When you hear the word “diner” what do you think? If you’re conjuring a bit of a greasy spoon, then you need to get to Bib Gourmand and MICHELIN Green Star White Lily Diner. Of course, you’ll need to get in line, since these days a group forms before they’ve even opened the doors. Chef Ben Denham and co-owner/wife Ashley Lloyd may be scratching their heads about that since they founded the restaurant because “we wanted something connected to this family-oriented area.” The two spent years in other restaurants but acquired the space for White Lily Diner before they knew what they wanted to create.
Before you dive into the duo's story, make sure to check out what our Inspectors said here.
“I joke that a lot of inspiration came from Waffle House,” says Ben, who stopped at the Southern chain while on a road trip to baseball diamonds. However, White Lily Diner is no Waffle House. Though classic breakfast is always on the menu, each little component is dialed in with handmade, locally sourced ingredients. And besides, how many Waffle Houses have their own farm?
Several years into running the restaurant, Denham and Lloyd decided to take the plunge on a long-time dream. “We always knew that one day we’d move out of the city, and then we had our young daughter and thought, ‘maybe now’s the time.’” They designed themselves out of the day-to-day of the restaurant and gave themselves a year to do organic farming on the former hobby horse farm. That was three seasons ago, and the farm is quite literally blooming. “We thought we’d grow for the restaurant, but we’re capable of producing so much more.”
Now, their farm supplies more than fifteen restaurants in addition to their own, with chefs responding to their products beyond their quality. “They love it because I view everything through a chef/restaurateur’s eyes. We understand their needs and wants, and not a lot of farms can do that,” explains Denham.
During a late August interview, the farm was producing 47 different items, including lemon verbena, Vietnamese coriander, purple daikon radishes, heirloom tomatoes and more.
The two are committed to sustainability, as well, eschewing even organic pesticides. Denham sees a lot of parallels between farming and the restaurant business. “I’ve spent 25 years in the restaurant business so I’m used to physical labor, but we spend 15 hours a day working on the farm,” he says. Hard work aside, he finds it rewarding. “It’s a very fulfilling business.”
New ideas grow each day, with the couple planting an orchard on the property that is expected to bear fruit in about two years.
In addition to running the farm, Ben is back in the kitchen as a full-time chef and Ashley is in several days a week, thanks to the attention they’ve received. “We opened this restaurant for people in the neighborhood. There’s a condo being built across the street and the guys building the elevators – that’s our customer. Now we have people who tell us they drove an hour and a half to come here,” laughs Ben.
No matter who fills the seats at White Lily Diner, Denham and Lloyd are happy to welcome them. “We’ve gotten to know so many people with this business,” says Lloyd. “We’re friends with so many of our regulars. I can’t think of another industry like that.”
Hero image: Pawelec Photo/White Lily Diner
