Heather Asbury constructed a funky retromodern reality in her restaurant off Chicago Street. Retro in the reflection of a previous restaurant, and modern in food trends. To understand the restaurant now, one must venture into the past.
Growing up in Edina, Asbury recalls her grandmother and “mom were definitely the chef[s] and the creative type” and “they were probably the inspiration to go in that direction.” Her first venture into the food scene came by a hectic accident: “My mom had 30 people coming over for Thanksgiving, and I was in sixth grade and she got the flu… and I was like, I’ll do it. And when I did it, I realized I really liked doing it. So then after that, it was like, I was always hosting.” Such began a fixation with the kitchen. She remembers, “I stayed home when there was like the state hockey tournament and I baked a wedding cake for 200 people even though there was no wedding just to try it out.”
Following her home ventures into the kitchen, she went to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Of the CIA, she says, “If you missed one day, you would not pass the class.” In addition to the culinary teaching came “a lot of management” lessons.
After some time in the industry, Asbury found Lucia Watson ‘72, and her restaurant Lucia’s. Watson is a two-time James Beard Award nominee and one-time award winner. Of Watson, Asbury described, “She went around and studied.” She added, “She was the type of person who was like, ‘I’m going to put bison on my menu. I’m going to go work on the bison farm and learn everything I can ever learn about bison before I move forward with doing this,” looking at sustainability, butchering, and any other possibly relevant means of production. Asbury believes Watson’s largest strength was being “really dedicated to making sure the food was the best it could be.” She made it the best through local sourcing and focusing on the materials available from and in Minnesota. This idea came to be known as farm-to-table, which places local farmers and local producers of cheese, butter, and beans front and center, captivating the food scene nationally.
Watson and Asbury clicked in their years working together. Describing her time as the manager of Lucia’s, Asbury said, “I would have done that for the rest of my life,” adding, “That was my favorite job I ever had. I was very happy working there.” Working as the manager at Lucia’s, she learned many lessons on local sourcing and the fundamentals of farm-to-table that Watson created. It was difficult because “When you’re doing farm to table and you’re supporting a small farmer, they can’t get the prices as low as somebody who’s mass producing food, so it’s just cost you more money to run it.”
After a 30-year career of trailblazing in the food industry, Watson decided it was time to retire. Following Lucia’s, Asbury worked in the catering business for a few years. Asbury’s real estate agent brother found a location that “sat vacant for 16 years,” and “he got this idea… ‘you should open a restaurant there.’” As she describes, “somehow the universe, it worked out,” and they opened on March 17th, 2020 (Some of you may be getting ahead of me). Opening the day, “the whole world shut down” could have been catastrophic for Heather’s, but thankfully they had a walk-up window. The walk-up window became “the entire business plan for that whole first year and a half,” surviving on “all the young families in this neighborhood.” With a reliable audience came worries: “I started getting nervous that I was like, people are going to get really sick of eating here if I’m the only restaurant open,” so she started a daily special based on whatever was available.
Since then, flexibility has become a cornerstone of her business model. She claims, “It became the norm that it [the menu] was really fluid. Our menu changes all the time.” An important part is “having fun, looking at the weather, and trying to get as creative as possible.” She added, their flexibility is aided “in the summer, [because] we have a farmers market that happens right here in our parking lot and we basically buy out the produce from farmers of anything that they have after.” She describes it as their “highlight of the year.”
From a history of Lucia’s and aiding in the pioneering of farm-to-table, Asbury has brought a piece of the past, a treasured memory of hers and many others into the current moment through creating an eerily similar restaurant based upon pillars of flexibility and local farmers. The same principles of fresh ingredients and smart sourcing reign paramount in her kitchen at Heather’s, just as they did in Lucia’s.
Having homey reminiscent memories of Lucia’s, I ventured into Heather’s. The vibe struck me immediately. From the pastry case in the front to the deli case greeting the visitor, Lucia’s memories enveloped me.
I went on a Tuesday evening with a couple friends, and the casual neighborhood feeling was unbeatable. The staff were friendly and welcoming as I entered.
I ordered the House Salad with the Braised Pork Cubano. The salad, while simple, was enjoyable. There was a lime and herb dressing that was fresh and scintillating. The crunch of fresh lettuce accompanied the sweet and tangy dressing perfectly as a simple yet delectable duo.
Now, the Braised Pork Cubano. The panini-pressed french roll enveloped a hefty mixture of pulled pork, ham, gruyere cheese, mustard aioli, and poppy pickled peppers and onions. The ham and pork mixed together to create a rich and luscious meat-filled multitude of scrumptiousness. The marinated pork seeped into the creamy gruyere, surrounding the meat to ensure the meat did not become overpowering. The mustard aioli added variety with a sweet touch, southing the taste buds. Finally, for the kick, the ingredients that kicked the sandwich over the ledge into a higher tier. The pickled onions accompanied by the zingy peppers added a flare to the sandwich. A flare that cut through the richness of the gruyere, pork, and ham to scintillate the tongue. Little of my memory was left for the conversation at the table, because it was as if I was inside the sandwich, comforted by a warm and succulent sandwich.
Memories wrapped in delicious food make this restaurant the perfect farm-to-table restaurant, added to by the welcoming atmosphere. If in the Lake Nokomis, Minnehaha Creek area, this restaurant is an enjoyably hidden local gem to be checked out.
