Photos by Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Downtown Blacksburg has seen new eateries such as Greens Restaurant and Sushi Bar and Rita's Water Ice move in recently.

Lisa and Scott McCrickard eat at Mike's Grill in Blacksburg with children Grady, 3, and Gwen, 1. Mike's has been in business in the downtown area since 1976.

While many of the old favorites -- such as Mike's Grill, The Cellar, Souvlaki, Big Al's Grille and Sportsbar and Poor Billy's -- remain, many others are opening their doors, closing or are for sale.

In the past few months, Rita's Water Ice and Greens Restaurant and Sushi Bar have opened on College Avenue. On North Main Street, D.P. Dough is scheduled to open in August and Chipotle is scheduled to open in 2010.

Down the street, PK's Bar and Grill sold in June to the owner of Top of the Stairs, another downtown establishment. VT's Sports Grille on Progress Street is also for sale. The Lantern, a music venue and restaurant on Draper Avenue, and The Gobbler, a pizza restaurant on Kabrich Street, are for sale and closed for at least the summer. And Bogen's Steakhouse, open since 1982, closed last month.

When a new business comes in, there's always a draw of people who want to try it, said Diane Akers, president of the Blacksburg Partnership.

"But hopefully as one comes in, you can even bring some people that might not have come here before," said Akers, who said Blacksburg faces the same challenges as other towns.

Every new restaurant affects the established restaurants, even if it's just by a small number, said Nick Varelos, who co-owns Mike's Grill with Mark Golusky. Mike's has been in business in downtown since 1976, started by Goluksy's father, Mike.

Blacksburg also has the advantage of a guaranteed crop of customers each year in the form of new students, Golusky said.

"If they liked what they ate [at a new restaurant], they'll eat there every so often but they'll come back to us, too," Varelos said.

The biggest draw away from local businesses, Varelos said, is Virginia Tech's dining facilities because of the number and accessibility to students. That fact has town council hoping to discuss tax-sharing with the university, even though the town's meals tax revenues have grown steadily over the past decade.

The new businesses have added diversity to dining options, owners said.

There are more kinds of food downtown than there were a few years ago, said George El Abboud, the owner of the recently opened Greens Restaurant and Sushi Bar. It occupies the space that was formerly Pee Wee's Pit Barbecue, which closed in early April. El Abboud previously worked at More Than Coffee, a Mediterranean restaurant on North Main Street.

When More than Coffee opened, there were "probably only 20 customers in the first few months," El Abboud said. Now, El Abboud said, he saw that more than that in his first day at Greens, and More Than Coffee is going strong.

"I think people are becoming more open to different kinds of food," El Abboud said. "There's a lot of restaurants opening, but I think that's a healthy sign that downtown Blacksburg can attract people."

In general, it's hard to say whether there is too many of one type of restaurant or business in any one place, Akers said.

"Obviously, we want all the storefronts filled, with restaurants and other entities that complement each other," Akers said. "We also want to have shopping and things to do because they kind of go hand-in-hand."

When businesses are recruited to downtown, it's also important they be a logical fit to the area, said Sue Drzal, administrative director of the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg. That generally means smaller stores and few national chains, she said.

Rather than hurt downtown businesses, Akers said, she thinks developments such as First & Main and the development of University City Boulevard complement downtown.

"New buildings and new dining opportunities are good for the town as a whole," Akers said.

It's encouraging that storefronts on College Avenue are now full after a few years of empty space, Drzal said.

"I think it's wonderful to see these storefronts occupied," Drzal said. "It's an encouraging environment."