SHORE PERSPECTIVES Thanks To Community Support, Yuk-Yuk and Joe’s Will Be Reopening Soon

By Kelley Gaskill

For nearly a quarter of a century, Yuk-Yuk and Joe’s restaurant and bar has been the heart of Eastville where friends gathered, good food was enjoyed, stories were told and laughter echoed across the worn wooden floors. But when mandatory, costly sewage upgrades forced its doors shut in early April, many felt like it was the end of an era.

Kathy Peirson, known to everyone as Yuk-Yuk, refused to give up. She believed in her little restaurant and the people who had made it special. With unwavering faith, she agreed to start a GoFundMe campaign, pouring her hopes into the community that had always stood by her. And they answered: family, friends, neighbors, longtime patrons, travelers who had once shared a meal within those walls, even strangers chipped in. Every dollar was an encouragement to keep going, a vote of confidence from the community that wanted to see Yuk-Yuk and Joe’s rise again.

This week, Kelley visited with Yuk-Yuk as she shared that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel with reopening day in sight.

Much like the little engine that could, Yuk Yuk and Joe’s is making it up the hill with faith and perseverance, fueled by a community full of love behind it.