I have been wanting to write something about the Roost for sometime now. Today, being Monday, seems like a good day to discuss this restaurant which for a very long time was one of the more famous landmarks in the Lexington Park area.
I can recall someone in Buzzy’s a very long time ago once bragging to all who would listen to him about how he had managed to reserve the corner table next to the fireplace at the Roost to celebrate a special occasion dinner he planned for later that night. He noted that he had made the reservation earlier in the week to be sure that he got the table he wanted. He was very pleased about having done so and was eagerly looking forward to his big evening. Back in the day, Rue’s Roost was the place to go – corner table adjacent the fireplace or not.
As for how The Roost came to be, I found this excellent 2018 Enterprise article by Jason Babcock that discusses its origins in another location from where it stands today.
To read the rest of Jason’s story (click here.)
Just as The Roost itself was an iconic place to see and be seen, its founder Jack Rue was just as renown. When it comes to larger-than-life-Lexington Park-characters, Jack is at the top of that list.
Here is something from a Slackwater article how the two Jacks (Daugherty and Rue) started out. (Also found this excellent Slackwater article on other founders of Lexington Park (click here.)
This was also in the Slackwater article:
That today The Roost is now home to the Pho D’lite, a Vietnamese Restaurant, is a good thing I guess. Good that the building is still around and still being used as a restaurant. However, a part of me feels a little nostalgic for the former Roost that we all knew and patronized for a very long time. As I said earlier, there was a time when The Roost was The Place.
Speaking of bar room scenes and characters, this video has a lot to say:
Back when Lexington Park was the place to go.