With the sleet drizzling the world in crystals of ice this Tuesday, I could think of no better place to visit than Gray Jay Provisions, a newly-opened sandwich and soup eatery on Route 42. With warm food, atmosphere, and huggable mugs, visiting Gray Jay on a gray day was a perfect way to spend my lunch hour.
Michelle Gagnon, EMU alumni ‘97, and Seth Amsden recently opened this food niche in an old convenience store next to where they used to sell Christmas trees. Gray Jay Provisions they named it, after a mischievous northern gray bird that is “always ready to share a meal” and “stick[s] it out when the going gets tough,” according to their website. Both Gagnon and Amsden originally hail from northern climes in New England, bringing to their restaurant a tough-but-cozy vibe I have not found elsewhere in Harrisonburg.
This eatery found the balance between warmth and personal space, providing little nooks for intimate conversations, but leaving enough room that the experience is not claustrophobically cozy. With wood tones, yellow accents, various couches, and a wall of windows, the space invites you to sit and stay a while.
Gray Jay values community relationships, embracing a slow-food model menu. Options follow the seasons, sourced locally, and aim to “nourish both people and planet,” according to the website. Because of this, the menu might be different every time you visit.
“We don’t have a fast food philosophy. Everything Seth [Amsden] makes, he makes fresh, in-house,” Gagnon said. “We have a respect for food: where it comes from, the people who grow it, the land that it comes from.”
Gray Jay’s inpermanent menu is written on a large roll of recycled paper, which they can easily tear off and re-write whenever the menu changes.
I ordered a cup of lentil soup ($3.50), which came with a side of sourdough Amsden made fresh in-house, and a cup of coffee ($2). This was just enough food to satisfy my hunger — for food, but also for the soup-on-a-rainy-day experience. With steam carrying notes of ginger from the brown lentils swimming in a rich broth, I found love at first bite. The texture was spot-on, not too mushy or grainy, the ginger hinted but not absent. The sourdough impressed me with its golden crust and spongy gluten structure, subtle in the “sour” flavor of yeast cultures. The coffee came in a comfortable white mug on a saucer, perfect for hand-hugging. Locally sourced from Long Oak, the dark roast was woody and strong, robust and warm.
The portion size, white ceramic hardware, and the atmosphere of Gray Jay reminded me of my favorite cafe in Vienna, Austria. This should have been no surprise, as Gagnon lived in Austria for 10 years. “No, not at all. I guess Austria just comes out of me,” she said, after I asked her whether the style choices were on purpose.
While in Austria, Gagnon worked at a farmer’s market and did “a small stint on a farm” in Italy, where she began to realize the limitations of the food system in the United States. “I started realizing that, oh, people eat with the season. They don’t eat tomatoes in the winter,” she said. Gagnon described this moment as an awakening, a realization that better food systems exist.
In the United States food system, which is fueled by non-local non-seasonal food supplies, seasonal eating creates a challenge for restaurants like Gray Jay. But these owners have the gumption of the northern bird that inspired their name. “We are committed to procuring items that are produced in ways that are ecologically responsible,” the website says.
“I just think it’s a better way of life, to appreciate where the food comes from, to limit it to the season, which forces you to eat locally,” Gagnon said. “I think it’s a really great way to live life.”
Check out the Gray Jay way for yourself, open weekdays 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
