Black Dog Salvage, the unique collection of America’s history, piece-by-piece, located at the end of Memorial Bridge in Southwest Roanoke City, literally put on the dog Thursday afternoon.
Black Dog celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in business, with a cake and television crew, surrounded by staff and customers.
Black Dog started 15 years ago as a brainchild of owners Mike Whiteside and Robert Kulp.
“I guess you could say it was originally either a spec venture or a hobby,” Whiteside said during the gathering. “We basically started with a truck. What started out as two employees, now employs ten times that many. It’s been a great ride.”
The event was also promoting National Salvage Day, with its motto: “Re-purpose, Restore, Reuse.”
Black Dog was one of Roanoke’s best kept secrets for years, before a television show changed things in a hurry.
Black Dog Salvage’s reality show, “Salvage Dawgs”, made its debut in 2012 on DIY Network. The show was only guaranteed five episodes, but that is now history, as the show continued to gain in popularity from the outset.
The show follows the adventures of Whiteside and Kulp as they salvage anything they can find in old and historical buildings scheduled for demolition. Their goal is to secure the remarkable pieces of America’s history, from windows and doors to mantles and columns, ready to be lost forever.
Once recovered, the pieces are sold to a wide range of clients from interior designers to remodelers and construction workers.
The facility on Memorial Avenue today houses an extensive inventory of everything imaginable that reflects and brings memories of America’s past. It is open daily to the public.
Bill Turner
