Dan and Nell Heneghan, of Monkton, say they bought much more than a restaurant when they were the top bidders at last week's auction of the Wagon Wheel Restaurant on York Road in Hereford.

At the April 8 auction, the Heneghans paid $475,000 for the restaurant, equipment and adjacent house on a 1-acre parcel.

They plan to settle on the Hereford property in 60 days, and hope the restaurant can be relaunched this summer.

The parents of four girls believe they purchased an opportunity to provide healthy food and a comfortable atmosphere for people, particularly Hereford High School students.

"It's our desire to encourage a sense of community by providing nourishment on several levels," said Nell Heneghan. "We want to create a hospitable place that's all about fresh food."

About 40 people came to watch a piece of Hereford history go up for sale at the auction, but there were only two bidders.

"We sat in the restaurant before the auction and just prayed and prayed," said Nell, whose husband held onto a Bible during the bidding. "We see this as a sort of a ministry, in a way. We see that we can affect the community in a positive way."

The restaurant had been run by Betty Winner, whose parents started the business in 1949, until she sold it three years ago. It closed earlier this year and was put up for sale by owners Michael and Geraldine Forti. When it didn't sell, an auction was arranged.

The new restaurant will be called Soup'R Natural. For the past five years, Nell has sold homemade soups and salads under that name. She grows most of the ingredients and has a list of 25 soups. She also makes salads with homemade dressings.

Soups and salads will be the foundation of the offerings at Soup'R Natural, she said. The Heneghans say the restaurant will have a chalkboard menu where choices will depend on what's in season.

"If you want a burger and fries, you'll have to go somewhere else," Dan Heneghan said.

"Betty Winner did a wonderful job, but we don't want people to think this is the Wagon Wheel with a different name," he added. "It will be a totally different place. We want kids from Hereford High School, especially, to see there's a healthy option that tastes good."

Both Heneghans have restaurant experience. Nell was raised at the Tides Inn in Irvington, Va., which her grandfather built. After obtaining a business degree in hotel administration, she was restaurant manager at the Peach Tree Plaza in Atlanta.

"I was raised in an atmosphere of hospitality," she said.

Dan managed a restaurant in North Carolina's Outer Banks before he started Sales Spark, a sales and marketing consulting business.

As they plan for Soup'R Natural, the Heneghans don't yet know what combination of breakfast, lunch and dinner they will serve, or the restaurant's hours, though they say it will not be open on Sundays.

They say they also want to offer local farmers a place to hold weekly markets. (For details, e-mail nelleghan@aol.com). They want to buy ingredients from area farmers, too.

"Right now, we are just scattering some seeds and we'll have to wait and see how they grow," Nell said. "We feel blessed we're able to do this."

user comments (1)

user racingwife30 says...

I wish the Heneghan's the best of luck.It was great to read that resident's of the Herford Zone took over the place and that they have resturant background. I can not wait to visit the new place to eat.I love soup & salad! makes a great meal

Posted 5:20 PM, 04.20.09

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