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Carol’s Home Cooking

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By: Phoebe Hyde

The joys of traveling down an unfamiliar road through an unknown town are realized at times
like this. Our morning started early, being awoken by a mix of our nerves from our night’s stay
in the Williamston motel and our excitement over that day’s itinerary. Carol’s Home Cooking,
although not on our itinerary, was the ideal place to stop to suppress our grumbling stomachs,
even though we’d been driving for only about 25 minutes. It is places like this that inspired
our original motivation to create a lenient itinerary. It was essential to leave ample time for
potentially undiscovered or unwritten about establishments that we knew would tempt our
attendance, and Carol’s Home Cooking was just that.

This one-story, washed-grey shingled building appearing originally to be a home to a small
family had a neon OPEN sign on the front window and a sign out front reading “Carol’s Home
Cooking*Eat in or Take Out.” After nearly passing the restaurant since our eyes couldn’t read
fast enough, our car screeched as we pressed down on the break pedal making sure not to
miss the parking entrance. We hesitated at the sight of the white van out front with capital red
letters that read Pit Cooked Barbeque, thinking, maybe they are not serving breakfast at nine
o’clock in the morning if they are, in fact, a barbecue restaurant, but the OPEN sign gave us
hope. We also promised each other that, despite our breakfast food craving, we would eat
barbeque for breakfast just this once, because we could not pass up a place like this. Clearly, if
this remotely located restaurant was still standing in the middle of the miles of straight, single-
lane highway roads and cotton fields that led us into Robersonville, there must be something
remarkable inside. The aromatic smells of hot-off-the-griddle cooking that filled our nostrils the
moment we stepped inside only solidified that assumption, and our bellies grumbled again.

We were greeted at the door by a soft-spoken woman with a generous smile on her face. She
brought us over to a red circular table on the far side of the square shaped room, placed the
menu in front of each of us—an eight by eleven piece of paper, which listed the breakfast items
each in a different pastel color—and took our drink orders. Taking a look around before deciding
what to order, my eyes were drawn to the framed piece of paper which stated (in rainbow
italicized font)

“Notice!! Good food is not Cheap & Cheap food is not good. Please note, we here at
Carols cooks our food to order, if you have a limited time for lunch call ahead. Freshly
cooked food is what we thrive for. We are not the average fast food restaurant, we care
about how long your food sit out!!”

The sign brought a gentle smile to my face and I turned back to the menu in front of me.

Brittany ordered first, kindly stating, “Can I have Herring?” The woman responded, “She doesn’t
have any of those today.” This response caught my attention, as it is not everyday that I hear
one refer solely to the chef rather than to the restaurant as a whole. This again alluded to the
uniqueness and authenticity of this restaurant, and the important role that Carol holds in the
establishment. I then ordered a pancake, which was listed on the menu as “Pancake ($2).”
Watching my budget, I was pleased with this price list, and also assumed I would be getting one
pancake for two dollars, which seemed more than reasonably priced to me. But I was wrong.

Moments later, but enough time to have whipped up the batter and poured the freshly made
batter on the griddle, my two pancakes were served to me with a side of maple syrup poured in
a small, silver metal cup along with a small container of gold packaged butter. The smell was
overwhelming, while the heat lifted off the pancakes and warmed my cheeks. I took a bite. I
hesitate to say they were better than my mom’s homemade pancakes, but there is undoubtedly
some serious competition (I hope she doesn’t read this). The lightly crisped, soft brown edges
perfectly complemented the fluffy, moist inside that melted on my tongue with each bite. I
tried to pace myself but kept wanting more, and was immediately grateful that I was given two
pancakes!

Sad to see my two pancakes disappear, we packed up our things and walked up to the front to
pay our bill. I took out a five-dollar bill, in anticipation of getting one dollar back to leave on the
table as a tip. I saw a green neon $2.00 show up on the cash register, and waited a moment for
the number to increase. “Two dollars,” our waitress said to me. Shocked, I happily handed her
my five-dollar bill and received far more change than I initially expected.

Carols Home Cooking is a diamond in the ruff. Directly off the un-trafficked Highway 64,
on the left hand side if headed west, Carol’s Home Cooking is located amongst the large
expanse of cotton fields. It is no surprise that people travel all the way from Rockymount
(nearly forty minutes away) just to eat here. Carol’s Home Cooking far surpassed my already
high expectations of the restaurant on all accounts—in taste, cleanliness, friendliness of staff,
service, & pricing. It is places like Carol’s that one learns to appreciate randomness and happen
stance, and places like this that quantify the value of field study opposed to that done by mere
internet research.

 

Brevard’s Sunset Inn Motel

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By Kelsey O’Connell

Pulling into the Sunset Inn Motel, I knew we were a little late. Well, maybe an hour or so late after our trip to Brevard from Elon. Used to Ramada Inns and Marriott Hotels, I suppose we all thought that late check-in was guaranteed. We should’ve expected the small motel might be just that, a small motel. We showed up to a one woman operation sitting in a small booth at the edge of the motel.

