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Full production mode in western Roanoke County at Valley Tech Park >

Mack Trucks formally started off production at its Roanoke County plan of the MD-Series medium duty trucks in early September. Later in the month during a virtual kickoff Mack release some photos of the facility and the production line, where Antonio Servidoni (also pictured outside the plant) is director of Roanoke Valley Operations. Mack Trucks, a division of Volvo North America, would not divulge how many Class 6 and 7 trucks it plans to roll off the line in Roanoke County for competitive reasons.

“We have been working in this facility for more than a year,” said Servidoni, “and the whole team has been brave to stay on during the pandemic, without stopping this plant for one single day, just to be ready.” Mack Trucks Vice President Jonathan Randall called the plant “a great central location, already within our manufacturing footprint along the I-81 corridor. Our suppliers are already coming through there, so it made a lot of sense.”

Former longtime barbershop reemerges with new owners and new look >

In 1970 a former cabin behind the Coffee Pot restaurant on Brambleton Avenue became a barbershop where Jim and Jerri Lane served the community as barbers/stylists. When the recent pandemic mandate closed shops in March, the Lane family decided retirement was a good option. Recently however and thus, closed the cabin doors. Shortly thereafter friends and co-workers in management at the Sport Clips franchise, Deanna Brunelle and DeAnna Phillips Munsey jumped at an opportunity to remodel and reopen this “diamond in the rough.” After a soft opening in late summer they held a ribbon cutting last month with Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea Sr. among those taking part. About that cabin: the new owners were told it was one of with five or six identical cabins that were rented by the Coffee Pot to travelers and musical acts until 1970 – when the Lanes started their 50-year run. “We jumped,” said DeAnna Munsey about the chance to own their own haircutting business, “we were not really prepared with COVID to start a business, but we’ve been very blessed – great friends, great people that did some different work here in the shop [about 350 square feet total]. They made everything look great and got us ready.”

Ian Price photos