One of the original founders of the popular all-day brunch restaurant chain Milk & Honey is back with a twist on the brand she created more than six years ago. The Real Milk & Honey Market and Pancake Factory from owner Monique Rose opened in Camp Springs earlier this month.

Rose started the Milk & Honey brand in 2016 with Chef Sammy Davis. It quickly amassed loyal followers, adding locations around the D.C. area and one in Atlanta, not to mention a now-shuttered seafood spot in Brightwood. In 2019, Rose signed on to bring Milk & Honey to Restaurant Row Apollo, a new restaurant and retail complex in Prince George’s County designed to bring a variety of high quality food options across the street from the new United States Citizenship and Immigrant Service building.

Then the pandemic hit, pushing back the opening of that Camp Springs restaurant by what would turn out to be years. In the meantime, the restaurant company struggled with the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting a big pivot. Rose and Davis were already licensing their brand to Reston food-service giant Thompson Hospitality, and when Thompson offered to buy most of the Milk & Honey business, the restaurateurs took the offer. (Thompson is the largest Black-owned food service and facilities management company in the country, providing food services at institutions like colleges and airports. It also owns restaurant chains such as matchbox, Hen Quarter and others.)

Davis and Rose have since parted ways with each other, but Rose forged ahead with the Camp Springs lease, and opened The Real Milk & Honey Market and Pancake Factory in late May.

“Yeah a lot of people are saying, ‘Well, The Real Milk & Honey, is that because the others are fake?’ No it’s just that I think there’s an advantage to having someone that was an original founder and owner of the first Milk Honey,” Rose said in an interview. “A lot of people remember the Beltsville location. They loved it, they loved the food. This kind of takes it back to the roots and what we were doing when we were in the 40-seat cafe, even though we’re in a larger place.”

And it is large — the biggest of all their previous ventures. The Real Milk & Honey Market and Pancake Factory is about 6,000 square feet, including approximately 1,800 square feet of patio space, nearly as much private event space, a full bar and a small market selling goods from local vendors, many who are women or people of color.

The restaurant is on the second floor of the building, but on a recent Sunday you could hear chatter and music all the way from the first floor. The bar was completely occupied and the rest of the restaurant was almost full. People talked and laughed loudly over old-school R&B playing from the speakers. Rose herself was hostessing. She bustled around, taking down a family’s name and getting them settled next to a group of girlfriends also waiting for a table, before darting off to the back to help her staff.

The Real Milk & Honey Market and Pancake Factory’s menu features large plates of longtime favorites such as like shrimp and grits — so popular that they make up 20% of the restaurant’s revenue, Rose says — deep fried lobster tail, jerk lamb lollipops, salmon hash, extravagant milkshakes and of course, pancakes. And that’s just the all-day brunch fare; other items include pasta, burgers, and sandwiches.

The portions are generous — Rose gifted this writer a few dishes, including the salmon hash and the lobster tail — and there was plenty left over. Prices range from $12 for the pancake stacks to $20 for many of the brunch entrees. Seafood dishes veer closer to $25-$30.

“Milk and Honey is over the top. I think that’s something that sets us apart [from the sold locations] too,” Rose said of the restaurant’s menu — specifically the portions. “This is Southern comfort food. We want you to have something to take home and eat again and remind you. We’re always going to be over the top–big portions, big sizes so that you can take some home and enjoy it later.”

It seems to be paying off; the business is already busy just a few weeks in. Longtime fans are finding the restaurant on social media and the nearby Aspire Apollo luxury apartments are bringing in helpful foot traffic. The growing Restaurant Row Apollo development has six tenants so far including Via Roma, an Italian restaurant; The Spot, an Asian food hall and Burgers @ Apollo.

“In that deal [with Thompson Hospitality], I only retained this location and Atlanta. So I get to pour my heart and soul into this one,” said Rose.

The Real Milk and Honey Market and Pancake Factory is located at 4531 Telfair Blvd #202, Camp Springs, MD 20746. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.