On the Rise Bread

What’s with the styrofoam? Stopped by on Black Friday morning for coffee and baked goods, after seeing positive reviews. In this day and age, for somewhere advertising itself as a café, in the market square of a historic town, being presented with eat-​in coffee and muffin, at prices that were hardly economical, in styrofoam cups and plates is totally unacceptable. How do you expect your muffins and coffee to taste good and what message does this send about pride in your product. Not much difference to how breakfast is served in a cheap hotel! Get the picture? We are just finishing an eight month road trip around America. This café the first to offer styrofoam and think it an acceptable form to serve food and drink in. Totally disappointing.

Awesome everything.
Pizza
Tuna
Salad
Coconut cream cake
our family of 4 with two younger kids even like everything

A great little spot in the heart of downtown Roanoke. We were passing through and I was dying for just a good sandwich. I ordered the Italian and my friend chose the turkey and provolone. Loaded with meat and the fixings, this may have been the most authentic Italian I’ve had to date.
The cashiers/​staff were awesome and friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed but bustling enough to let you know it’s good.
Their patisserie selection looks fantastic, too! They’re right next to some cute shops/​markets to help you explore Roanoke.

Not impressed by our boring salad and sandwiches. House salad was just romaine lettuce, cucumber, turkey (opted out of ham). You’re limited in your bread choices to a slice of sourdough or a dinner role, even though this place is a bakery. The cheese veggie cold sandwich consisted of a fresh but very tough roll, some slices of cheese, a few pieces of romaine, and a pickle slice. Pretty dang boring and weak for nearly $ 20.
The actual atmosphere is quite cozy and pleasant, plenty of seats for the space.
Pretty weak food for us but maybe other choices would’ve been better. I’m seeing people with other things that look more substantial. The dessert things like brownies looked pretty tasty. So who knows.

Wonderful little place! Breakfast pizza was delicious and fresh. A nice change from your regular breakfast place. Pastries were very large, fresh, and inexpensive.

I’ve been travelling to Roanoke a lot for work and this is my go to place. I had almost all of their veggie items on their list, but the one that tops all is the Pimento & Tomato grilled cheese! Unfortunately this is not on their regular menu. I only wish they made Tomato Basil soup to go along with it.

On the Rise is a true diamond in the rough when it comes to Roanoke restaurants. In the past week I will have to admit I’ve been here over 3 times and frequent the place regularly when they have sandwich specials. My absolute favorite is the grilled pimento cheese sandwich special that I always have to double-​down on tomatoes and get the tomato cheddar soup to boot.
As a ridiculous soup fiend, this place fills my belly with warmth and my heart with love. You can even bring quarts of soup home to friends/​family for $ 11! My favorite is the tomato cheddar, followed by the roasted red pepper bisque, then the potato rosemary. The carrot ginger is tasty, but might be a bit chunky for a ginger soup so I don’t order it that much (one of those soups I just want a couple tastes of).
The place doesn’t stop at soups and sandwiches though — they have a healthy line of salads and pizzas to complement the bread and baked goods they sell. Additionally, craft olive oil and balsamic vinegar are sold in refillable containers as well as those tasty REAL Coca-​Colas in the great glass bottles.
Located right on Market Square, On the Rise has an incredible location and fills a much needed café/​lunch void that Roanoke needs more restaurants to participate in. My only wish would be that On the Rise stayed open later — sometimes I really want that tomato cheddar after work!

I’m bummed to have to give only three stars but I stand by this point system. I’ve come to realize that a majority of Roanoke is very green, they recycle and use earth friendly products. So to my surprise my pipping hot soup was served in a Styrofoam, yes StYRoFoAM container! I’m sure the potato soup had some potential to be great but unfortunately the only thing I could taste was cheap plastic and dash of potato.
Plastic, styrofoam in particular leek dangerous chemicals into foods once the original state has been compromised, eg. adding a hot liquid. At the very least change the container for the hot items. Cold items are still okay for styrofoam.
The salad was awesome, everything was extremely fresh and the salad dressing was so delicious. As was the bread.
They have a handful of single server treats or whole cakes for the daring.
Overall the salad is worth a return visit. Soup– not so much.

