As The 1020 prepared for its grand opening this evening, the staff took time out for another grand opening, the third unveiling of a painted rockfish in the Roanoke Valley Rocks campaign.

While there are four up, Lori Medlin, president of the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said this was the third unveiling.

The 1020 at 1020 Roanoke Avenue becomes the first restaurant in the area to have one of the 35 rockfish which will be placed at various businesses throughout the summer.

The 1020 owner Kim Simpson was the first person to buy one of the rockfish when the campaign was announced. Artist Harold Evans did the painting, which still has to be clear coated.

“I told him we wanted all food,” Simpson said following the brief unveiling ceremony. “He knew we did prime rib and lamb chops.”

Evans also added a teapot being poured into the numbers 1020, significant of the restaurant's former name Timeless Tea. He also remembered the late mothers of some of the staff by painting their names on the fish.

Hager shows one of the photos inside The 1020.

Inside the restaurant, which has been remodeled to capture more male customers, The 1020 partner Ed Hager showed visitors the historic photos he collected for display there.

Medlin has been pleased with the response to the Roanoke Valley Rocks campaign. “It's way more popular than we ever imagined.”

The 1020 rockfish is not the only one Evans has on display, Medlin said. One of his sits in the lobby of state Department of Commerce's tourism office at 301 Wilmington Street in Raleigh. That fish features scenes of historical significance to the state.