National honor caught Kelley Farm Kitchen in Harpers Ferry by surprise.
When is a good thing potentially too much of a good thing? Maybe when you’re a small vegan cafe with a small staff in a small West Virginia town and Yelp delivers some very not-small news: that your little place called Kelley Farm Kitchen in Harpers Ferry has just been named the No. 1 place to eat. In the country.
When that happened back in 2021, the seemingly good news threw owner Ben Kelley for a loop.
“Honestly, we were petrified!” he says, able to laugh about it now. “I mean, it was pretty neat, man, but we were kind of taken aback at first. We’re this tiny place in Harpers Ferry, and we’ve got COVID-19 going on, and we can’t even let people inside our restaurant. And they name us No. 1 in the U.S.? It was crazy.”
So crazy, in fact, that he thought about simply “not accepting” the award.
“I just wasn’t sure we could handle it,” says Kelley, who had worked in sales for 16 years and had no restaurant experience until opening Kelley Farm Kitchen. “But my business partner at the time convinced me otherwise. She said, ‘We have to do this. We just do.’ And we had a steady stream of new folks coming in for months after that.”
What those new fans discovered was West Virginia’s first 100% vegan restaurant that wasn’t like any other vegan place they might have seen.
“I had been vegan for about seven years, and working that grind in sales just didn’t line up with my ethics anymore. So when this space became available, I just had this moment when I decided I wanted to serve vegan food in Harpers Ferry,” Kelley says. “I knew it might be a long shot to make a go of it, but we were tremendously successful from day one. People really embraced our concept. It was pretty magical the way it all happened.”
At Kelley Farm Kitchen, Kelley says they want to “veganize” their favorite foods. That means hearty burgers, juicy brats, stuffed sandwiches, cheesy nachos, flavorful ramens, and other mouthwatering options—all made with high-quality meat and dairy substitutes that truly mimic the “real” ingredients they replace.
Does it work? You bet. People often ask if they’re sure there is no meat, cheese, or dairy in the food placed in front of them. Kelley says the burgers and ramen bowls are most popular, but his personal favorite is the Italian sub: a warm toasted hoagie roll piled high with veggie bologna, salami, and ham, topped with shredded lettuce and sliced provolone, tomatoes, pepperoncini, red onions, pickles, all accented with a slather of mayo and a splash of red wine vinaigrette.
“It took us a while, but we really dialed in the bread and all of the meat substitutions on that one. I could seriously eat a hundred of them a week. That and our weekly specials, which we really try to keep hip and fun.”
As for the restaurant’s future, Kelley says the plan is to keep on keepin’ on.
“We opened this place in 45 days and only had $7 left to our name when we did. We bought some flowers from Aldi to put on the table and hoped for the best. Even my dad said we were crazy, but guess what? People came pouring in. I’m always looking for ways to make the place a little cuter, but otherwise I want to keep it just the way it is. I’m not going to change a thing.”
1112 West Washington Street, Harpers Ferry, kelleyfarmkitchen.com, @kelleyfarmkitchen on FB
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM WV LIVING’S FALL 2024 ISSUE
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