Every year for the past ten years Mac and Bob's has been voted Platinum Award Winner for the Best Restaurant in Salem by the readers of the Roanoker Magazine. The readers of City Magazine have voted Mac and Bob's The Best Restaurant in Salem 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007. Voted Best Overall Restaurant Voted Best American Restaurant Also in 2007 Voted Best Outdoor Dining in the Entire Roanoke Valley by the staff of the Roanoke Times.

Mac and Bob's opened for business August 8th, 1980. bob Rotanz and Jim "Mac" McEnerney, both Roanoke College gradustes of 1978 and native New Yorkers, decided to open a restaurant across the street from their Alma Mater in downtown Salem, Virginia. Mac and Bob opened a ten stool "Sub Pub" selling New York style sandwiches and beer. In October of 1980, Jim "Mac" McEnerney decided to move back to New York and sold his interest in the restaurant to Bob Rotanz. Mac entered the financial services business with Merrill Lynch and is still employed there. Mac and Bob are still close friends to this day and keep in touch on a regular basis. In April of 1981, Mac and Bob's moved their location down the street to their current location, 316 E. Main St., where the seating capacity increased from 10 to 36. This was the time that Joe Dishaw, also a graduate of Roanoke College, class of 1978, bought into the business and became Bob's new partner. Joe is also originally from New York. In 1982 Mac and Bob's expanded from 36 seats to 90 seats. In 1985 the drinking age in Virginia was changed from 18 years old to 21. In order to attract a larger market Mac and Bob's decided to expand both the menu and the restaurant. Joe Dishaw enrolled in the finest culinary school in the world, the Culinary INstitute of America, located in Hyde Park, NY. Joe completed a 22 month chef program and graduated with honors. In 1986 Mac and Bob's expanded from 90 seats to 120 seats. Joe designed a new, more efficient kitchen that was four times the size of the previous kitchen. This kitchen, with new restaurant equipment, enabled mac and Bob's to make the transition from a pizza and sandwich menu to a full service restaurant with a more expanded menu. From 1986-1992 the restaurant's popularity grew to a point where there were waiting lines almost every night, and weekend evenings were extremely busy with long waits for tables. In 1992 Mac and Bob's invested in their largest expansion, doubling the size of the restaurant. The seating capacity went from 120 seats to 230 seats, including a 48-foot bar. Tony Reyes, a friend of both Bob's and Joe's and also a Roanoke College graduate of 1978, invested with his friends and became a silent partner. Tony currently resides with his family in Brooklyn, NY.