SML Business Roundup - Feb. 5, 2010

Dock Doctors

The "doctors" are back. Don Meyer and Jason Pryor, co-owners of Dock Doctors and Wirtz residents, have returned to Smith Mountain Lake after several years away.

Meyer said they were working on multi-year projects on Lake Anna and the James and Potomac rivers. A new job in Forest has landed the business partners back in the lake area where it all started in 2002.

Dock Doctors offers dock building, old structure removal, dredging, shoreline stabilization and lot clearing. They also clean out boat slips with a miniature barge and excavator.

"Pretty much, if it deals with heavy equipment on or off water, we do it," said Meyer.

That includes trash removal, hauling cars, raising sunken boats and tearing out tree stumps. The only things Meyer ticked off that Dock Doctors don't do are home construction and installing bulkheads.

Meyer said he and Pryor are immersing themselves in Appalachian Power's Shoreline Management Plan, which details regulations for shoreline development, including dock building, dredging and shoreline stabilization.

It went into effect in 2005 while Dock Doctors was away, but Meyer said he doesn't think they'll have any problem learning and conforming to the ropes.

"It's nothing like the Chesapeake Bay Act we've been doing the last four years," said Meyer. "People are making a bigger deal out of the Shoreline Management Plan than what it actually is."

Meyer said he doesn't agree with all of Appalachian's regulations, but he said it will be a welcome change to the myriad of rules they've been following the past few years.

Dock Doctors, 420-7981 or 420-7980.

Old Oak Cafe

A new restaurant for breakfast and lunch is slated to open "February 20-something," said Randy Watson, who is opening Old Oak Cafe with his wife Lila. The interior redesign is about 90 percent complete and the menu is about 75 percent complete, said Randy Watson.

Over the next few weeks, the cafe will be hiring seven or eight people to work in the front and in the kitchen. Watson said attitude and personality will be more important than experience and that all applicants will be subject to drug testing.

Old Oak Cafe is in The Plaza on Scruggs Road in the former Reds, Wines & Blues location. Watson said it will be open Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Weekend hours have not been set.

Edo House

Jenny Chen said she and husband Shawn Lin plan to open Edo House, their second lake restaurant, in late March or early April.

The couple already own Chopsticks, a Chinese and sushi restaurant at Bridgewater Plaza. Edo House, a Japanese hibachi steakhouse, will open at Downtown Moneta.

The 3,000-square-foot restaurant will feature tableside cooking. Diners will only order a meat, such as steak or shrimp, but all meals will include sides such as vegetables and rice.

Closings

According to a sign outside the Scruggs Road business, The Lake Outlet has closed. The sign directs customers to the owner's other store, Hales Ford Outlet, located on Virginia 122 across from LakeWatch Plantation.

White House Restaurant, located on White House Road in Huddleston, appears to be closed. A marquee and door signs read that the restaurant will close for the holidays, but reopen on Jan. 1. However, the restaurant was not open during regular hours and there is no answer on the business phone number.