For most of the last century, the building sat right on the Currituck Sound shore with a pair of crossed whalebones at the peak of its roof. It had three bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen with an attached porch, and a screened porch across the front. Outside were a guide's quarters and a boathouse. Today it sits on the edge of the pond at the south end of the Duck Waterfront Shops, and the espresso machine starts at 7 a.m. On Saturday, the Town of Duck is holding its first community gathering of the holiday season inside it.
The Only Hunt Club Duck Ever Built
According to the history Duck's Cottage keeps on its own site, the building started as the Powder Ridge Gun Club. A group of New York investors built it in 1921 because they kept coming to the area for the waterfowl hunting. It was the only hunt club ever built in Duck, and it is one of the oldest buildings in town.
The club didn't run itself. Lewis Scarborough, a village native and lifelong resident, managed it, and most of the hunting was done from battery rigs and shoal brush blinds out on the sound. So from its first decade the place belonged to Duck in two ways: outside money paid for it, and local people ran it.
The club passed into private hands in the 1940s and stayed a private home until 2001, when it was moved a few hundred feet east to where it stands now. Its last resident was 'Duck' Braithwaite. The shop's history recalls sunset cocktail hours that early comers to Duck spent with him and his wife, Betty, on "Duck's Porch." The building is still in the care of Duck and Betty's family.
The building has had three jobs: hunt club, family home, and now coffee shop and bookstore. For the last two, its porch has been a place where Duck gathers.
A Coffee Counter Since July 22, 2002
Childhood friends John Power and Allen LeHew opened the coffee shop and bookstore in the old club in 2002, and they brought in Jamie Anderson to manage the book side. In a 2024 profile in Outer Banks This Week, Jamie Hope Anderson-Silver gave the opening date as July 22, 2002. She now owns the business, which she bought from LeHew after managing the bookstore since the first day. The same profile says her businesses operate as Glass Half Full, LLC and that, by her estimate, they give about $4,000 to $7,000 a year to local organizations.
The shop's own account says that over twenty years it became Duck's most popular gathering spot, with coverage in the Washington Post, the New York Times and Our State magazine. The detail that matters more for a November visit is on its hours page. The shop aims to be open 363 days a year, "notwithstanding ice storms, hurricanes, global pandemics and staff shortages," and opens at 7 a.m. seven days a week. A banner on the site says it is currently closing at noon on Sundays, and the shop asks visitors to call 252-261-5510 to check that day's hours.
A business that plans to be open 363 days a year is one a town can build an off-season calendar around. The Cottage's schedule makes it a dependable venue through the winter.
The Book Side Was Already Holding Events
Before the Town put Duck's Cottage on its holiday calendar, the shop and the Town had already worked together. Anderson-Silver told Outer Banks This Week that she regularly organizes signings, talks and author events at her stores and at other Outer Banks venues.
Two of those events show how far the programming reaches:
- March 2025. The Town of Duck and Duck's Cottage co-presented an evening with former Duck mayor David K. Wessel, which included a discussion of his novel Choosing Sides, as the Outer Banks Voice reported.
- March 19, 2026. Duck's Cottage started A Novel Supper, a literary supper club that pairs discussion of a chosen book with a themed meal. The first one was held at the Sanderling, according to the Outer Banks Voice.
Both events were held in March, well outside the summer season. The bookshop already keeps a calendar for the months when Duck Road is quiet. This fall, the Town's own calendar runs through the same building.
Saturday, November 21: Common Grounds
The Town of Duck is inviting residents and visitors to Common Grounds: Brewing Connections, Building Community at Duck's Cottage, 1240 Duck Road. Here is what the Town's listing says:
- When: Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 2 to 5 p.m.
- Cost: free
- Coffee: complimentary
- Food: chili from Cravings, which the Town's listing calls Coastal Cravings
- Also: live music and raffle prizes
- Who you'll meet: members of the Duck Police Department and Duck Fire Department
The chili comes from just up the road. Cravings Steaks & Seafood is at 1209 Duck Road. Owners and chefs Scott Foster and Dan Lewis describe it as their third restaurant concept, now a full-service restaurant with a full bar and outdoor dining.
The Town describes the afternoon as a chance to meet the first responders who serve Duck, ask them questions and get to know your neighbors. It is holding that meeting in a building that has been a gathering place in Duck for decades.
Three Gatherings Between Now and December 5
Common Grounds is the first of three dates on Duck's late-fall calendar. The Cottage hosts the first and supplies the treats for the third. The second falls on one of the two days a year the shop is closed.
| Date | Event | Where | Time | Duck's Cottage's role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Common Grounds | Duck's Cottage, 1240 Duck Rd | 2 to 5 p.m. | Host |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Duck Turkey Trot 5K | Starts on Christopher Drive by Scarborough Faire | 9 a.m. | None listed |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Duck Yuletide Celebration | Duck Town Park | 3 to 5 p.m. | Treats, with the Town |
The Duck Turkey Trot 5K runs on Thanksgiving morning, November 26. The race starts on Christopher Drive by Scarborough Faire, and its listed address is 1117 Duck Road. Thanksgiving is one of the two days Duck's Cottage closes each year, along with Christmas, so the 363-day calendar has a gap that morning.
Nine days later the season's largest gathering moves to Town Park. TowneBank is presenting the Duck Yuletide Celebration on Saturday, December 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. The Town lists holiday music, family activities, a tree lighting and Santa's arrival, along with treats from the Town and from Duck's Cottage, Coffee & Books. Even when the town's main celebration moves to the park, some of the food comes from the old gun club.
Town Park Is Getting Ready Too
The Yuletide site is also getting work done. Construction on a new playground at Duck Town Park began Monday, November 2, on the site of the original playground. The Town's announcement lists four slides, climbing challenges, interactive play panels, a Frog Slide Puzzle, flower-themed activities, a butterfly life cycle panel and a Duck Springer. The original equipment, installed in 2007, is going to the Town of Manteo, where it will be reused.
Before You Go Saturday
- Common Grounds runs from 2 to 5 p.m., and the Town lists the coffee, chili, music and raffle as free.
- Look for the 1920s building at the edge of the pond on the south end of the Duck Waterfront Shops.
- The shop says it can't take drink orders over the phone, so you'll order at the counter.
- If you plan to stop by on a Sunday, remember the shop is currently closing at noon. Call 252-261-5510 to confirm that day's hours.
- The book side carries bestsellers, staff picks, new Outer Banks releases, children's and young adult titles, and coastal-themed puzzles.
At Jessica Evans, we follow Duck's off-season calendar as closely as its market, because those November and December weekends are what living here year-round looks like. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of the Waterfront Shops or Town Park and want to talk through what that stretch of Duck Road is like after Labor Day, schedule a consultation and we'll start with the places on this calendar.
