Hidden Gems: Meet Bryan Day of Clarksville Station Restaurant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Day.

Hi Bryan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Clarksville Station has been around since the mid-70’s when it was opened by a couple of businessmen in Roxboro. Needless to say, it’s a staple in the community. My story started in the mid-90’s when I was in high school I received the call about the opportunity to work for Clarksville Station. I was 15 years old and they needed a busboy and dishwasher. At that time, I had no idea that I would stay there through high school and college, working just about every position offered. After I graduated college, I moved away for quite some time – about 18 years. I came back to Roxboro in 2018 to help care for my grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s.

Then in 2019, after some unfortunate circumstances, Clarksville Station had to close and was put up for sale. I never had a dream of being a restaurant owner nor owning my own business. I was working for CarMax in Raleigh and my friend in Kentucky had convinced me to move to Kentucky and work with her running an Old Navy outlet. I’m all about adventure and was ready for a change, so I said ok. I went through the interview process and got the position, leading me to put my two weeks notice in and started packing to head off to the Bluegrass state! That happened on a Friday and then Sunday, I passed Clarksville Station only to see the current owner putting “for sale” signs in the yard. Something inside told me that would be cool to see this place resuscitate from where it was to what it could be. Honestly, I had already seen it at his height when I was in high school. I began doing research and consulting with my family. My background was in retail management, so I felt confident I could run the business and rally the community behind the restaurant again. After a few days, I made the call about the purchase. And the rest is history. Full circle – from busboy/dishwasher to the owner of the business. Needless to say, I declined the offer in Kentucky so that I was able to stay and get the business running and off it’s feet!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth is not in our vocabulary! The first struggle was practically a brand new staff. Trying to get them on board to what the staple dishes tasted like was a struggle at first. Most had not been to Clarksville due to the reputation it had. Also, we were open for lunch service because that’s what Clarksville always did. Most of the industry on our side of town had left years ago, which left a void in traffic for lunch, so I had to make the hard decision to close lunch service until we could figure that out.

Looking back, that was the best decision I made in order for us to have time to focus on dinner service and getting that right. Then five months after re-opening – COVID! Right when we were finding our niche and working well together, global pandemic hit and we were shut down. Retail management was my background so now I’m in a new industry and no one has ever been faced with this dilemma – who knew where to turn? It took me a few days to figure it out, but it was done. Getting that figured out on top of the community being just AWESOME – we made it through to the other side!

We’ve been impressed with Clarksville Station Restaurant, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Clarksville Station originally dates back to 1905 as a train station located in Clarksville, VA. It was a classic Victorian depot that served both south-central Virginia and north-central North Carolina as a main passenger and freight station until her closing on June 29, 1973. Dismantled and moved approximately forty-five miles from her original location, Clarksville Station has been reconstructed to preserve a unique symbol of America’s past. On the property, there are two train cars converted into dining spaces as well as a water tower that is converted into a private dining space. That makes us unique and really sets us apart from other places.

We are a full-service restaurant serving primarily American cuisine, always known to have a specialty in steaks/beef. We proudly use Sterling Silver premium brand beef yielding quality beef and happy customers. We also offer a full-service bar serving wine, beer, and mixed drinks.

While we proud ourselves in our steaks, we do stay relevant to the time and offer different features every night. Some of our features include Taco Tuesdays with $2 margaritas. Fridays, we have our Fish Fry Friday with delicious tender flounder fried to a golden brown served with popcorn shrimp, slaw, hush puppies, and two sides.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: clarksvillestationroxboro.com
• Instagram: @clarksvillestation
• Facebook: @roxboroclarksvillestation