Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Stephanie Rogol, owner of Sharkey’s Wing & Rib Joint in Blacksburg, and Joe Fortier, a Radford contractor, look at the old Radford Furniture building on Main Street. Rogol bought the building from Fortier and will open another Sharkey’s there.

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

The facade has been restored to the old Radford Furniture building on Main Street. The building will be a Sharkey’s restaurant.

RADFORD -- Anyone who's been out in downtown Blacksburg on a Friday or Saturday night knows Sharkey's Wing & Rib Joint is one happening place. Just ask the college students lined up at the door.

Come June, Sharkey's owner Stephanie Rogol hopes to cultivate a similar following in Radford.

Construction is under way to open a second Sharkey's in the large, downtown building once home to Radford Furniture.

Already, the eatery seems to be getting a warm reception.

"We're so excited," said Becky Haupt, executive director of Main Street Radford. "I've met Stephanie and she's a wonderful person and a very astute businesswoman. I know she didn't go into this lightly."

In fact, Rogol said she first started thinking about expanding the restaurant and bar two years ago, after the Blacksburg Sharkey's moved from 216 N. Main St. to 220.

"I realized that I really like inventing restaurants," she said. "It's fun."

For her next project, the native New Yorker set her sights on Radford.

Rogol had run a screen-printing business in the city and figured the Sharkey's name was already well-known.

"A lot of our guests at the current Sharkey's are people from Radford and they're really excited about it," she said. "They keep asking the same questions: 'Are you going to have the same happy hour?', 'Are you going to have TVs?', 'Are you going to have the same wing buffet?' "

The answer to all of those questions, by the way, is yes.

In October, Rogol purchased the old Radford Furniture building for $475,000 from Taylor Hollow Co.'s Joe Fortier.

He said he'd originally envisioned 1202 E. Main St. with several leased tenants but was excited when he found a business that could take advantage of the entire building.

Fortier, who renovated the nearby structure now home to The Coffee Mill, is staying on as general contractor, overseeing the conversion of the building from furniture showroom and warehouse to restaurant and bar.

"Radford needs this project," Fortier said. "It's good for everyone and this building needs a good tenant. ... We love to do buildings like this and bring them to life, and I want them full."

Rogol expects to invest roughly $1 million to get the building ready for diners.

Once its first phase is complete, the Radford Sharkey's will be 12,000 to 13,000 square feet. Eventually, it could be even larger.

Rogol said once work on the main building is complete, she'd like to convert the 5,500-square-foot basement into a brew pub and make Sharkey's beer.

The expansion of a Blacksburg institution into Radford is likely to be a big deal in a city that has often struggled to lure Radford University students into its downtown corridor.

"Until five years ago, there were very few reasons for students to come downtown," Fortier said, with a nod to recent additions such as The Coffee Mill and Mi Puerto Mexican restaurant. "This will be a real big draw."