From tragedy to triumph and back? Mama T’s Country Kitchen in Rutland began life as a barbecue pit feeding aid workers in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene. It opened as a restaurant on South Main Street at the end of 2011. Slightly more than a year later, it has closed.

On January 10, co-owner Theresa House, known as Mama T, posted on Facebook that that day would be the restaurant’s last. “Nobody was coming in,” House tells Seven Days. “I just don’t understand. Every report I got from people coming in was that my food was wonderful, but no one was coming in to eat.”

House says that, right now, she has no plans to open a new restaurant or do barbecue catering. However, the woman who once told Seven Days it was her dream to feed people says she might consider cooking in other Rutland kitchens, given the right offer. Here’s hoping for a new place to sup on Mama’s finger-licking ribs.

— A.L.

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The Stowe foodscape gained a quirky new addition when Vermont’s Amazing House of Jerky, the state’s first location of the House of Jerky chain, opened at 100 Mountain Road over the weekend, marked by a stately wooden sign.

The House of Jerky franchise counts 19 stores nationwide and doesn’t limit itself to beef jerky — pineapple, turkey, salmon, venison, alligator and kangaroo are all on offer, too.

— C.H.