Fork to Farmer: Carteret Co., N.C.
Client: People First Tourism Lab
About the Project
This film is part of the long-running Fork 2 Farmer series that highlights the connections between the people that produce food and the people who serve it. In this installment, we highlight two independent businesses in Carteret Co., N.C—J.W. Merrell Farm and Ruddy Duck Tavern
Farming is in Joe Merrell’s blood. He grew up on the land that his family has been continuously farming since 1734. "We came in with the Quakers when the King of England gave land grants to the Quaker elders," Merrell said. This year marks Merrell's 60th year farming full-time and in those decades the business has changed dramatically. Whereas J.W. Merrell Farm used to primarily sell to grocery stores, as a family farm today, they largely sell from their retail stand in Beaufort, N.C. and to local restaurants like Ruddy Duck Tavern.
Like many in the restaurant industry, Fabian Bota began his career as a dishwasher. "It's very humbling," he said. But, "you can't do business with dirty dishes." After working his way out of the dish pit, Bota opened his first restaurant at the age of 19 and has gone on to open several more throughout North Carolina. Today he runs the Ruddy Duck Tavern in Morehead City, N.C. and counts J.W. Merrell Farm as one of his purveyors of local produce.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent labor shortage upended the restaurant industry around the country, Ruddy Duck Tavern has to deal with Mother Nature. Hurricane Florence dropped 30 inches of rain on southeast North Carolina in 2018 and the waterfront restaurant was completely flooded. "So we got we had a double double whammy here," Bota said.
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