Spent the weekend in Roanoke and fell in love with this bakery. I had the Turkey Brie Panini, it was so good. We had samples of a special «bread of the day» I can’t remember the name of it, but i know it had mushrooms baked into it. It was delicious. We wanted to come back on our way out of town to get the mushroom bread to take home, but it was already sold out when we went back! They did give us the rest of the samples, so that helped :)

On the Rise is a local bakery in Roanoke that is well known for their breads, sandwiches, and desserts. They are owned by the same couple that owns the Wildflour Café at Towers and many of the baked goods can be ordered at either restaurant. Also, many other restaurants in the area feature bread from On the Rise, including the sandwich buns that are used at Allsports Café on the Market. You can even purchase their loaves of bread at the Roanoke Natural Foods Co Op. Quite the operation for a little restaurant tucked away in the heart of the City Market.
I’ve actually been to On the Rise three different times over the past month. On two occasions, I’ve had lunch and ordered a panini. On my other trip, I ordered a cookie as an afternoon snack. For my first visit, I tried the Margherita Panini. This sandwich features fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, & basil pesto and I ordered it on Italian bread. It tasted very fresh and I really liked the pesto because it had a strong basil flavor and it wasn’t too oily. I also ordered the bean salad as my side, which reminded me of a cold, thick pasta e fagioli — it was good but the serving was too small (says the fat kid).
My second trip is when I indulged myself with a cookie. I ordered the «Nick & Alex» which is a giant peanut butter cookie and half of it is dipped in chocolate. It’s amazing. It makes me wish all cookies were dipped in chocolate. I think I would paint the On the Rise logo on my car if they would pay me with Nick & Alex Cookies. It makes me upset that I’m not eating one right now. #FirstWorldProblems.
For my third and most recent visit to On the Rise, I became a little more adventurous and tried the Turkey Brie Panini. This sandwich, which I ordered on sourdough, comes with roasted turkey, sliced apples, melted brie, and apple butter. I loved this sandwich because it felt like I was enjoying flavors that reminded me of fall. The tartness of the apples, the smokiness of the turkey, and the cinnamon spice of the apple butter made it really unique and tasty. It was the perfect thing for lunch on a cool, autumn day.
The prices at On the Rise are reasonable (sandwiches are around $ 7 and come with a side) and the service is always very good. They seem to have a number of regulars and the staff does a nice job of striking up conversations and making the customers feel important. And as long as they keep dipping cookies in chocolate, I’ll have no problem becoming a regular.

Didn’t have sourdough so I settled for Italian bread but their veggie panini was great! The REAL treat was their pumpkin sausage soup… It was like fall in a cup and I could eat it every day. Would definitely go back to try their pastries and other breads. Great bake shop ambiance also :)