After apologizing profusely, we were able to take in the cute, whimsical reception room in all its small town glory. The woman behind the counter was a delight, even after closing time. We were checked in quickly and efficiently, including anecdotes about how her grandfather was involved in the origin of Route 64.

The exterior of the motel was adorable and spotted with small families sitting outside and enjoying the night air. The motel had ice, a vending machine, and even a croquet set.

Our room was nothing we expected from a small motel. The room was bathed in orange and pink, covered in pictures of flowers. Our requested rollaway bed was waiting for us, along with a flat screen television and all the amenities we would expect of any chain hotel. The shower was great for a small bathroom and the room was great for its small dimensions, comfortably fitting four.

We woke at 7 am and left at 8, leaving our keys in an antiqued mailbox because the office didn’t open until 9 am. All in all, we had a very pleasant experience at the Sunset Inn Motel and would recommend it to any weary travelers who find themselves along Route 64.

Stuff-tiques

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By Olivia James

The charm of Murphy, North Carolina lies in its small businesses and the store windows that line the downtown area.  As we hopped around from the Cherokee County Museum to the Courthouse, we noticed that many of the buildings on the main strip of the downtown area had foreclosed or were for rent.  There were not many people around town, so we had difficulty finding someone to talk to at first.  We stopped in one of the few businesses that was running and open on that Saturday afternoon, “Stuff-tiques”.

Before touring Murphy, our group had driven to the North Carolina- Tennessee border.  On our way back to town, I had noticed a large billboard that read “Stuff-tiques”.  Like many of the stores along Highway 64, I had assumed it would be a small shop on the side of the highway.  Had I read further before it passed, I would have seen that it was located right in downtown Murphy.  The sign outside of the store read “Antiques”, so it was not until the owner of the store mentioned the name that I understood the connection between the billboard and the shop.

Walking into the store, I realized that this was not like many of the other places that we had been to; there were high quality goods stacked floor to ceiling in a large store that extended fairly far back.  We started a conversation with the co-owner and manager, Betty Rhoat, who was behind the jewelry counter that featured valuable estate jewelry and other significant items.  She explained that many people in Murphy had had their stores broken in to, but her store never was, and attributed that to her security system that she said many of the other stores did not have.  It spoke to the fact that Murphy citizens did not believe their town needed protection against vandalism until more recently.

When asked about the amount of storefronts that were foreclosed, Rhoat explained that the recent economic downturn hit the small mountain community very hard, but that they would be back.  She felt strongly about this because her highest sales since 2008 happened in 2011, and she was on track for this year to meet the same goal.  Rhoat credited her success over the other businesses in Murphy to the fact that she stayed open seven days a week.  She also stands by her goal of only selling quality items in her store.  Typically, her store remains open by selling higher-priced items.  Stuff-tiques is more likely to sell an item between $500.00 and $5,000.00 than to sell an item under that range.

One of the other significant ways that Highway 64 has affected her business is through her advertising.  Just outside of town is her billboard, which we had seen on our way back from the state border.  One of Rhoat’s priorities in her business is that billboard.  She mentioned how so many of the billboards had been disappearing, which is a trend we recognized as we drove through the mountains, but that billboard on 64 is what attracts people to her business.  Rhoat said that many of the people who travel to Murphy come for the John C. Campbell Folk School. They register on Sundays at the school’s weekly classes, so they come early and shop at her store, which is the main reason she needs to work on Sundays.  Those students are some of her most loyal customers, and they help to spread the word of her shop throughout their art community.

Unfortunately, due to personal concerns, Stuff-tiques will be closing this year.  Rhoat described her distress in telling her employees the news, but she is not worried about the economy of the small town.  She believes the small town will be back on its feet as soon as the economy turns around, and her primary concern is closing a store that is so loved by the artisan community.

Manteo: A tourist destination, or a small town?

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By Mia Brady

Despite the fact that I have attended college in North Carolina for the past four years, the Outer Banks is a place that I had not yet managed to journey to before this road trip. As we pulled up to the final stop on our Highway 64 tour, I stepped out of the car expecting the ocean to be somewhere in sight; I had heard from friends of the Outer Banks’ amazing beaches and rolling sand dunes. But rather, I found myself facing a beautiful harbor full of boats, and streets lined with picturesque shops and restaurants. Manteo grabbed my attention; I was curious about this beautiful end to Highway 64, and start to the expansive Outer Banks.

Manteo is a small town on Roanoke Island, which lies directly between the mainland and the barrier islands of the Outer Banks. In order to visit the beach towns of the Outer Banks, it is essential for travelers to drive through this charming town. There is no question from where their temptation to get out and walk around may come. Manteo does not have much of what I assumed or anticipated of the Outer Banks, but after spending just a few hours in this town, there is no question that rather than the appeal of rolling beaches, this picturesque town has an appeal of it’s own.

