Farmhouse Kitchen
New Brunswick Forest Restaurant Delights
Only open since March, the Farmhouse Kitchen in the Villages at Brunswick Forest has already developed quite the following. By offering breakfast all day every day and lunch on weekdays, the restaurant fills a niche for the Leland community.
Owners Tom and Josephine Tilley came from different career backgrounds but had been thinking about opening a restaurant for several years. “Having lived here for 15 years, and spoken with a lot of people here,” says Tom, “we felt Leland really needed its own breakfast place. I had worked for the past 25 years in enterprise sales for cybersecurity software. I was feeling a little burned out, and was looking for the next thing, a change of pace. My wife said, ‘well if you want to try this, we need to do it now.’ I started talking with the people here and they offered us the space. So, I talked with my wife, and about ten minutes later I resigned and started planning for the restaurant.”
In their planning, Tom and Josephine brought different but complementary skills to the venture. “The farmhouse concept was really my wife’s inspiration,” says Tom. “She loves that type of design and simple black and white décor. My interests are more on the business side. We make a good team.”
Although Tilley grew up in New York with family members who owned bars and restaurants, he was never really involved in those businesses. But he was drawn to the idea of owning his own place one day. He also knew that he and his wife would need to reach out to others to learn the business. They got the necessary certifications from the NC Health Department and took advantage of US Foods’ test kitchen and their executive chefs to develop the Farmhouse menu.
The results have been great. “Everything on the menu works really well, says Tilley. “We started with a basic menu for these first few months; we wanted to elicit input from the community to see what else we might add over time.”
Breakfast is available all day, from 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Favorites include the omelets – classic, western and veggie – and the signature Farmhouse Breakfast, featuring two cage-free eggs, potatoes, and meat choice with pancakes or French toast. The breakfast bowl is a mix of egg, cheese and grits, with options for bacon, sausage or ham. And the unique avocado toast with one egg is gaining lots of fans.
Lunch is offered on weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tilley describes their approach. “Given the demographics in our community, we wanted to offer a good soup and salad option, with a number of sandwich staples like the club, BLT and Reuben. We also do a Philly with either chicken or steak, and everybody’s favorite – burgers.” Though lunch is not yet available on the weekend because, as Tilley says, “we’re too busy,” the restaurant’s patrons for breakfast-all-day can also enjoy Bloody Marys and mimosas with their meals.
As they learn from their customers’ preferences, the menu will be expanded. “We’re in the process of redoing the menu,” Tilley relates. “It probably will not change significantly because there’s not really anything we want to take out. We’re going to add a couple of other breakfast options, maybe another sandwich and salad as well. We’ll also switch it up each week with a different special.”
Tilley credits much of the Farmhouse’s success to his 17 employees. “They are a great group of people,” he says. “We are extremely fortunate to have found them.” And the community’s support continues to grow. If you haven’t discovered it yet, you need to make a beeline to the Farmhouse Kitchen, enjoy a quality meal and kick off your day with your neighbors.
Farmhouse Kitchen
Villages at Brunswick Forest
1120 E. Cutlar Crossing
Leland, NC
910-408-1676
Open 7 days a week
11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
The Farmhouse is conveniently located in the Villages at Brunswick Forest. Dine in, eat outside on the patio or carry out.