Another great find in downtown Roanoke.
I have to say, I’ve walked by On The Rise many times in my Downtown Market forays, and it has always smelled AMAZING. Reminiscent of the bakeries that I encountered while traveling around France — and as it turns out, this is the whole point of On The Rise.
Their mission statement (found on their menu) states that they bake all their breads in the traditional European style — this means no extra stuff that we Americans add to our bread to make it last longer or make the crust softer (no oil, fat, sugar or the like here). The result is bread that is very crusty on the outside while remaining incredibly tender inside. And do they ever pull it off — On The Rise could go up against any bakery in Paris (bread snobs, take note) and hold its own with very little trouble.
On my first visit, I was in need of a fairly quick lunch, so I immediately looked to the sandwich section of their menu (note: this is pretty much the whole thing, minus their pizzas, breads and sweets). They serve hot and cold sandwiches, and have multiple vegetarian options — an important qualifier for me, as that’s all I can eat on any menu.
The Margherita Panini caught my eye almost immediately, as I am a sucker for its pizza counterpart. I ordered it on Rustic Italian bread from one of the more friendly cashiers I’ve found in Roanoke, and sat at a nearby table to await my order.
It arrived quite promptly in a basket lined appropriately with french language newsprint, and accompanied by a bag of standard fare potato chips (my only pseudo-​complaint about the meal).
To say that the sandwich was Margherita perfection would be an understatement. It is to be noted that it’s pretty hard to screw up Margherita, as is only has 4 ingredients (tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and bread) but oh my did they ever get those 4 ingredients right. The mozzarella was just the right temperature: gooey, but not messy. Not so hot that it becomes messy and squeezes out of the sides of the sandwich, and not so cold that it starts to become rubbery. The tomato was fresh as could be, and tasted much more like the vine ripened garden type than the picked early and gassed till it’s red grocery store variety that we’re all buying this winter. The basil pesto that dressed the sandwich added the final savory piece to a great set of sandwich stuffings.
And that now brings me to the bread — and this is the important part for me. I love paninis, and it’s important to understand that in order to get this particular sandwich right, you not only have to start with great bread (as I discussed above, this isn’t an issue for On The Rise), but you also have to have a true panini press and know how to use it. The kitchen staff at On The Rise are Panini artists — the bread was toasted PERFECTLY. Just a slight bit of char in the grooves of the sandwich, and golden brown everywhere else. The whole sandwich was a perfect symphony of crunchy, melty, chewy and juicy, and is fated to become one of my regular lunch indulgences. YUM.

On The Rise has great pastries (didn’t have any bread) but the ambiance of the place leaves something to be desired. The whole place was airy, but kind of cold.

I am still wanting more of the sourdough olive bread I bought here on a whim, and the preacher cookie. While exploring, I came across this place, after eating at Thelma’s Chicken & Waffles and exploring the Market on Saturday. I wanted a nice bread for snacking in my hotel room. I couldn’t have chosen better. I wish I could get this here at home, although… I might just make Roanoke my new home, partly because of this wonderful bread!

Best bread and bakery in Roanoke. Hands down.
Their Batard bread is the most amazing bread to make tomato sandwiches with in late summer… Buy fresh heirloom tomatoes from the market and make open face tomato sandwiches with this bread and some mayo. Heavenly.
Their baguette is authentic, crusty, chewy and perfect. Their pizza slices are mouthwateringly fluffly and fresh. Ciabatta rolls, fantastic cookies, you name it. Their cakes are unreal– they’re a splurge at over $ 20 per cake, but they’re amazing and moist and they freeze well.
Everyone is super friendly and I love the old fashioned atmosphere. It’s a wonderful place to have lunch and people watch on the market. This is a must-​try in Roanoke.

I would do anything to have this in Atlanta. I went to college in Roanoke, and still brag about how awesome this place was. They make their own mayonaise, their sandwiches are amazing. Anytime, I’m road tripping back up 81, I try to make an effort to stop in and see Mr. Hartman and gang. Definitely one of Roanoke’s jewels.

Great bread, but my favorite thing is just sitting there. The ornate tin ceiling is way up there, with one wall lined with aging brick, and the whole front is window. The diffused light is beautiful and I like to sit and imagine what it would be like to buy the place and move in.

I stop by On the Rise each week for a baguette and a sweet roll. The breads and pastries are always fresh and of great quality. If in question about what to order, ask anyone working there to recommend something… Everything and anything there will hit the spot.

The absolute best bread and Subs in Roanoke. Their subs come with a scallion mayo and a garlic vinagrette that are to die for. The subs are only available from 11am to 2pm. Their cookies are my favorite treat downtown and the rosemary sourdough is amazing, as is the olive sourdough.
They’re closed on Sunday and Monday, which means I crave their subs every Monday without fail.

Have to agree with Sandra and Julia. On the Rise is like the New York Yankees of bread production. All you have to do is walk past their market front shop and get a slight whif of doughy perfection and you’ll soon find yourself deciding whether or not you want your recently purchased loaf sliced or not. Their Italian sandwich with everything on it is a work of art. Amazing breads, amazing smells, amazing tastes, friendly people.