When you walk into Honey Joe Café, one of the first things you’ll notice is the eye-catching mural on the left wall. It reads “Be sweet. Stay strong,” in black cursive against a bright blue background. A smiling bumblebee flies above the words, it's flight path forming a heart. In the middle of the far wall behind the counter are two framed photographs of the café’s inspirations, Honey and Joe.
“Honey was my mom, Joe was my dad, and they both were amazing cooks,” says Kat Johnson, owner of Honey Joe Café alongside her husband Kevin Johnson. “My dad cooked professionally all my life.”
Now Kat is continuing the family tradition to rave reviews. Facebook, Yelp, and Google are all alight with the comments of customers complimenting the soul food on the Honey Joe Café menu. Their slogan “Where the eating is sweet!” is evident in offerings like the honey cornbread and sweet fried donuts. Special mention must be given to Honey Joe’s oxtails and macaroni for how often they are recommended by customers.
“I’ve had at least a meal a week since they’ve opened and I have never been disappointed,” one Google reviewer says. Another claims that the macaroni and cheese is good enough to “make you buy a futon and sleep in the lobby.”
“This is really a labor of love,” says Kat. “We’ve worked so hard, and a lot of people have worked hard with us.”
Nowhere was this hard work more evident than at Honey Joe’s ribbon cutting ceremony held in early September. Dozens of friends and family came out to support the event, congratulating Kat and helping set up. Following the ribbon cutting, walk-up guests quickly formed a line that stretched outside the building to get a taste of the great food on offer. It was immediately back to work for Kat, Kevin and staff.
“In the spirit of [Honey and Joe] we just want to serve good food with some love to people who are our friends and family, who will become our friends and family,” Kat said at the event.
“We look forward to serving good quality food in the City of Tucker,” Kevin added.
Honey Joe Café is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. They are closed Monday and Tuesday. Honey Joe Café is located at 4349 Lawrenceville Highway, Suite C.
