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Gilbert's Restaurant Honored with Historical Marker | Roanoke News
Description
A Virginia Historical Highway Marker has been unveiled at Gilbert’s Restaurant in Chatham, honoring its role as a vital safe haven for Black travelers during Jim Crow. More than just a diner, this family-run hub—complete with gas station, store, and lodging—offered dignity and refuge when segregation made travel dangerous. Owner Robert Gilbert, who took over in 1973, shared emotional pride seeing his parents’ names on the marker, reflecting on decades of community resilience. Though the restaurant closed in 1999, its legacy endures, with Gilbert’s sons poised to carry the story forward—and possibly even write a family memoir.
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