- April 26, 2024
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Ted Barnhill shows off the top deck at Barnhill's Cafe. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Barnhill's Cafe, Bar and Grille has an elevator leading up to the top deck. Courtesy photo
Server Karen Stile takes an order from Monica Necula and Sam Ofileanu at Barnhill's Cafe. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Joshua Elias, who works at GOLA and Barnhill's Cafe with his aunt, Kelly Hornsby-Dyer, the restaurant's manager. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Marge Barnhill says artwork from the Gallery of Local Art next door will be on display and on sale at Barnhill's Cafe. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Malissa Kitchens at the bar at Barhnill's Cafe, Bar and Grille. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mary Frandsen enjoys lunch with her husband, Cleon, at Barhnill's Cafe on Saturday, Jan. 27. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Barnhill’s Cafe, Bar and Grille has been in the works for some time, owner Ted Barnhill says.
“We've talked about this for at least a minimum of 12 or 13 years,” he said. The two-story restaurant at 202 Central Ave., in Flagler Beach, had a soft opening on Jan. 19.
One of the impetuses was the city’s parking pool formula that provides parking exceptions for new development, but the overriding motivation, he said, was to provide a fine dining experience in the center of town.
“We've always thought that a nice restaurant that offers an upscale environment in the center of Flagler Beach was a very good use for this particular spot,” said Barnhill, who owns many properties and businesses in the Flagler Beach area. His wife, Marge, runs the Gallery of Local Art next store. GOLA has artwork on display featuring about 80 artists.
We've got beautiful woodwork inside, beautiful bars and an upstairs deck that has tremendous views of the ocean and of Veterans Park,”
— TED BARNHILL
“We've got beautiful woodwork inside,” Barnhill said of the cafe. "Beautiful bars and an upstairs deck that has tremendous views of the ocean and of Veterans Park.”
The building, he said, was originally a 100-year-old house, which Barnhill refurbished and expanded. The kitchen area was once Kokomo’s Cafe. They’ve been working on the project for four years, he said.
Barnhill’s has seating for 195 indoors and outside on the main and upper decks. For now, the restaurant serves breakfast and lunch, featuring a complete breakfast menu, sweet and savory crepes, crab cakes, smash burgers, sandwiches and salads.
“Barnhill’s smash burger is one of our top sellers,” said Manager Kelly Hornsby-Dyer. “Everybody loves it.”
Eventually, they want to add a dinner menu featuring steak and seafood.
Barnhill said when they were in the planning stages they decided they wanted to offer great coffee, breakfast items and the best crabcakes in the area.
“After living in Washington, D.C. and visiting Baltimore many, many times — I still have a daughter who's a professor at Johns Hopkins — we're very fond of Baltimore crab cakes, and we produced one of the best if not the best crabcake in Flagler County,” he said.
Marge Barnhill said the walls of the spacious restaurant will feature a rotation of the gallery's artwork, which will be on sale.
Ted Barnhill, 77, was born in Jacksonville and raised in Nashville. But his aunt, Edna Kendall, had a house in on A1A and North Third Street in Flagler Beach, and growing up, Barnhill spent his summers there.
Barnhill loves Flagler Beach and wants his new restaurant to be a focal point of the community. So far, the reviews have been good.
“We’ve been busy, and it’s been great,” Hornsby-Dyer said. “We’re so glad to see locals and out-of-towners.”
For information go to barnhills.com.
