The Gilbert House

I drove to Gilbert for my first in-person interview of my internship with Phoenix New Times. After parking I walked around to the front to take some pictures. It was much smaller than I was expecting. The white paint, surprisingly crisp, and the green trim, quite charming. It was busy when I arrived around noon with people sitting under the misters on the patio. Plates piled high with pancakes, benedicts,  and scrambles. The building itself is an antique, speaking in the squeak of the door, the sharp crack of the floorboards. Caitlin Erickson, (the new owner of the breakfast and lunch spot) comes out, clearly a working woman. In a dirty shirt, she's sweaty and flush, but eager to speak with me.

Caitlin clears a table while laughing with customers eating at an adjacent table. Daverman, August 30, 2025

She flashes a brightest smile to a server who trained her back in the day. A guest calls to her as they are leaving, saying she'll see Caitlin soon. The exchange is light and easy, Caitlin tells me she just catered for the woman's wedding, and the family feelling of this place becomes absolutely undeniable. Caitlin is the second woman in her family to own and operate the Gilbert House.

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