Page 20
Wednesday, March 15, 2000
Bertie Ledger-Advance
Owners of flooded restaurant want it to
Ht;
••
i remind old and new customers of sunshine
I By JEANETTE WHITE
1 WINDSOR - Perhaps no
; flooded business in Windsor
t has been missed more than
] Heritage House Restaurant on
• U.S. 17’s northern approach to
I town.
\ The cafe is one of the places
I where home folks meet to settle
I, local issues and drink more
\\ coffee than 80 cents really buys,
j' A cafe of some kind has
I ■ stood on the site since the first
II Harrison’s Oyster Bar opened
I! about 40 years ago. It was home
I i to Catfish’s Barbecue and now
II is owned by Johnny and Rachel
;1 Pierce.
;1 People who live on the north-
.1 ern side of the county find
| Heritage House handy to pick
i j up dinner or a pint of slaw on
11 the way home on those nights
• 1 when they-don’t want to cook.
• 1 But conveniences taken for
I-l granted ended September 15
; 1 when Hurricane Floyd left sev-
‘: eral feet of water inside the
;i building and destroyed all
“ equipment.
.| The Pierces tried to operate
;i from a mobile unit after flood-
;; waters receded. But uncertain-
“lies associated with operating
from a rented mobile unit and
outdoor tables made the ven
ture hopeless.
The Pierces were looking for
^ way to survive until they
could either redesign or demol
ish and rebuild Heritage
I.House.
With help from family and
friends, the Pierces tore out
' and removed the interior of the
.building down to the bare
(walls.
ii-' When it seemed like things
'Couldn’t get much worse, the
Pierces applied for a loan
through FEMA and the Small
Business Administration and
were denied. '
The couple looked into other
possibilities and he went to
work for the Town of Windsor
collecting trash through a spe
cial hurricane recovery grant,
a job which will only last a few
months.
But the Pierces never gave
up on the hope they could re
open Heritage House. After re
shine hits you all over,”
Harrison said.
The new design increases
dining capacity and will fea
ture crown molding and
beaded-board wainscoting in
spice-colored wood with
Windsor-back chairs in the
same spice color.
All new state-of-the art
kitchen equipment will make
cooking facilities compact and
efficient. The restaurant will
a rainy day, we want
you to come in and feel like
sunshine hits you all over.
shuffling paperwork and pur
suing their application, a loan
was approved several weeks
ago and work has started to re
open a redesigned and im
proved dining spot.
With decorating help from
Greg Harrison, owner of Ivy
Lane Florist and King Street
Soda Shop on King Street, the
interior of the building will
have a completely new look.
Harrison and the Pierces are
mixing some of the things cus
tomers liked most with new
decorations. Dark wood panel
ing and antiques hanging on
the walls are history.
Both walls and new dividers
will provide privacy The open,
cafeteria style will be gone and
the interior separated into five
sections. Primary colors will be
yellow and blue.
“If it’s a rainy day, we want
you to come in and feel like sun
have all new plumbing, venti
lation, wiring, heat and air con-
ditioning. Bathrooms have
been expanded, a change
Rachel Pierce agrees was des
perately needed.
Theme in the men’s room
will feature cats wearing cow
boy hats, tan and blue plaid and
a rawhide look.
The women’s room will have
the Charleston, SC, Rainbow
Row look of pastels.
The banquet room on the
Windsor side of the building
has been expanded by relocat
ing the kitchen. A folding di
vider in the center of the room
means it can be used by two
groups simultaneously and a
new hallway allows servers to
enter either room without hav
ing to go through the other.
Wall sconces and a botanical
theme with a greenhouse-effect
will be used in the banquet
m] (jillM IHC
WE ARE PROUD THAT WE
WERE ABLE TO HANDLE THE
DISPOSAL OF FLOOD
MATERIALS (OVER 3,000
TONS THRU FEB. 15)
AT NO CHARGE FOR THE
PEOPLE OF BERTIE COUNTY.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
TOWN OF WINDSOR FOR A
GREAT COME BACK AFTER
BEING DEVASTATED
BY THE FLOOD.
East Carolina
Environmental, Inc.
A Republic Services Inc. Company
1922 Republican Road
Aulander, NC 27805
TOM FLANAGAN
General Manager
JACK CURLINGS
Industrial Waste Manager
Office# 1-252-348-3322
Fax# 1-252-348-3395
Toll Free # 1-800-862-8396
Mobile# 1-252-209-7002
Pager# 1-252-561-3287
Res # 1-252-794-3547
room, with basil green, yellow
and cinnamon colors.
Heritage House has always
had one large table where farm
ers and politicians are able to
sit together and philosophi
cally settle world problems. An
area of the restaurant has been
planned for the same group us
ing a primitive art, country-
farm-field look “especially for
gentlemen”, Harrison said.
One change comes after a
suggestion from a regular cus-
, tomer, BiU Pittman of Windsor,
who suggested a drive-up ser
vice. Now a new door on the
side of the building will allow
customers to pick up orders
with about two steps inside the
building.
In the old Heritage House,
bills were paid, orders placed
and collected at a congested,
short counter near the front
door. Now the new counter will
stretch along the rear of the
main dining room, making it
nearer the kitchen, longer and
convenient for drive-up ser
vice.
The front porch will be ex
panded, flower boxes will be
added and hanging light fix
tures wUl be changed.
Another addition will be a
small section to feature such
local treats as Bertie County
peanuts, candy and other spe
cialties.
General contractor for reno
vations is Buddy Waddell of
Elizabeth City. Randy Hughes
and Tommy Dunlow have
worked with plumbing, wiring
and electrical needs.
The Pierces have learned in
the past few months that the
best laid plans can go awry. But
if all goes well, the Heritage
House will open in mid-April.
Hauling it away
This scene along King Street was repeated often in the weeks
following last September’s flooding. Some people were able to
get damaged interiors cleared from homes right away and some
were not. But as long as trash and goods were placed beside
streets, the Town of Windsor continued to haul it away. As soon
as help could get into town, extra equipment and trucks were
hired to help clear debris. This is one of several mobile home
parks which was flooded in the area and many of the homes
have been replaced now because they were not habitable. If
there is anything good to be said about the flood, it would be of
the extraordinary.kindness of people and that almost everyone
who has rebuilt has come back better. (Photo by Jeanette White)
RUBLIC HEALTH
WORHSFORYOU!
EWERmHERE, EVERYDAY,
EVERYBODY!
BERTIE COUNTY
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
502 BARRINGER STREET
WINDSOR, NC 27983
HEALTH DEPT. (252) 794-5322
HOME HEALTH (252) 794-5323
JMkMitkMMjl
North Carolina Public Health
Everywhere. EveryDay. EveryBody.
Please call today and make an
appointment for needed
health services.
Your local health department is
here to serve you!
We still accept Medicaid/Carolina Access.