West Greenville restaurant incubator Hone held its grand opening Jan. 8.
“It’s just been a huge blessing to have all these people in the community come together and help us and give back to us and believe in our mission, what we’re trying to do,” said co-founder John Ko.
The nonprofit incubator, which opened in December, was founded by Ko and Dan Weidenbenner, Executive Director of Mill Village Ministries, who provides expertise in the nonprofit sector, while Ko has owned and operated several successful restaurant concepts, including Local Taco.
What’s in Hone?
Hone, located at 12 Lois Ave. in The Village of West Greenville, provides a platform for a rotating cohort of local restaurateurs to establish their concepts. We dropped into the grand opening night and were greeted by live music and wafts of breakfast burritos from Daylight Burrito, coffee, desserts, jerk chicken from the Tasti Plate and more.
While we were there, we had to try the jerk chicken. The dish is one of the offerings provided by The Tasti Plate, which is owned by Aquila Kentish. Entree options include curry goat, fried pork, oxtail, jerk salmon and lemon herb salmon, along with handhelds like jerk chicken sandwiches and curry salmon salad wraps.
The jerk chicken had a crispy fried layer with flavorful island rice and beans. Kentish served the dish with spicy pikliz, a Haitian slaw with a touch of heat. It created a bright contrast and textural variety between the crispy chicken and soft rice.
The space was designed by Katie Skoloff, founder of In Site Designs. Skoloff noted in her grand opening remarks that the artworks in the incubator are all for sale and created by artists including Griffin Cordell of Gallery 906, Joseph Bradley of Joseph Bradley Studio, and Janina Ellis of Ellis Gallery and Studio.
Current Hone residents are Coffee Coffee by Jeremiah Romo and Matt Patch; Daylight Burrito by Richie Mata’afa; The Tasti Plate by Kentish; and Muni Muni and LolaCeli by Michael Izzard.
