Join up
Area residents are invited to join the Wilson Road Neighborhood Group. The next meeting is Thursday, Oct. 13 at New Covenant Baptist Church, 105 Spruce St. in Rossville. Visit WilsonRoadGroup.org to stay up-to-date and learn more.
Roy’s Grill
Another building sits unoccupied at the entrance to the city: Roy’s Grill.The popular nostalgic looking diner has had an on-again, off-again existence since 2010, when the Rossville Downtown Development Authority sold the building to a local father-son development team for $50,000. In 2011, they reopened the historic diner, which at one point was the first Krystal in Georgia, to a standing-room-only crowd. But six months later, they closed its doors. Shortly thereafter, it reopened under new management.With experience as the kitchen manager at Southern Star on Signal Mountain and a longtime employee at Merv’s Restaurant on Mountain Creek Road, John T. Arnold ran the restaurant until its closure again this summer.“Through the conversations we have had with the owners of the building, we know that they are committed to finding another operator for the facility and wish for it to keep the Roy’s Grill branding that has been a staple of Rossville in years past,” said Rossville DDA Board Chairman Keith Barclift.“Anyone interested in operating the facility can contact the owners of the property at the information provided on the for lease signs on the facility.”
Six months after the Wilson Road Neighborhood Group began meeting to discuss increasing crime and decreasing property values, another stride was made last week when the Walker County Sheriff’s Office opened a satellite location on Wilson Road.
“It’s a great day in the north end of the county,” Sheriff Steve Wilson said to the large crowd that gathered for a press conference last Thursday.
Though not the most visible sign of the progress made since March, when more than 100 residents began calling for change – numerous dilapidated buildings have been torn down due to their efforts – the new office could have an even bigger impact.