ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 3, 1996 TAG: 9610030037
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS STAFF WRITER CHRISTIANSBURG
Two more companies have added their names to the list of coming attractions at Christiansburg's booming commercial hub along U.S. 460.
Construction starts this week on a bowling center directly behind the former Wal-Mart store on Arbor Drive. NRV Super Bowl is the proposed name for developer Bill Matthews' business.
Kabuki Japanese Steak House is also on its way to Arbor Drive.
NRV Super Bowl and Kabuki join several other buildings under construction in the rapidly expanding commercial area behind The Marketplace shopping center at Peppers Ferry Road and U.S. 460. Already in progress are the new First National Bank headquarters, the Department of Motor Vehicles office and the Christiansburg post office.
An official groundbreaking date has not been set for NRV Super Bowl, but the facility is projected to open by February, said Matthews, a key figure behind the emergence this decade of the U.S. 460 corridor as the New River Valley's retail centerpiece.
Matthews' bowling alley will compete directly with Triangle Lanes, which has been the mainstay of the area's bowling scene since Herb Alcorn Sr. opened the facility in 1960. It will be only the third bowling alley in the New River Valley.
"We welcome the new center," said Ray Alcorn, Herb Alcorn's son. "The competition will be good for the bowlers - they'll be the winners. We've discussed a lot of possible changes ourselves, and have continued updating the center over the years. I think we've demonstrated our commitment to the bowlers and we'll continue to reinforce that commitment."
Kabuki is a hibachi-style steak house that will go in near the new Outback Steakhouse. Akio Koeda is the owner of the Kabuki located in Southwest Roanoke and the upcoming site in Christiansburg. Koeda said he is in the process of hiring an architecture and construction company, and has set his target date for opening no later than September 1997.
"It's going to be about an 8,500-square-foot building, much bigger than the one in Roanoke," Koeda said. "It will be more authentic both inside and outside and will be very, very big."
The new restaurant will be the second under Koeda's ownership, and he estimates it will employ 35 to 40 people. The restaurant's name will be the same one used in its Roanoke counterpart, but the logo will undergo a slight change.
"I'm very excited myself," Koeda said. "And I know people living in Blacksburg and Christiansburg will appreciate not having to come all the way to Roanoke for dinner."
For its part, the new bowling center will also house a restaurant and lounge with a separate entrance from the bowling alley. The facility also will include pool tables, darts and a large game room centered around computer-oriented games. A company official said the bowling alley has a blueprint for attracting children during morning and afternoon hours and then offering more adult entertainment later in the evening.
The future manager of NRV Super Bowl, Terry Stike, declined to comment about the new facility until a groundbreaking date is official, probably sometime next week.
While that's the good business news for the Marketplace area, there's also been another closing: Captain D's Seafood Restaurant, which is visible in front of The Marketplace along U.S. 460, abruptly closed late last month.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by staff. color.by CNB