Stop the 1.5% Meals Tax Hike in Roanoke – Protect Our Local Restaurants and Our Community

We, the families, workers, and neighbors of Roanoke, Virginia, urge the Roanoke City Council to reject the proposed 1.5% increase in the local Meals Tax—an increase that would make our city’s tax on dining the second highest in the state of Virginia.

This isn’t just a number. This is about survival for our local restaurants, fairness for working families, and the soul of our community.

 Local Restaurants Are Still Fighting to Survive
After COVID-19 shut down indoor dining, devastated revenues, and caused widespread layoffs, Roanoke’s restaurants have spent years clawing their way back. Nationally, nearly 90,000 restaurants closed permanently or long-term during the pandemic. The ones still standing did so through sheer determination, deep debt, and a commitment to their employees and communities.

But now, they’re facing:

Skyrocketing food prices (eggs up 60% at one point, meat and dairy unstable)
Wage pressures and staffing shortages
Rising utility bills and insurance premiums
Razor-thin profit margins—often just 3-5%
This 1.5% tax increase, aimed solely at meals, threatens to push many local restaurants over the edge.

 
It’s an Unfair Burden on Working Families
Let’s be clear: this is not a tax on tourists. 70–75% of restaurant customers are local residents, according to national data. This means the tax will fall directly on Roanoke’s middle- and lower-income families—the very people who are already hurting.

Groceries are expensive. Gas is high. Rents are rising. And now, we’re asking families who treat a meal out as a treat, a convenience, or a break from daily stress, to pay even more? This is a regressive tax in an economy where every dollar matters.

It punishes:

-Parents trying to afford a night out with their kids
-Seniors on fixed incomes who rely on local diners
-Service workers whose jobs are on the line if their employer sees a drop in traffic
 
Restaurants Are the Heart of Roanoke
These businesses are not luxury operations—they are deeply rooted, community-powered gathering places. Roanoke’s restaurants have sponsored Little League teams, hosted fundraisers, hired thousands of local workers, and built the culture and energy of our city’s neighborhoods.

You know their names: Bloom, Sidecar, Lucky, Fortunato, Village Grill, Scratch Biscuit, Texas Tavern, Martin’s Downtown—these and many others aren’t chains. They’re your neighbors, our neighbors. Your weekend plans. Your community. Chains and local ownership of those chains will also be harmed. 

 
We’re Asking Roanoke City Council: Find Another Way
We all want to support essential city services. But this proposal is a short-sighted fix with long-term damage. Don’t balance the budget on the backs of small businesses and working families.

We demand that the City Council:

-Reject the 1.5% meals tax increase
-Explore shared, citywide solutions to budget shortfalls
-Engage business owners, community leaders, and residents in a better way forward
 
Please SIGN THIS PETITION & SHARE IT to protect our restaurants, support working families, and keep Roanoke vibrant, fair, and strong.

Roanoke’s community deserves better! 

*please note: the "donation" button on here doesn't go to the restaurants! it goes to change.org to help spread the message. We don't necessarily recommend the donation. Please just share for us! That's enough!  Thank you!!