Lake Wright: restaurant gone but not forgotten

The Virginia Wesleyan College community watched as the Lake Wright restaurant building, located at the intersection of Northampton Boulevard and Wesleyan Drive, was razed in later February and early March.

For three years, Lake Wright housed VWC students at the Sleep Inn.

“We have had a wonderful working relationship with [Lake Wright],” said Keith Moore, VWC director of residence life.

Lake Wright opened on May 1, 1965, the year before VWC opened. Though built in stages, Lake Wright had several units for guests, a main building, a restaurant and banquet facilities. The restaurant was the last original building of Lake Wright.

Still, it was time for a change.

“We’ve been planning on taking it down for six to seven years,” said John R. Wright, owner of Lake Wright.

A new restaurant, Damon’s Grill, will be built where the Lake Wright restaurant used to stand. Damon’s Grill will have a quiet dining area, a bar, TVs, booths and a club room with five big-screen TVs. At each table in the club room, there will be a speaker system to listen to a specific channel on the TV. The restaurant’s estimated time of completion is August.

But the old Lake Wright restaurant holds memories for many at VWC, who remember it in its prime. For over 25 years, Barclay Sheaks, distinguished resident artist, ate at the Lake Wright restaurant.

“It was a meeting place for early faculty members,” he said. “You could get a cup of coffee, a drink and talk about school. It was a good meal at a reasonable price.”

Hairdressers and barbers were also at Lake Wright. Sheaks would often get his hair cut there.

Seeing Lake Wright torn down was saddening for him.

“It’s an end of an era,” he said. “I have sentimental thoughts about it. It feels sort of like a good friend has moved away. …I miss it.”

Someone else who has a special tie to Lake Wright is Elaine Aird, assistant director of business operations. She grew up in Virginia Beach and, as a little girl, remembers playing a game with her sister to see if there was a bird’s nest in the golfer figure on the facade.

“I can’t remember a time when Lake Wright wasn’t there,” she said. “Seeing it come down as I was leaving school, I was so sad to see it go.”

Her first job was working as a maid for the Lake Wright Hotel. She spent the summer before her senior year in high school working there, earning money to go to college. Though it was very hard work, she enjoyed that summer.

“Whenever I changed a bed sheet, I thought, ‘I’m making money doing this,’” she said. “Now, I always leave something for the maid when I stay at a hotel, because I remember what it’s like.”

When she worked at Lake Wright in the 1970s, the Tidewater Tides referees would stay at the hotel and give her free tickets to the games.

In the 1970s’ and 80s, the Lake Wright restaurant had a dinner theater. Bill Joseph, vice president for business affairs, remembers it well.

“You would go in the dinner theater, and actors would serve you dinner,” he said. “They would clear the tables, and then they would perform.”

The Lake Wright often brought in recognizable names. Joseph recalled the time when Peter Lupus, a star from the “Mission Impossible” TV show, came for a six-week production. Like most of the stars, he stayed in the Lake Wright hotel.

Ethel Turner, a volunteer in the chaplain’s office, remembers going to see a production of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Lake Wright in the late 1970s.

“I just loved that,” she said. “I was real surprised to see the wrecking ball at Lake Wright, though I knew it would happen. It’s an old landmark in the area.”

Though VWC no longer has an active relationship with Lake Wright, the Wrights have been very supportive of the college. John R. Wright, Sr. gave VWC a sizable amount of money a few years ago for scholarships.

“We support VWC to educate young people,” said his son, John R. Wright, Jr. “From what I know and everything I’ve heard about the school, it’s an excellent college.”

David Buckingham, dean of students, said, “The college has had a longstanding relationship with the hotel. They’ve been a good neighbor for many years.”