Honeycomb Bakery Trades Hamilton Roots for Marblehead's Five Corners

Honeycomb, the Hamilton bakery and café known for its pastries and cult-favorite sourdough pizza nights, is opening a second location in Marblehead. Owners Lauren and Billy Moran plan to take over 259 Washington Street, the former home of The Barrelman, near the town's busy Five Corners intersection, with an opening targeted for February 2027.

The move caps months of searching for the right North Shore spot. As reported by WhatNow, Lauren and Billy Moran spent several months exploring an expansion to Marblehead before settling on the Washington Street address. The couple, who own Honeycomb together, met behind the bar of Billy Moran's family pub, which has operated for 45 years, according to the same report.

This is not the Morans' first attempt at a second outpost. Last year, they pursued an expansion to Gloucester, eyeing the former Willows Rest space, but the deal ultimately fell through after they determined it was not the right fit, according to the Marblehead Current. That earlier search reflected a broader push to establish a presence beyond Hamilton before Marblehead emerged as the fit.

A Former Craft Beer Bistro Becomes the New Bakery

The Marblehead space carries its own commercial history. Before Honeycomb, 259 Washington Street housed The Barrelman, an American craft beer bistro and burger spot that owner Ben Newman opened in August 2013, per the Marblehead Patch. The property's location near Five Corners puts Honeycomb in one of the town's most visible commercial pockets.

Word of the move first surfaced through Coldwell Banker realtor Lindsey McCarthy, who reported Honeycomb's planned Marblehead location in an Instagram post, according to WhatNow's account. The bakery has not yet completed the design finalization and permitting process required before it can open its doors, the outlet notes.

What Marblehead Customers Can Expect

The new café will initially serve a menu similar to what Hamilton regulars already know: pastries, coffee, sandwiches, salads, and bowls built around breakfast and lunch. Lauren and Billy Moran plan to explore adding dinner service at the Marblehead location down the road, though nothing has been finalized. Whether the move will also bring Honeycomb's beloved Thursday pizza nights to Marblehead remains an open question.

That pizza program has become something of a local institution in Hamilton. Honeycomb's Thursday pies are built on a sourdough crust, and the shop's New York-style pizzas draw from a starter chef Lauren Moran nicknamed Ophelia, which she developed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to Northshore Magazine. The pizza nights were relaunched in late 2024 after starting as pandemic-era pop-ups, the magazine reported.

From Boston Kitchens to a Family Bakery

Lauren Moran, a Wenham native, built her culinary credentials in some of Boston's most respected kitchens before opening Honeycomb. She worked as a pastry chef at several Boston restaurants, and per Edible Boston, she managed pastry programs under restaurateurs Garrett Harker and Jeremy Sewall at venues including Eastern Standard Kitchen & Drinks, Hotel Commonwealth, Island Creek Oyster Bar, and Row 34. She stepped away from that Boston restaurant career five months before opening Honeycomb, the outlet notes.

Her path to the kitchen wasn't a straight line. Moran graduated from the University of Delaware in 2007 with a degree in television broadcasting before pivoting to gastronomy, later completing Boston University's culinary certificate program, according to the same Edible Boston profile. Her interest in hospitality took root during summer restaurant jobs on Nantucket, the outlet adds. She also studied with chef Jacques Pépin, per WhatNow, and her pastry work drew recognition from Zagat, Food & Wine Magazine, and the Boston Globe before Honeycomb even opened, according to Northshore Magazine.

A Family Project Rooted in Hamilton

Honeycomb was founded in June 2017 in Hamilton, in a building at 248 Bay Road that had previously housed a restaurant called The Hungry Fox. Lauren Moran's father, local attorney Jim Kroesser, purchased the property to help convert it into a commercial bakery, and relatives pitched in on daily operations and prep work during the early launch, Northshore Magazine reported. Moran chose the name Honeycomb as a metaphor for her extended family working together like bees in a hive, the magazine noted, and the Hamilton shop went on to win Best of North Shore dining honors.

The original store paired baked goods with a curated gourmet provisions shop, stocking cheeses from Vermont's Jasper Hill Creamery, teas from Watertown's MEM Tea, and chocolates from Newburyport's Fixx Chocolates. Whether the Marblehead location will carry the same retail market alongside its bakery counter has not been detailed.

Joining a Growing Marblehead Food Scene

Honeycomb's arrival adds to a wave of new specialty food businesses opening in Marblehead, including Le Petit Comptoir Wine & Cheese, which opened at 1 Atlantic Avenue in July, according to the Marblehead Current. The town has seen several artisanal food concepts open near its main commercial corridors in recent months, giving Honeycomb company as it prepares to settle into its new Washington Street home.