Walking around Manteo, its homey feel is palpable. With Manteo’s quaint shops and restaurants, storefronts with porches and patios, and neat streets, downtown Manteo is an attraction of the Outer Banks for all to see. We spent the first half hour or so just walking around, and getting a feel for this place before really diving in and speaking to the locals. It wasn’t until we spoke to locals that we really understood that Manteo is far more than a quaint little town, but rather, a quaint little town that is torn between a tourist destination, and a town focused on it’s locals.

After popping into a small jewelry store, and speaking briefly to the owner, she directed us to The Coffeehouse On Roanoke Island, a quaint coffee shop just around the corner, with the promise that the employees would love to give us meaningful insight on the town of Manteo.

Leaded by the antique sign pointing us up the stairs, we climbed until we reached the front door of this welcome shop. Upon entering, I immediately noticed the homey feel of the small, little coffee shop. With plush couches, antique tables and lots of framed photos, newspaper articles and signs, I had no question that The Coffeehouse On Roanoke Island was a great place to gain a better understanding on the community feel in Manteo.

As we approached the counter, and pondered what to order off the huge colored chalkboard, featuring drinks like Forbidden Fruit smoothies and Butterscotch milk shakes, we were greeted by the friendly employees. After ordering our drinks (I got a delicious ice coffee with a sugar free vanilla flavor shot), we took some time to peruse this unique spot, noticing framed local newspaper articles and a chalkboard wall for guests to sign. A few minutes later, as the coffee shop became less and less crowded, we took the opportunity to introduce ourselves, and start up a conversation with the employees, Monique and Bethany, two young women in their 20s.

When initiating conversation with these two women, we had no idea that 45 minutes later, we would walk out of the coffeehouse with some strong insight and opinions on the town Monique and Bethany grew up calling home, and still call home today. Monique is the new owner of the shop, and her mother was the former owner. Bethany, the younger woman, has worked in the shop for years, and has lived in Manteo her entire life. While the small town is appealing to tourists and travelers with its quaint shops and stores filled with antiques and gifts, the distinction between attention on tourists and attention on locals is a struggle for the small bayside town.

Bethany and Monique contribute business for The Coffeehouse on Roanoke Island to both tourists and locals, noting that they have a stream of regulars every morning until about 10 am. After 10 am, the tourists come wandering in, looking for a smoothie to cool them down or a cup of coffee for a pick-me-up. But as business owners and locals, they have their own opinion on the way Manteo caters to them as locals. The Coffeehouse takes pride in their ability to stay open all year. Their website states, “We are open YEAR ROUND to serve the community and do thank the locals for their support!!” While the coffeehouse is able to stay open all year long, this is not the case for many Manteo restaurants and shops.

Living in Manteo has its pluses, as both women note that it was a great place to grow up, and Monique is even raising her own children in the area. But there is no question that in terms of negatives, living in a town like Manteo can make it difficult to be a local. The women note that they wish more establishments stayed open for the locals, as residents, particularly youth, run out of things to do off-season. But the truth of the matter is, how can a small town, whose tourist season greatly supports many of the establishments financially, function the same way in the off-season as the tourist season?

Paul Charron, the owner of a Full Moon Café & Brewery on Queen Elizabeth Street in Manteo, is native to Manhattan. He picked up, and left and moved down to Manteo, saying he’d live nowhere in between. Paul and his wife Sharon have been operating this corner restaurant, just a few blocks from the bay in the heart of downtown Manteo, for the past 17 years. A unique menu, the recent added value of homebrewed craft beers, and recognized as a hotspot on the Outer Banks by The New York Daily News and The Washington Post, this is not a place to miss when visiting Manteo.

While Paul and Sharon run a successful business, Paul stated that staying open year round was simply out of the question for them, and reaped far more problems than it did benefits. There simply is not a big enough pool of people in the off-season to run the restaurant smoothly. While Full Moon as been running since 1995, the brewery component of the establishment was just added in the past year. At the rate that Full Moon has been growing, this relatively small restaurant is incapable of catering only to locals. With a steady stream of customers during tourist season, Paul has noticed that locals to Manteo will not take the time to wait as tourists will. Staying open for locals year round is just simply not something that Full Moon has the means to do. The same can be said for many other establishments in Manteo.

Manteo is a charming bayside town with friendly locals. This town is also a charming vacation spot for tourists. It is a beautiful town, that like many other tourists destinations, is torn between a destination, catered towards visitors, and a small town, with businesses and citizens living their day-to-day lives. Regardless of the tear between a tourist destination and a small town, Manteo is a place that is enjoyable to all; whether you are a local or a tourist.