Honey Browns to Open in September

A taste of Savannah, Ga. is coming to Summit.

Honey Browns, a casual, comfort-food, BYOB restaurant will open September 20 by the MARE Restaurant Group, owners of Bona Vita Osteria.

The restaurant is taking over the space formerly occupied by Souffle at 7 Union Place.

Rocco Flores, manager at Bona Vita Osteria who is overseeing the construction of Honey Browns, said he's been looking to bring Honey Browns to Summit for more than a year.

But it wasn't until Tony Melchionna, who owns Salon 44 and other property in town, alerted Flores that Souffle was going out of business.

After looking at the property, Flores said they knew they would have to gut the entire property. When they begin tearing down the sheetrock, Flores discovered something behind the wall: another brick wall set back 10 inches and what used to be windows that looked out onto the Summit Diner. These architectural features will remain covered but will be worked into the design of the restaurant, sporting blackboards with special items.

The restaurant will have the warmth of a southern living room, Flores said, with rough stone walls, vintage circa 1854 shutters from a Savannah, Ga. home, an open air kitchen, vintage ceiling fans, vintage nine inch barn plank flooring and a new open store-front with French doors that allow for open air and outside dining.

"Our spin on food in general are more comforting things," Flores said. "We love Savannah."

Chef Adele DiBiase, Flores wife and the pastry chef at Bona Vita Osteria, will serve as executive chef at Honey Browns.

While DiBiase's Italian grandmother taught her everything she knows about Italian cooking, she also learned how to cook home-style, American comfort food.

"Adele's grandmother would imitate what her girlfriends would make," Flores said.

DiBiase, also known as The Queen of Comfort, and Bona Vita executive chef Marc Bruzzio came up with the menu for Honey Brown, which will feature items like baked macaroni and cheese, baked chicken and honey cheddar waffles, deviled eggs, low fat turkey meatloaf and bacon wrapped meatloaf with sweet mashed potatoes and BBQ short ribs.

"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel," Flores said. "But we'll put our spin on it."

Flores also said the restaurant will feature breakfast and lunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., specialty drinks by Master Mixologist Ernesto Santorelli, such as "Amos and Andy," "Mommy's Little Helper," and "Fluff N Nutter."

There will also be a custom salad bar and health conscious shakes available.

Dessert items will include coconut cream pie, apple pie, red velvet cake and cupcakes.

"There's no place you can go to for everything. There's no gathering place," Flores said. "That's what we want Honey Browns to be. That's what we think it's going to be."

With the extensive renovations, one might think the permitting process and construction would take much longer than it is. But Flores says that is part of what Melchionna and he wanted to show other merchants.

"We wanted to highlight that two semi-successful business owners can fill some of these voids," Flores said, highlighting that they worked very closely with Construction Official Gary Lewis and Director of the Department of Community Services Beth Kinney throughout the permitting process.

"We're right on schedule," he said.

Flores said he is excited to open near the corner of Summit Avenue and Union Place because of the high volume of foot and automobile traffic. And, Honey Brown will feature a lot of outdoor seating in front of the restaurant.

And other than DiBiase and one server, no one is leaving Bona Vita for Honey Browns.

"That's one of the most popular questions I get: what's the menu, when's it opening and who's leaving BV," Flores said. "It's been fantastic though."

Flores also said that Honey Browns will be more affordable than Bona Vita.

"People need different places and different scenes to keep things fresh," he said. "The city should have niches. It's all about offering an exciting variety of entertainment experiences. Nobody wants to go to the same spots over and over again."