Blacksburg.

“When this happens, someone usually steps up and takes the torch. This is the first time I can remember that there are really no other places open,” Paulekas said.

He also said he disappointed and shocked to hear that Awful Arthur’s closed.

“It caught me way off guard,” Paulekas said. “We have shows booked there up till February — very big shows that we now have to find spots for.”

A band by the name of Big Gigantic was scheduled for Awful Arthur’s but has been moved to the Sun Music Hall in Floyd County. 

But Paulekas is unsure if this will become a permanent venue for their shows. 

“We went through a couple of options for the show, but this was the best. It really is a gorgeous musical hall, and we’re pretty excited about it,” he said.

Currently, the Awful Arthur’s partners don’t have any plans to open the restaurant at another location, but Soriano said if and when that happens, a new restaurant would be not be as large or have the entertainment space the old one had.

“In the future would Awful Arthur’s come back to Blacksburg? It’s a possibility, but don’t hold your breath for it right now,” Soriano said. 

“We loved being in Blacksburg, and we really want to think everyone for supporting us over the years. We hate to leave.”

A version of this article appeared in the Nov 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.