US

“I remember the first day we opened our restaurant.  It was Feb. 21st, 2002 in a small town south of Raleigh, NC.  I was sixteen years old and was excited about the entire process.  I remember tying my waitress apron on, pulling up my hair and listening to Daddy give us all a pep talk.  We were minutes away from opening the doors to the public for the very first time.  Strangers and friends were about to sit at our dining room tables and witness exactly what our mom had been feeding us since we were babies.  From juicy layered burgers to piled high pasta dishes, our mom has the ability to stop someone in their tracks!  It’s her superpower.  With one bite she can silence an entire table.  Our adventure started on that day.  Little did we know that the journey would bring us this far.  We, as a family, have shared our lives and our passion for food and family with over 500,000 people and we couldn’t be more grateful.”- Kaitlin

” It’s not just a job.  Nor is it just a restaurant.  The Gypsy Joynt is our home.  It’s where we eat three meals a day, it’s where we raise our children, it’s our music venue, our conference room, our school house, our office, our runway.  The Gypsy Joynt is a collaboration of  ideas and creativity that runs through my family and is eventually scattered throughout the premises.  Every move we make, we make together…and we do it at the Gypsy Joynt.’ - Jordan

” People come into the cafe all of the time, stop at the door and just stare. It’s fun to watch.  We never know what they are thinking but we could definitely imagine! 95% of them decide to proceed to the menus but there are a handful of people who don’t get us.  And that’s totally fine.  We aren’t your typical restaurant.  We have said many times that we are our own kind of wonderland.  We stand strong in everything we do.  We like keeping people curious.  From the decorations hanging all over, the potent smell of cinnamon rolls lingering by the front door, to the jingling sound of our many accessories as we carry your food to you… there is always something to grab your attention.  It’s kind of like dinner and a show, even when there’s no one on our stage.” – Merry

” I never would have imagined my life turning out this way.  At first the Weller family was a bit intimidating to me.  I had spent over 6 years in the U.S. Air Force living by the book.  When I married Kaitlin my life did a complete 180!  The Weller’s don’t do anything by the book.  They literally take the restaurant by the horns and demand the attention that they very well deserve.  I’m proud to be a part of such a wonderful family and such a magical experiment!  There aren’t many people who get the opportunity to work with their family.  I enjoy every bit of it.  I have been transformed and I’ve never eaten so well!” – Ryan

Tell the Weller family that something isn’t possible and they will, in time, make it happen. ” Sept. 2009 we were evacuated from our building.  We had a very successful business going in a small town in NC.  People were coming from all over to witness our mother’s creations, to hear our brother perform, to inhale my desserts and more importantly to watch us operate as a family.  We were at the peak of our business, so we thought.  And things couldn’t be making us any happier.  In early Sept. we decided to apply for a beer & wine license in hopes of serving drinks to our dinner/music crowd. In mid-Sept. our landlord let us know we weren’t welcome any longer and that we needed to take our new “alcohol idea” somewhere else.  We spent the next two weeks searching for nearby restaurant locations. Nothing seemed to fit.  We made phone calls, set up appointments, negotiated and eventually decided as a family to go north. We naturally chose Great Barrington, MA.  It had been our vacation spot, our place to escape to for many years.  It was an easy decision.  In early Oct. the boys flew up and scoped out the area.  To make a long story short…they found a place!  On October 31st, 2009 we started what we called ” a very gypsy move”. We loaded up three households and a restaurant and, like a caravan, drove out of the small town.  Not only were we grateful for the support we had from our customers but we were also anxious for what was ahead. A sense of freedom.  With $40,000 in a zip lock bag and twelve mouths to feed we began setting up shop and nestling into our new town.  We were given the run around by town officials and dealing with residential landlords for the first time in a long time and by the end of November we were out of money.  During one of the worst times of the economy we decided to move to a different state, open another restaurant and try to start all over.  We were back at the bottom!   After being told that it would take at least six months to open, on Dec. 10th 2009 we had no choice but to fire up the oven and turn on the music.  We were broke and ready to get started.  We pulled together everything we had and made it happen.  The paint on the walls was still fresh and the “order here” sign was being hung when our dad finally unlocked the doors.  For the first two weeks we sat at the tables in the windows to make people believe that we had customers.  We did everything we could to persuade our new towns people to enter our little restaurant and take a bite out of the magic.  We gave it our all and one-by-one our seats started filing up, we were adding more tables and we were allowed to relax a little.  We have fallen in love with Great Barrington and consider it or home. We are called the “Gypsy Joynt” because of our crazy “gypsy” move.  The move that made us stronger.  We can do anything when we stick together.” -Kaitlin

Remember, we as a family, cook here & eat here.