HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A downtown Roanoke restaurant where staff won't touch an 1800s portrait — and whoever does reportedly invites misfortune.
107 S Jefferson St, Roanoke, VA 24011
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Restaurant; lunch and dinner service Tuesday–Saturday 11 a.m.–2 a.m.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor restaurant and bar; accessible entrance
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1985 · Downtown Roanoke Commercial History · Roanoke Dining Heritage
Corned Beef & Co. began in 1985 as a modest food stand inside Roanoke's historic City Market Building, then operating on Market Square SE. Over the following decades it expanded into a full-service restaurant and bar, relocating to its current location at 107 S Jefferson St in downtown Roanoke.
The restaurant's longevity in the Roanoke dining scene is reflected in its reputation — it draws both locals and visitors, serves lunch through late night Tuesday through Saturday, and hosts live entertainment from regional and touring musicians. Its menu centers on sandwiches, wood-fired pizza, and American entrees.
The building at 107 S Jefferson St sits within the historic downtown Roanoke commercial district, a few blocks from Market Square. The restaurant has accumulated its own layer of history over four decades of continuous operation, including the portrait that has become its most discussed artifact.
Sources
The focal point of Corned Beef & Co.'s paranormal reputation is a 19th-century portrait of Captain Andrew McKeever, which hangs near the management office. According to WSLS reporting from October 2022, staff at the restaurant treat the painting as something to leave alone: the belief is that anyone who touches or moves it will encounter bad luck.
Workers have described a pattern of unusual activity clustered around the office where the portrait hangs. Shadows move through peripheral vision without a corresponding source. Objects are found in positions different from where they were left. Employees report hearing their names called when no one is nearby. Lights switch off on their own in that section of the restaurant.
US Ghost Adventures includes Corned Beef & Co. as a stop on its downtown Roanoke walking tour, treating it as one of the city's more accessible haunted venues — a restaurant where the paranormal history is built into the dining experience rather than requiring a separate investigation.
No independent historical records about Captain Andrew McKeever beyond the portrait itself have been located. The painting appears to have accompanied the restaurant through its various locations, and its provenance before 1985 remains undocumented.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Dine at this Roanoke institution established in 1985 and ask staff about the painting of Captain Andrew McKeever that no one will touch. The portrait hangs near the management office where most unexplained activity concentrates.
US Ghost Adventures' downtown Roanoke walking tour includes Corned Beef & Co. among its stops, covering the haunted painting and staff accounts.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Abingdon, VA
The Tavern was built in 1779, making it the oldest surviving building in Abingdon and one of the oldest west of the Blue Ridge. It served as a stagecoach inn and post office from the start, hosted President Andrew Jackson, King Louis Philippe of France, and Pierre Charles L'Enfant among its documented guests, and served as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the Civil War.
Charlottesville, VA
Scotsman William Michie obtained a license to operate an ordinary on November 11, 1784, and the tavern he built served as the social and lodging hub for the Buck Mountain area of Albemarle County. In 1927, Josephine Henderson purchased the property and had the entire building moved seventeen miles to its present location near Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, reopening it as a museum-restaurant in 1928.
Florence, AL
Trowbridge's has operated on North Court Street since 1918, making it one of Florence's oldest continuously operating restaurants. The building stands on the site of the antebellum Stewart family home, where Confederate soldier Charles Daniel Stewart was shot and killed in 1861 as he fled Union pursuers.