It was my first time visiting South Royalton, Vermont. My friend drove me around the town and we were returning from Cockadoodle Pizza Cafe in Bethel. As we rounded the corner heading back into South Royalton on Route 14, I saw Eaton’s Sugarhouse’s rustic exterior wood slats for the first time as he spoke about the history of the location. I had him slow down so I could get a snapshot from the car window. Had I realized the significance that this location had then and would have had to a lot of people later down the road of time, I would have gotten out of the vehicle to take a proper picture from the front of this quaint restaurant.

I wanted to eat there long ago in 2015 when I hadn’t discovered my gluten intolerance. I visited the town in 2019 but by then I had discovered that I could no longer eat gluten so I missed the opportunity to visit the place because of my new food limits. Not many months after returning home, someone messaged me that the restaurant had burned to the ground in a suspicious fire. At that time I quickly posted a smaller version of this photo edited on my phone. Another South Royalton friend asked me earlier today if I had this photograph available to purchase as a print. That’s why I’m sharing my story and dug into my archives to find the original high resolution image. There are plans to possibly rebuild it and hopefully I can drop in when it’s completed to find a gluten-free selection on their menu and maybe even take pictures of the reconstructed restaurant.

Eaton’s Sugarhouse—South Royalton VT