We’ve established our first Field Office for the Carter Family Project at the Van Horn Sandwich Shop, a few doors down from us here on Court Street. They do great versions of the kind of food we grew up consuming: fried fish and fried chicken, beans, key lime pie, and hush puppies.
The owners, Jacob Van Horn and Rick Hauchman, and the waitress, Erin Griffin, are all from Chapel Hill, North Carolina—southern! our people! We’ve been going there basically every day for lunch, and now it turns out Rick plays a mean flattop and he’s leading a bluegrass band that plays there every Wednesday evening.
This past Wednesday Rick and his buddy Miles—up from Chapel Hill—knocked on our door, asking if they could borrow our upright bass. We obliged, and they carried it down to the restaurant. A few hours later I grabbed my D-18 and headed down there to find Rick and Miles playing in the back garden with local pickers Rob on fiddle, Bennett on banjo, and Hans on mandolin. I sat in with them for about six or seven songs. It was really fun. I was amazed that people go out past 7 PM. We thought the whole world went to sleep when it got dark.
Check out Van Horn here.
