Partner Spotlight: Bramwell adds more charm to Main Street

Last updated: May 31, 2023

Bramwell, West Virginia, is a charming small town marked with rich history and unique remnants of past fortunes. Add in its convenience and accessibility to the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System, and it is no surprise that the town draws in visitors of all sorts. And that many of those visitors become permanent residents. 

That rings true for Chad and Jessica Rush, owners of Honeycomb Cafe and MainStreet Suites, both located on Bramwell’s popular Main Street. 

The Rush family, originally from Charleston, South Carolina, began their search for a new place to move and invest in a few years ago. The delightful area as well as the ATV riding community drew them to Bramwell. 

The couple’s first Mercer County venture was MainStreet Suites. 

“We actually took over the property from the previous owner who had the suites in existence,” Jessica said. 

The original apartments were built by Jairus Collins, one of the original coal barons of Bramwell, when the Collins Building was constructed in 1923. The suites are located directly across Main Street from the Edward Cooper House, which was built in 1910. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. 

“At MainStreet Suites, we have four apartments in total, and they are surprisingly spacious considering the time period they were built,” Jessica said. 

Each apartment is two-bedroom, one-bath and has a full-size living room and kitchen, dining room, and the bathrooms include the original clawfoot tubs. Although the lavish history has been greatly preserved throughout the apartments, guests can also enjoy modern luxuries like high-speed Wi-Fi and Smart TVs. 

The Rush family’s contribution to the Mercer County business scene did not stop with vacation rentals, though. In August 2021, they opened their second joint endeavor in Bramwell – Honeycomb Cafe.

The Honeycomb Cafe is a coffee shop and bakery open for breakfast and lunch. But this isn’t the couple’s first leap into the restaurant business. They owned a small tea room cafe in South Carolina many years ago. 

“We have a professionally trained pastry chef, Heather, and she makes all of the pastries and helps with the menu,” Jessica said. 

The pastry case is stocked daily with a variety of sweet treats, made fresh from scratch. 

“We have rotating specials on the pastries and then we also have a rotating monthly special on our lunch menu,” Jessica said. 

Recent summer specials include carrot cake, strawberry shortcake and Reese’s peanut butter chocolate cake. Along with rotating specials during each season, the staple offerings are cinnamon rolls, pecan sticky buns, scones, cookies, danishes and breads, as well as fresh donuts every Saturday. With so many delicious treats on the menu, it’s hard to choose a favorite. 

“If it’s a sweet, one of my favorites is the French toast casserole. And if it’s savory, my favorite would be the pepperoni roll,” Jessica said. 

Upon moving to the area, the Rush family soon found out that the pepperoni roll is very popular with people in West Virginia. 

“We had heard about pepperoni rolls before and had tried different ones at various places, but we knew that we needed to put our own spin on ours,” Jessica said. 

In addition to pepperoni rolls, the savory options at Honeycomb Cafe are artisan sandwiches such as the ham and turkey club, deluxe grilled cheese, and B.L.T. 

Celebrate Honeycomb Cafe’s first anniversary in August with specials throughout the month. 

“Our first year of business was definitely a learning experience, but overall it was pretty good,” Jessica said. “April through October seems to be the busy season and it’s going well so far.”

Whether you are exploring the colorful town of Bramwell for the weekend or passing through on the Hatfield-McCoy Trails, you’ll be able to find a quick bite to eat at Honeycomb Cafe and a warm place to stay at MainStreet Suites.

“Because of the popularity of West Virginia and ATV riding, it seems like more people are discovering the area,” Jessica said. “And since local businesses are really into the hopeful growth of the state, it’s important to support the people that are looking to support Mercer County and West Virginia.”

Visit MainStreet Suite’s website to book a stay in the historic apartments. The Honeycomb Cafe is open Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Check out Honeycomb Cafe’s Facebook page for upcoming anniversary specials.