A devoted cadre of customers braved constant rain and harsh gusts of wind Wednesday and Thursday, standing in line outside for up to an hour to get a table at the Yorktown branch of the Carrot Tree.
“We’ve run out of food everyday,” said Glenn Helseth, the husband of Carrot Tree owner Debi Helseth. Helseth reopened the restaurant Tuesday despite an order from the federal government to close his doors in Yorktown until the federal government shutdown ends. By Thursday afternoon, he was down to carrot cake, Brunswick stew and the U.S. Grant, which is a turkey wrap with walnuts, cranberries and bleu cheese spread.
Helseth said he hasn’t seen any presence from the National Park Service, which rents out to him the 1720 Cole Digges House where the Carrot Tree is situated. The Department of the Interior, which oversees NPS, ordered all concessioners in NPS-owned properties to close when the government shutdown Oct. 1. Helseth closed the Carrot Tree then, but reopened for lunch anyway Tuesday.
“The staff is excited to be back at work,” Helseth said. “They’re thrilled that we’re able to call them back in. They need a paycheck, and they’re thrilled I’m giving them one.”
In addition to receiving paychecks again, the customers who have been coming in — more than 200 on Wednesday and Thursday for lunch, which is far beyond the usual number the restaurant receives — have been leaving excellent tips, Helseth said. One woman came in and wanted to buy lunch for a homeless veteran: that ticket came out to about $13, but the woman asked Helseth to round it up to $100 for a tip.
He said the turnout at the Carrot Tree location in James City County on Jamestown Road has also surged since the news broke. A tip jar there has had more than $200 stuffed in it in the last few days.
The Yorktown location of the Carrot Tree has 16 tables and can seat about 50 people. The rush became so intense on Thursday that customers jumped in and began helping bus tables, Helseth said.
“People still came in even though I had to announce that we ran out of things,” he said.
The story of the Carrot Tree reopening was picked up by a Fox News columnist who posted a story online Tuesday, which you can read here. WYDaily also covered the reopening on Tuesday, with that story available here.
The Carrot Tree location on Jamestowne Island — also an NPS property — remains closed.
Related Coverage:
Despite Federal Shutdown Order, Yorktown Carrot Tree Opens for Lunch
Carrot Tree Staff, Owners Persevere Despite Forced Shutdown
