The Oak House, a craft beer, wine and coffee house in Elon, will celebrate 10 years as a business this fall with gratitude and festive celebrations.
“What we’re celebrating is how good this has been for everybody, not just us,” said Phil Smith, the founder and owner. “I just really want to thank everybody that made this happen, from the university to our founding staff, the people through the years that have helped us do better and the customers that come in here every single day.”
The celebrations will kick off Sept. 5, with a full day of activities dedicated to appreciating the community for its support over the past decade. The anniversary will feature live music and birthday cake, and for former staff members, a chance to reflect on the past.
“I was actually the first ever employee of the house,” said Peter Walpole, a former employee. “Phil was my boss, I was the student worker.”
The two met when Smith taught an entrepreneurship class at Elon University when Walpole was a sophomore. After Smith decided to change his career from higher education to opening The Oak House, Walpole followed suit in working at the location.
“I would wear my work shirt under my regular clothes to class every day, just in case they did need an extra set of hands, in case I got called in,” Walpole said.
Despite not working there anymore, Walpole continues to see the restaurant’s impact on the community.
“The Oak House is a rare establishment that represents something that’s sort of a resource and something that the town can be proud of, the school can be proud of and is for everyone,” Walpole said.
Smith highlighted the camaraderie that has defined the Oak House’s success. “We approach it as a team, not just employees but part of a team,” Smith said. “Ten years of good customers, 10 years of phenomenal staff, 10 years of community support. I just really want it to be about thanking them.”
Isabelle Anderson
Isabelle Anderson was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and currently lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A rising senior at Ronald W. Reagan High School, she discovered her love of digital media at a young age, entertaining family and friends with PowerPoint presentations, and has since shifted to Adobe apps, favoring Adobe Illustrator. She’s been a year-round swimmer for the YMCA since she was young and is a member of the Reagan varsity swim and dive team, specializing in butterfly. She has a fierce love for reading and is an avid book collector, which has inspired her love for creative writing and understanding how people interact with each other and the world around them. She also enjoys spending time with friends and listening to and creating music. Isabelle is interested in pursuing a career in marketing communications, but she has interests in many aspects of the communications field.
Emma Perman
Emma Perman was born and raised in Pittsburgh. She is a junior at PA Cyber Charter School with dual enrollment. Emma has written for her school paper, The PA Cyber Press, since freshman year, has written poetry and will be launching her own blog in the fall. Outside of writing, she has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award and is working on her Eagle Project. Her other extracurriculars include the National Honor Society, Global Education Club, Youth Ambassadors Club, Environmental Club and Musical Theater Club. Emma also has an extensive resume in the performing arts and works on the creative team with Youth Shakespeare Society of Pittsburgh. She advocates for children and students alike as a representative for Pennsylvania with the Moose Youth Awareness Program. Emma is ecstatic to learn more about journalism as a possible career path.
Jumana Alsaadoon
Jumana Alsaadoon was born in Damascus, Syria, and raised there until she was 9 before immigrating to Harrisonburg, Virginia. Now, she is a rising senior at Harrisonburg High School, where she is captain of the speech team, founder of an advocacy group called Girls Association and vice president of the Equity Student Association. Alsaadoon is passionate about international relations and journalism. During her junior year, she was the editor-in-chief of HHS Media’s website, which she redesigned and for which she reported on global and local issues, such as book banning, a paper genocide and protests. In her senior year, she will run the newspaper, website, broadcast and yearbook of her school’s publication. She plans on pursuing journalism in college.