It’s 10:00 am on a Wednesday. Bob is in his natural environment, the very place he established decades ago, “Bob Roe’s Point After”.
The cool snowy morning, the neon beer signs, the audible chatter of the morning crowd, and the smell of smoke exemplify Bob Roe and the grit that he brings to the family sports bar. He is a seasoned veteran in the pizza and wings niche. He has the experience. He knows how to run a successful family business; now he watches his daughter Terri do 95% of the work and carry on the tradition. Terri says to “Keep Bob entertained” as she cleans the office. Bob’s responsibilities are less these days as he describes his limited duties as the “DOPO” or “Director of Pizza Operations”. “I can’t do everything I used to, but I like to stay involved”, says Roe. Before he gets into his personal story Bob shows his humorous side and jokes, “No pictures, I might break your camera”.
Bob told about the lessons he learned from his father long before pizza and wings. “I worked for dad at Roe Dairy for a long time, until I was 34 or 35, when the business went downhill”. His father taught him grit and how to grind from the lessons he learned when he played football for the Iowa State Cyclones in the late 1920’s. “There will always be ups and downs in life, the main thing is to keep goin through the highs and lows”, Bob says.
“One Sunday afternoon I took my kids to Pizza Hut and ordered a pitcher of soda while we waited for our pizza. We waited for 45 minutes and the pizza had still not arrived”, said Roe. He noticed how busy they were and realized that they weren’t going to get their order anytime soon so they proceeded to Jerry’s Pizza. “They too were extremely busy and then a light bulb went off in my head”. He realized the opportunity for Pizza business in Sioux City and before he knew it he owned his own pizza place on the west side of town. Opportunity presented itself and not long after he had his Morningside location. “If I hadn’t taken the kids out for pizza on that Sunday afternoon, I don’t know what I would be doing now”, Roe joked adding, “Life is full of fate”.
Mr. Roe prides himself for having the first Buffalo wings in Sioux City and really leading the way with this new food. He got the recipe from his brother-in-law who knew a woman that worked at the original Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Anchor Bar claims to be the home of the “Original Buffalo Chicken Wing”. Through connections Bob brought “Buffalo Wings” to Sioux City in 1984. Current Morningside College student Micah Neary praised Bob Roe for Wing Wednesday and the friendly venue they provide for college students at Bob Roe’s. Micah’s favorite item on the menu is the “Honey Mustard Wings”.
Roe emphasizes the importance of being involved in the community, saying how that has been a big secret to the success of his business. He helps donate scholarships and funds to Morningside College as he has connections to Morningside when he was a student there in 1960 and 1961. Bob has also been involved with the local Boys Club for 33 years. Just recently they had an auction where over $24,000 was raised for the Sioux City Boys Club. He truly does treat everybody like family. On Thanksgiving he hosts his family party down at Point After and even includes some of his employees and customers in the celebration.
Bob is a legend in the Morningside Community whether he will admit it or not. After two strokes he cannot participate in his favorite hobbies like bowling and golf so he returns to what he’s always known, pizza and wings. Roe is the backbone of this establishment and he will always make sure he is contributing if he has anything to say about it. He has provided great food, but more importantly he has provided the community atmosphere that has been so attractive and made his business as successful as it is today. Bob isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and neither is his legacy.
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