Honey’s Place gives sweet glimpse of old days
Far out in Bexar County, between Martinez and China Grove, is a spot called Honey’s Place, where no one is a stranger and good times are in large supply.
Owned by La Rita “Honey” Brown, it’s a throwback to oldschool nightclubs, such as the legendary Eastwood Country Club, where integrated crowds gathered in the 1950s and ’60s on St. Hedwig Road some 12 miles away.
A popular place for special events, birthday bashes and the occasional wedding, Honey’s sells food, beer, wine and soda; if a customer’s choice is liquor, they can bring their own. It’s open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
“It’s a lot more modern than the old juke joints,” Brown, 49, said. “The feel is still the same.”
The disc jockey plays what the patrons call “grown folks’ music,” from the soothing rhythms of India.Arie to the sweat-stained blues of Marvin Sease. Men in cowboy hats, fedoras, and baseball caps sidle up to well-coiffed women dressed in outfits that sparkle and shine.
In the pre-COVID era, pulsing lights glowed in the dimly lit space and lively conversation muffled the crack of spinning billiard balls. Regulars sat at an outside spot called “The Bee Hive,” smoking cigars, drinking and laughing.
On Saturdays, the corrugated steel and wood building would be packed to capacity, and servers had to turn people away. On Sundays, the club converted to a restaurant serving soul food Brown cooked in her food truck, called Honey’s Kitchen.
Because of the pandemic, the club now operates more as a diner. Tables are set up outside where customers are masked and practice social distancing — as best they can — through the night.
Located at 7119 Joe Louis Drive, it’s tucked into an area still defined by customs of the African Americans who settled there more than 100 years ago. They owned farms and raised horses, and descendants still know roping and other stockman skills, For decades, generations of youngsters rode donkeys, horses and cattle on land owned by a man locals called “Mr. Chicken.”
Long gone are other ice houses and night spots that marked a social ease in which older folks would sit outside and wave to passersby. Rusted tractors rest beyond pastures maintained with 21st century riding mowers. Brown’s relatives lived out here, and memories of the laid-back, friendly atmosphere led her to open the club two years ago.
“I opened for the history and to support Black businesses, and upgrade the standard of what people expected,” Brown said.
The road, named for the famous Black heavyweight boxer of the 1930s and ’40s, is “literally where the whole culture of San Antonio changes from city to country,” she said.
The location was once a mechanics shop, and it took Brown more than a year to convert it, and to clear five acres with help from friends and family. She installed air conditioning and heating, brought in furniture and installed rustic columns from timber cut on the property.
She sells $11 dinners on Soul Food Sundays, arriving early to prepare dishes such as smothered pork chops, stewed turkey wings, neck bones, fried fish and chicken. Accompanying sides include macaroni and cheese, candied yams, dressing, greens, cabbage, Cajun rice and corn.
“She does a good service for the community,” said Earlie Satterwhite, 73, a frequent visitor. “It all comes together.”
A 1989 John Jay High graduate, Brown grew up on the West Side with her mother Frances Perryman Brown. Her father, Wilmer Brown, taught her to cook, a skill that enabled her, as a single mother, to generate extra income to help her two older children pay college tuition.
In 1993 she became enchanted by the nickname of a woman who took her under her wing when her mother died. Brown recalled the woman telling her, “you would be a good ‘Honey,’ ” a term of endearment from her grandchildren.
Brown started selling food plates and saved $2,500 to buy her first food truck eight years ago. She moved up to small events, and a bigger truck three years later. It was a financial gamble and she decided buying land was more of a sure thing.
Her vision is to move from weekend ventures and take the venture full-time. She’ll have plenty of help.
Among several family members and neighbors who back her at the club is Robert Shaw, who owns Lightning’s Arena across the road. And there’s Allen Eugene Banks, who runs Allen’s Golden Corral that offers horseback riding and lessons. Before Brown arrives from her day job, the pair start readying things for the evening.
Banks, 60, works the door on club nights, collecting tickets, making sure folks are dressed correctly and everyone has a mask (if not, there’s no entry.)
“She’s like my little sister,” he said of Brown. “I love her to death.”
In February, Brown plans to continue the area’s tradition of celebrating forebears by honoring her late mother, who died of lupus. She plans to start a nonprofit called Frances’ Legacy Lives, which will host a twoday fundraiser, “A Taste of the Country,” featuring a trail ride, dancing and Black-owned vendor booths.
Brown said a portion of the proceeds would go toward the Lupus Foundation.
As durable as the country way of life has been, change is on the way. The area is flourishing with new neighborhoods and large companies alike. When the city is fully arrived, “I want to make sure I’m a staple, and provide a feel of the old times,” Brown said.