A Cape family's restaurant and farm project has begun in West Dennis. Here's what to know.

WEST DENNIS — Crews broke ground July 31 on Love Farms , a local family’s ambitious plans to build a 10,000 square-foot farm-to-table restaurant on Route 28. Father and son team, Dennis and Dylan Leary, are the heart and passionate proponents of the project. Their dream is to build a state-of-the-art restaurant and kitchen that will serve food from farms throughout New England. One of those farms will be their own on a 7-acre parcel on Indian Pond Road.

The restaurant

Located at 607 Main St., design plans for the restaurant call for a cathedral ceiling, a grand hall, two bars, dining rooms and a tasting room for special dinners, according to Dylan Leary. As planned, diners will be able to get breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant will offer outdoor dining on a covered deck and terraces that will overlook greenhouses in the back of the property. A live music stage is in the plans.

Pelham Farms LLC bought the 2.5-acre Main Street property, assessed at $770,500, in July 2021. In October 2020, the corporation purchased a seven-acre property at 39 Indian Pond Road. That land, an old farm originally owned by the Lohr family, is assessed at $1,124,300. The two parcels are adjacent to each other.

Who is backing the project?

Dennis Leary and John McCarthy are the president and treasurer, respectively, of Pelham Hospitality Inc., based in Dennis Port. Mark Gentilozzi is a partner in both the Pelham and Love Farms ventures, according to Dennis Leary.

Frank Hursey, Dennis Leary's father-in-law, is responsible for about 90% of the investment in the farm, according to Leary. A former mechanical engineer, Hursey patented the use of a blood clotting agent which is now widely used by the U.S. armed forces.

Dennis Leary will serve as Love Farms' CEO and be involved operationally. Dylan will be the assistant manager and there are plans to hire a farm manager and general manager.

The farm

Dylan Leary plans to grow about 25% of the food served at the restaurant on a one-acre plot and in hoop houses on the land. He has a flock of chickens, five Kunekune pigs, and plans to bring ducks into the fold.

The 26-year-old chef and farmer received an associate's degree in culinary arts and a bachelor’s degree in applied food studies from the Culinary Institute of America. His studies involved agricultural production, community relations, and the shortfalls of the country’s food system.

Leary said he respects the work of chefs at Chatham Bars Inn , Ceraldi’s in Wellfleet, and Clean Slate Eatery in Dennis for their seasonal menus sourced from local farms.

He wants to educate his customers on the way their food is grown, processed and distributed.

At the farm on Aug. 2, a flock of hens greeted visitors. Hundreds of cloves of garlic hung from the ceiling. Restaurant design plans were laid out on a table in the farm office. Tomatoes, strawberries and a cover crop of buckwheat were growing in a hoop house near the chickens. Pumpkins were growing outside the barn. Four Kunekune pigs were in pens farther back on the property. Leary plans to breed the pigs.

“We’ll need a network of other farms to source because of the volume of people coming,” Leary said. “We want to keep as local as possible, but we’re not afraid to go into New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and New York. It will be a celebration of New England agriculture.”

Editor's note: Corrections were made on Aug. 9, 2024, to property purchase dates and backers of Love Farms.

Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape’s residents and visitors. Contact her at dcoffey@capecodonline.com .

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: A Cape family's restaurant and farm project has begun in West Dennis. Here's what to know.