Restaurateurs return to Lewes with Honey's Farm Fresh

“Who says you can't go home?” – Jon Bon Jovi.

That's what Mark Grabowski and Jim Paslawski are doing as they take a second swing at Lewes with their new restaurant Honey's Farm Fresh. The restaurateurs previously owned and operated the Blue Plate in the same Savannah Road location.

“It was like coming home again,” Paslawski said. “We know all the neighbors. They all know us by name. It's the kind of place where you can borrow a cup of sugar if you need to. It's nice. It's very homey.”

The duo sold the Blue Plate in summer 2009 to the owners of Dos Locos in Rehoboth Beach who eventually changed the name to JD's Filling Station. At the time, they said, it gave them an opportunity to focus on their other restaurant – Finbar's Pub and Grill in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

“Before we sold to the guys from Dos Locos we had a lot of plans for this place,” Paslawski said. “We're kind of picking up where we left off, but adding a lot of new ideas.”

They will focus on staying local with ingredients procured from local farmers, farmers markets or even their own garden behind the restaurant.

“It's a great opportunity to work with the farmers hand-in-hand,” Paslawski said. “We have fresh fruit and produce all summer long here, which is phenomenal, but yet a lot of the places you go still have the hot house tomatoes in the middle of August.”

Paslawski said he doesn't understand why restaurants do that when folks are growing great tomatoes just down the block. It's easier to buy from the big provision companies, Grabowski said, but by doing so the quality suffers.

“It just works for them,” he said. “For us, we can run out on our days off or go up to Philly to get something.”

The search for good ingredients is energizing, Paslawski said.

“Sort of the fun part for me is shopping at the farmers market and bringing it back,” he said. “I enjoy doing that, and I enjoy meeting these people. Otherwise, it's sort of factory; you're ordering the product, cooking it and sending it out. This way it's a little more personal.”

During a recent trip to Philadelphia, Paslawski bought kielbasa from a local smokehouse. He brought it back to Lewes and used it to make a kielbasa reuben and a kielbasa omelet. Both items sold out fast.

“It was something different for everyone in here, so they snapped it up,” Paslawksi said.

Other changes will eventually include a grab-and-go bar with fresh juices, smoothies and quick to-go salads. The main menu will change with the season, he said.

With only about a week to prepare for re-opening in mid-September, Paslawski and Grabowski quickly repainted the interior and hung artwork to soften the industrial feel of the formerly garage-themed restaurant. Interior changes will continue over time, they said, as booths will be removed to make way for more traditional table-and-chair seating.

“We kept the place open for the customers,” Grabowski said. “We kept a lot of the good staff they had here before instead of just closing down and waiting for the season to reopen.”

Paslawski and Grabowski consider Honey's a family friendly, casual restaurant; a good option for folks who aren't looking for an over-priced fine dining experience.

“One thing good about this place is we're somewhere in between Dairy Queen and The Buttery,” Grabowski said.

Honey's is currently open for breakfast and lunch from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Monday. Dinner hours will be introduced in the spring, with the restaurant kicking into full gear by summer. The restaurant is at 329 Savannah Road in Lewes. For more information, call 302-644-8400.