Arzu for Sale; A Few Feet from City Market Is Too Much

I note with a tinge of sadness that Arzu, the Mediterranean-style restaurant just off Roanoke City Market, is being sold. The restaurant--on two levels--is a shade under 10,000 square feet and it's priced at almost $800,000. Poe & Cronk is handling the sale.

This is a case of a business being out of sight, out of mind. It was a good restaurant for years, but barely hung on and was never really considered a part of City Market, although it is just around the corner from the Market proper. Arzu was part of that Brizilian group of restaurants that at one time captured the imagination of Roanoke and still has a lot of it with Carlos sitting up over Tanglewood like a beacon.

Arzu was the home of the Roanoke Comedy Club at one point and was always a nice place to hold an office party. The food was relatively healthy before that was trendy, but the service was never anything to write home about. I can't tell you the number of times I fidgeted as my lunch hour passed without getting a bill at the table so I could pay and leave.

Anyhow, I, for one, will miss Arzu and I hope somebody can do something with the building that will bring people around the corner. It's only a few feet.