Farm-to-table cafe coming to historic home on Conway Main Street

A farm-to-table restaurant in a historic Conway house is set to open in a little over a month.

The Shine Cafe, owned by local Leslie Wilson, will feature fresh food from local venders, live music and eventually morning yoga.

She said customers "are going to have handmade food like grandma used to make."

At its opening, Wilson said the Cafe will only serve dinner, but she hopes to offer lunch and breakfast after the first month. In addition, customers can expect entertainment from local musicians, including her own children who all play instruments.

Wilson will also serve as a chef. While she learned to cook in the family kitchen, she will be aided by a professionally trained chef.

"I was trained at my mom's elbow," she said.

All the food will be fresh, since due to the size of the house it will have limited space for long term storage. She will rely on what she can grow and regular deliveries from vendors, so the menu will feature rotating dishes.

Also there will be no deep fryer inside the house to keep away the fried food smell. Instead they will occasionally do outside frying. She said if there was a good delivery of fish, they would consider having an outdoor fish-fry.

The home itself, on Main Street in Conway, was designed by architect Lelia Ross Wilburn from Atlanta. Wilburn was one of the first women from Georgia to become a professional architect and is seen as pioneer of women in the industry.

The seating capacity is a modest 49 guest in its several dining rooms. Being in a historic house present some challenges, Wilson said, but the intimate space creates a dining experience like no other.

Wilson said opening a restaurant in an historic home has been a process five years. She got a special tax credit from the Horry County Board of Architectural Review, saving her thousands as she restored the historic house.

She presented the progress she made on the home restoration in a Tuesday meeting to the board. As before and after pictures of the house were shown to the committee, members were impressed at the transformation.

Vice-chair of the board Jamie Thompkins wants to use Wilson's work as an example of how the special tax credit can be used.

Before the Shine Cafe can open, an electrician will review the property and then Wilson will submit the Department of Health and Environmental Control application. The process will take about 30 to 45 days, she said.

In the meantime the Shine Cafe will be hiring employees, securing vendors and preparing to open once state inspectors give the thumbs up.

This story was originally published June 19, 2018 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Farm-to-table cafe coming to historic home on Conway Main Street."