David Sibray
David Sibray covers West Virginia food as part of a wider focus on how local traditions, history and tourism shape everyday life. He uses dishes, fairs and roadside staples to explore the character of communities and the stories behind the state’s travel economy, rather than treating food as lifestyle or restaurant coverage. His work connects what people eat to where they live, how they gather, and how visitors experience the region.
Food rooted in fairs, roadside culture and local identity
Sibray’s food coverage centers on regional staples and the settings in which they are eaten. In his feature on why the West Virginia hot dog is unlike any other in America, he traces the distinct toppings and preparation back to local custom and geography, treating the hot dog as a lens on regional identity rather than a trend item. He returns to food in his report that the State Fair of West Virginia broke record food and carnival sales in 2019, linking concession stands and fairgrounds fare to attendance, weather and the broader economics of a statewide event. Across these pieces, he writes about food where it intersects with festivals, roadside culture and tourism, showing how menus and sales numbers reflect deeper patterns in how West Virginians host visitors and celebrate their own traditions.
Travel, attractions and heritage tourism
Sibray works as the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of West Virginia Explorer, a news and travel magazine focused on the state’s history, culture and destinations. Much of his reporting follows how attractions and heritage sites contribute to the travel economy.
In “Six West Virginia landmarks added to the National Register of Historic Places,” he walks readers through new listings and explains what they reveal about the state’s architectural diversity and cultural heritage, treating the register not just as an honor roll but as part of tourism infrastructure. His coverage of the Archives & History Library at the Culture Center in Charleston emphasizes the tens of thousands of annual visitors and positions the library as a cultural attraction embedded in the capital city’s visitor experience. He also reports that historic towns, museums and heritage sites are driving West Virginia tourism, framing these places as economic engines and emphasizing the scale of heritage tourism spending.
Even when the headline subject is not explicitly food, these stories show how he situates local eating and drinking within the larger map of where people travel and what they come to see.
Alongside site-specific pieces, Sibray writes about the infrastructure that supports travel writing and promotion. He covers West Virginia welcoming sponsors for a travel writers’ convention, underscoring how organized media events help raise the profile of the state as a destination. He has reported on West Virginia Explorer’s own milestones, including the magazine’s 25th anniversary and redesigned website and travel guide, presenting his outlet as a long-running guide that catalogs attractions, routes and communities for residents and visitors alike.
This work reflects a consistent interest in how storytelling, marketing and on-the-ground experiences combine to shape perceptions of West Virginia’s food, history and landscapes.
Local history, towns and a sense of place
A historian by training, Sibray threads detailed local history into many of his articles. In “Historians find evidence of famous visitor at West Virginia tavern,” he reports on newly uncovered documentation at an old inn, connecting a single site to a wider historical narrative. His explainer on why visitors to Berkeley Springs keep asking “Where’s Bath?” unpacks the dual identity of the town, tracing the official name back to the 18th century and clarifying how legal history, postal naming and tourism branding diverge over time.
He regularly highlights small towns and communities, such as his community-of-the-month focus pieces and coverage of hidden natural features like the natural bridge in southern Roane County, where he presents landscapes as part of a lived-in historical geography rather than isolated attractions.
This attention to context extends to his reporting on books and personalities tied to the state.
In “‘100 Things’ author reveals her favorite West Virginia destination,” he uses an interview format to spotlight a visiting author’s perspective while anchoring the discussion in specific places and the experiences they offer. He also profiles the appointment of new leadership at West Virginia Explorer, reflecting his interest in how institutional roles shape the magazine’s capacity to document and promote heritage and travel.
Across these stories, his coverage emphasizes continuity: how names, sites and people link past and present in ways that matter for residents, travelers and, by extension, the meals and gatherings they share.
Lore, legends and cultural storytelling
Sibray frequently writes about folklore and legends, treating them as part of the cultural fabric that surrounds travel and food. In his work on Appalachia’s haunted highway and West Virginia Turnpike ghost stories, he recounts regional tales tied to infrastructure and movement, showing how myth attaches itself to roads, rest stops and the experience of passing through. He has discussed monsters and unexplained phenomena associated with the state’s landscapes, extending his coverage into the realm of cultural storytelling that shapes how outsiders imagine West Virginia.
These pieces sit alongside more conventional tourism and history reporting, and together they illustrate his view that narrative - ghost stories, local lore, and tall tales - is an asset that helps communities differentiate themselves and attract curiosity.
Outside the newsroom, Sibray’s work in heritage tourism and real estate informs his journalism on place and investment. He has spoken about why communities invest in historic resources and how remote work and migration patterns can benefit the state, reinforcing his focus on the long-term value of preserving sites and stories.
As publisher of West Virginia Explorer since the late 1990s, he has built a magazine that treats food, fairs, legends and landmarks as connected parts of a single project: explaining West Virginia to readers through the textures of everyday life.
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