By Kevon Opsahl

A native of the Seattle area, James Maultsby grew up with Vashon-Maury Island close to his heart, hopping on the ferry to visit his aunt and grandmother.

He remembers the island’s food scene was strikingly different back then. The location of Camp Colvos was a video store. The Little House candy store was still in its prime.

“Things were a lot simpler and calmer then,” Maultsby said. “It was nice, but now I definitely appreciate all the new faces and foods,” including The Ruby Brink, O Sole Mio Pizza and Island Queen.

Now a 17-year-old island resident who is in an alternative learning program at Vashon Island High School, Maultsby hopes he can deliver all of those options — and more — to islanders with his new business, Island Eats.

But as his business gets up and running, Maultsby, and others who offer delivery service on the island, must grapple with a new reality: The coronavirus pandemic.

Since the U.S. outbreak began in January, COVID-19 has brought much of the island’s activity to a halt. People are working from home; entities, from churches to gymnasiums and recreational areas, are closed; and Gov. Jay Inslee suspended all bars and restaurants from offering dine-in service with the exception of delivery and take out.

Regardless of that caveat, Maultsby said it’s still having an impact on his business.

“A lot of restaurants have just closed down altogether, so when I do get a call, there is a high chance that the restaurant they want their food from is closed,” he wrote in an email to the newspaper. “If more restaurants advertised takeout, I’m sure I would get more business.”

Meanwhile, island couple Claudia and Kingsley Northcott, who operates the food delivery service Vashon Eats, said in a recent post on Facebook that their business has “received a wonderful amount of support since we started.”

“We are very grateful for everyone who has shown their support by ordering with us,” they said.

Maultsby made his pitch to islanders who might not feel comfortable having someone come to their home to deliver food.

“If for any reason you’re at a higher risk than me of getting infected … keep that social distancing and stay home as much as you can, that’s what I’m trying to put out there right now,” he said. “Stay home and let me bring you your food.”

He said that if he brings deliveries to people, he will wear a face mask and keep a constant supply of hand sanitizer. But Maultsby would still be communicating with customers and accepting payments by hand.

“I figure me being close to one person’s door is a lot safer than being in a crowded room full of people,” he said.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Maultsby said he is willing to expand his operations to not just deliver food; he’s happy to pick up prescriptions and drug orders, too.

“There are a lot of elderly people that are at high risk to the virus and they need prescriptions and I want them to get them,” he said. “Prescriptions are fairly easy to get, with a name.”

He said he has not received any orders to pick up prescriptions yet.

Maultsby said the idea to do food delivery came to him after concluding that some restaurants that offered the service did not have the same food quality as those that didn’t.

“I wanted people to have the option to get the order delivered,” he said.

Maultsby said based on what he’s read on social media, islanders like their food delivered — and seem receptive to using Island Eats.

“I’ve gotten lots of feedback … on Facebook, lots of responses and likes, people telling me how helpful this is and how often they would use it,” Maultsby said. “But it’s not really translating from feedback to customers. It’s odd.”

Maultsby said he likes to drive and finds joy in trying to find people’s houses to deliver orders. It’s actually one of the reasons he decided to start Island Eats.

“For me, driving isn’t really like work; it’s relaxing,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story has been edited to correctly state that Vashon Eats — which used to be the name of the delivery service by islander Salina Milstein — is now solely owned and operated by islanders Claudia and Kingsley Northcott, who started it in 2020. A story about the couple and the new Vashon Eats is forthcoming.