North Carolina Rising

Yancey House Restaurant

There's a famous line from the baseball movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it they will come." A couple from Caswell County took that wisdom to heart when they decided to turn an historic home into a restaurant. Located on 150 acres, Yancey House is considered the most historically significant structure in rural Caswell County. The oldest part of the house was built in 1806. It was once the home of lawyer and North Carolina politician Bartlett Yancey. Yancey was a U.S. Congressman and a close friend of President John Quincy Adams.

You can still find vestiges that tell the story of this property including Yancey's law office and what was once an active tobacco barn--the largest in North Carolina.

"This is solid oak all the way up so 150 years ago approximately when this was built this was a super human construction feat because these logs are nearly 30 feet long and they're solid oak and it was built without the use of cranes or fork lifts," said Mike Willis co-owner of the Yancey House.

People who visit the house today come not only for a history lesson, but also for the food. Mike Willis and his wife Lucindy bought the Yancey House in 2005 and turned it into a restaurant.

According to Lucindy, Mike called her one day at the office at NC State where she was teaching. "He said 'honey, they're auctioning off the Yancey House out in the front yard. I think I'll stop and see what's going on,' and of course I knew what exactly was going on because we'd been married so long."

A gourmet cook since she was a teenager, Lucindy says Mike convinced her to take an early retirement from academia to be the head chef. "We never even thought about advertising," she said. "We relied on word of mouth and it did take a couple of years for people to start coming and really in the last year we've seen a big increase."

George Daniel a local lawyer and former state senator says Mike and Lucindy have provided a catalyst for Caswell County. "People can see it can be done and this is just the beginning," he said. "They have the can do spirit. They show it and live it everyday."

Mike and Lucindy believe in honoring the past, but they're also committed to a brighter future for Caswell County. Once home to large tobacco farms, Caswell was once one of the richest counties in the state; today it is one of the poorest. One restaurant can't change the fortunes of this county, but the Willis' like to think they can make a difference.

"It's always been part our makeup to support the community," said Lucindy. "I don’t like to think of it as giving back I probably wouldn't describe it as giving back, but supporting and moving us forward and while moving us forward also keeping that which is important. Caswell County's history is very rich."

Mike agrees and he says they've always believed in supporting the local economy. "So it's important to spend as many dollars as you can right here locally."

One way they do that is by supporting local farmers. Like Susanne Byrd--she's a fifth generation Caswell farmer. Her great-great grandfather grew tobacco here in 1918. Four years ago Susanne and her mom decided to grow vegetables and the Yancey House is one of their biggest customers.

"That's really big for us because the produce we grow is consumed probably within a 20-25 mile radius of right here," said Susanne. "So we want to be able to get the freshest best quality vine ripened produce and melons and be able to sell them to the public and the community we live in."

That's a sentiment shared by Della Williams. She owns the Sleepy Goat Farm where Lucindy and Mike buy their cheese for the restaurant.

" Knowing your food where it came from, knowing the people who grew it, and the people who cook it is important," said Della. "I have seen a quantum jump in the interest in what we're doing over the last year. People what to know what we're doing."

Della is particularly encouraged by the young people who have taken an interest in her farm. She says for too long places like Caswell County have seen young people move away, but she thinks that's slowly changing.

Mike Ballard just moved back after spending four years in Brooklyn, New York. He says in high school all his friends did was talk about getting out but he's glad to be back and he thinks there are encouraging signs to entice other young people back to the area. "I'm actually really excited about everything that's been going. Maybe if they see that places like sleepy Goat Farm are here the restaurant is here then maybe they'll see there’s actually something going on that they can be part of."

With just 56,000 people in Caswell County the Willis' knew to support their restaurant they needed to pull visitors from the surrounding area--and that's just what they're doing. Eighty-five to ninety percent of their guests come from outside the county. Mike likes to say they're a destination restaurant.

"They're looking for quality and quality means local," said Mike. "It means food is either raised to ship or grown to eat and there’s a big difference in the flavors and the taste between those two. Food that's grown to eat is ripened on the vine. It's just tastier, fresher people appreciate that and that's whey they want."

Rick Smith owns Yoder's Amish Market just down the road from the restaurant. "When I go and eat here I'm helping folks here help provide jobs here, keep jobs and keep money within the community."

While the Yancey House is very much a business, the Willis's still like to think of this as the home it once was. Lucindy says when people come they feel like they're visiting a home. "I've even had some people say thanks so much for having us over and it's genuine."

Mike and Lucindy believe Caswell County's rich history could be a big tourism draw. They helped establish the Yancey Village Preservation with the hope of creating a heritage tobacco farm and museum. People have already taken notice of their food. The Yancey House restaurant was honored two years in a row with a Best Dish in North Carolina award for casual dining.