On the Rise Bread Company — Restaurant in Roanoke

We FINALLY got a chance to stop by this wonderful bakery in Roanoke. We visited the downtown location at about 11:30 am and while we were gawking at all the food options, several people walked in behind us and lined up to be served. So... this place is pretty popular, even though it is relatively small and tucked away in the city market area of downtown. That let us know right away that the food here must be great. The atmosphere is lovely and cozy. The people are kind and helpful and the food we saw looked amazing. We took some treats to go for later in the day and were not disappointed. The lunch options include cold and hot sandwiches, soup and pizza - with many bakery items for sale. We got the feeling that they make a limited amount every day and when it's gone... it's gone. So if you find a favorite item, stop by early to grab it or you might be out of luck. Everything we had was fresh and prepared very well. It's hard to find a really good local bakery that knows their stuff. Stop by and support this business. Your tongue...

This review is difficult to write for me, because I prefer to be supportive. But facts are facts. The service was friendly and prompt, no issues there. The product is what was lacking. I went back a second time, just to be sure I didn't catch it on a bad day; but the result was the same. The baked goods are dry, tough to bite into. The scones have a strong flavor of the rising agents. It seems the dough was overworked. The pumpkin muffin had something on it that made it look slimy. The cream puff was HUGE, but the cream left an unpleasant coating on the mouth. Lastly, the salad. It's like they opened a bag, dumped a few things on the plate, and sent it out. The roll that accompanied the salad was the same as the other baked goods; dry and much harder composition than expected. I hope the feedback encourages improvements. I'll be back and give them another try after a few months, in hopes to experience...

July 16th, 2015 I have visited On the Rise in the past years and have always been very satisified with the service and food. I was looking forward to a dessert today and took along a friend. One costumer was being waited on at the register. After the staff finished the transaction she never moved away to help me, another staff member came from the back and walked down behind the counter, never spoke. I had to ask her directly to help me. She handed the bag to the staff at the register. I was asked for the money, she handed me my change. I had to reach across 3/4 of the width of the counter to pick up my purchase. I've never written a review before , but I just can't ignore this behavior by a business to a customer. I would think the owners would like to know how their employees are treating customers. The one star is for the service not the...