VERO BEACH — At 11:30 on the morning after Hurricane Irma’s rain and winds knocked the power out of much of Vero Beach, more than a dozen customers already were lined up in Wilke’s 14 Bones Barbecue parking lot along U.S. 1.
“Some of them, I’m sure, saw us setting up the smoker, but a lot of people expect us to be here,” Scot Wilke, the restaurant’s owner, said as the line continued to grow throughout the lunch hour. “We did this after the hurricanes in 2004, and we were out here again after Matthew hit last year.”
“Pretty much every time there’s a serious power outage, I get up in the morning, make a few calls and get things rolling,” he added. “People seem to appreciate what we’re doing.”
Wilke’s staff began taking cash-only, takeout orders at noon, and General Manager Brian Mock said he expected to continue serving until he ran out of daylight or food.
The restaurant lost power and sustained some damage during the storm, but with a borrowed generator to keep both the indoor smoker and walk-in freezer operating, Mock said he’d continue to cook until his supply was deleted.
“We can’t get a delivery truck here until tomorrow,” Mock said.
Using the food in stock, Mock, along with his cooks and crew, served up a to-go menu that included ribs, chicken, brisket, pork, turkey, sausage and wings, along with side items and sweet and unsweet tea.
Meanwhile, two maintenance workers repaired the damage to restaurant’s exterior, a landscape cleaned up the downed tree branches on the premises and Wilke’s friends volunteered to help keep the make-shift operation flowing.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Wilke said. “It’s the day after a hurricane, and I’ve got two cooks here, two maintenance guys, a few of the waitresses and even a yard guy. And most, if not all of them, just went through a night without power.”
“It’s going to be a tough day, but we’re open and people in the community are able to get a hot meal.”
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