Honey's Bar and Grill joins Terre Haute Brewing Co.

David Kronke, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
·3 min read

Jul. 26—The Terre Haute Brewing Company has had an up-and-down relationship in recent days with food — last year's attempt at service was particularly short-lived.

Things have changed.

Honey's Bar and Grill has taken up residence within the brewpub, offering burgers, chicken and fish sandwiches, specialty potato appetizers and Honey's Beer Mac & Cheese.

Dale McCue, owner of Honey's Bar and Grill, calls the arrangement a "partnership" with the brewery that has been humming along since April.

He's been around the restaurant business most of his life, growing up in a Texas family that owned a number of Sonic restaurant franchises and bought the one on Indiana 46 when it moved to Terre Haute in 2011.

McCue consulted for California restaurants for a couple of years before returning to the Midwest.

"When I came back from California, I was looking for an opportunity and these guys were looking for food to be put here in the Terre Haute Brewing Company," he said. "I've looked at brewpub concepts in the past, so this is perfect — my stars are aligning."

And a love affair began anew.

"I just kind of missed the whole restaurant business," he said. "I re-fell in love with the whole process — delivering a product to somebody that puts a smile on their face, bringing a product to them that they can only get at that one location."

Earlier, McCue had worked at the Texas Roadhouse, where he met his chef, Spencer Ooley-Viray, and they worked together at the Country Club of Terre Haute.

"That's when I knew his quality and his drive and his passion," he said. "I reached out to him [regarding Honey's] and said, 'Can we do this?' and he said, 'We can absolutely do this.'"

In compiling their menu, McCue and Ooley-Viray started with potato appetizers.

"Potatoes and beer — what's better than that?" McCue asked rhetorically.

One of those potato dishes is a variation on the French-Canadian dish poutine, with tater tots sitting subbing in for French fries.

"The S'Poutine twist is Chef Spencer, so that's the 'S'Pou,'" McCue explained. "We wanted to do it a little differently, so it's with the tater tots. We put the shredded cheese curds on there and we don't melt it. We send it out with the gravy boat and then pour the gravy at the table so it melts in and is outstanding."

Honey's chicken wings seem to have overtaken those potatoes in popularity, however.

"Wings have kind of become our claim to fame," McCue said. "Everybody says they're the best in town."

Honey's announces its weekly chef's specials on social media under the moniker Honey's at THBC, though McCue aims to have his patrons consider every dish special.

"Whenever you go somewhere and pay a particular amount of money, say $20, and you know you're going to get that return on investment and feel good about it," he said. "Customers hate when they go somewhere and spend $20 and feel that they only got $10 in value."

Terre Haute Brewing Company and Honey's Bar and Grill are open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

They will sponsor a school supply drop off event Friday beginning at 5 p.m., with Donovan Bedwell and Joshua Ray Tryon performing throughout the evening.

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.