Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 6, 1994 TAG: 9412060041
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
The restaurant, next to the Dublin Comfort Inn, offers delivery, catering and banquet services.
R. Neal Whitt is the new dining room manager and banquet director.
Whitt, a West Virginia native, moved to Pulaski County at the urging of his wife, Sheri, who graduated from Pulaski County High School in 1984. Whitt had been an Army officer for more than eight years and was a captain, a company commander and a veteran of Desert Storm.
Whitt has run other businesses elsewhere, including a travel agency . ``I'm a people person, and you don't get many more people than in restaurants,'' he said.
Mildred Laine, who formerly operated Services Unlimited and was a co-owner of the Wedding Center, is the new team's administrative assistant. She is also a former part-time director of New River Valley HOSTS.
The most recent member of the management staff is Donna Stone, whose husband, John, is manager of the Comfort Inn and a member of Pulaski Town Council. Joe Webb will be the restaurant's kitchen manager.
Ken Phillips of Bristol, Tenn., rounds out the team as a technical adviser. The restaurant is owned by Wayne and Freida Rainey, who have an earlier Bonfires Restaurant in Bristol, where Phillips was on the staff.
The building previously was occupied by the Johnny Appleseed Restaurant and Emily's Virginia Restaurant. Bonfires has operated there since last year.
Whitt said the restaurant has about 35 employees now but that may increase with the restaurant's catering business and continued expansion.
The restaurant operates from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Its luncheon delivery service will cover the immediate area, as far west into Pulaski as the Pulaski Motor Co. at 1001 E. Main St. to avoid direct competition with Pulaski's new downtown restaurants. Lunches can also be delivered to industries in the Pulaski County Corporate Center, New River Community College and points between.
The catering service is available for large or small office parties, Christmas banquets and other occasions. For information, customers can call Whitt, Laine or Stone at 674-2445.
by CNB