Heirloom duo a match made in heaven
For Meghan Lee and chef Jordan Miller, it was love at first sight – minus the love.
Together, the duo opened Lewes’ newest restaurant Heirloom just before the new year at the corner of Third Street and Savannah Road.
“I feel like I built this for Jordan,” said Lee, who bought the 19th century home and converted it into a 71-seat restaurant. “He embodies everything I’ve ever dreamed of pertaining to a chef in a kitchen.”
For Lee, the chef at her restaurant couldn’t just be anyone. A certain connection was essential.
“I knew in my head how I wanted everything, from how someone looked to how they acted and their experience,” she said.
She also knew she didn’t want to hire a local chef, so she put an ad on Craigslist, and Miller came calling. The two hit it off immediately.
“We talked on the phone for like 45 minutes and it was very natural,” she said. “My goal was to get him physically here to see it because I felt like I could sell Heirloom, the story and the location to someone from outside the area.”
Miller came to Lewes the next day. He and Lee met several more times over the next six weeks before Lee formally offered him the job.
“We got to know each other on a personal level,” she said. “We talked about our families and where we’ve traveled and where we’ve eaten. It was very important to me to build that foundation because this is a huge undertaking, and I wanted it to be the perfect person back there. I believe wholeheartedly he is that person.”
When Miller found the ad online, he said, he had recently come to the realization that it was time to settle down. After years of bouncing around the country and cooking for countless restaurants, he said, it was time to dig his roots and find a place to call home.
“I was interviewing in New York, Philly, all over the place,” he said. “Then I came here, met Meghan and knew right away that this is where I wanted to work.”
Miller is originally from Long Beach Island, N.J., but has worked all over, from Napa to North Carolina to Philadelphia and Baltimore.
“I’ve been in just a gypsy learning phase,” he said.
He got his first restaurant job before he was legally allowed to work, but worked his way up to the cooking line before the end of his first summer. While attending the University of North Carolina for journalism and Spanish, Miller worked full time as a chef. After graduation, the trend continued.
"This is the only job I've ever had," he said.
He said he’s eager to build a strong reputation in Lewes.
“I worked in the city; I loved it, but I hated it at the same time,” he said. “I’m from the beach. I love the quiet. I love community. I love the beach and fishing. I grew up with that stuff. I was willing to sacrifice that for cooking, but when I saw this …”
Before building Heirloom’s menu, Lee and Miller dined at as many Cape Region restaurants as they could. From there, they collaborated to construct an approachable menu that may also introduce patrons to something new.
Three of the appetizers offered are items Lee says other chefs and restaurants only dabble in – foie gras (duck liver), sweetbreads and beef carpaccio.
The entrée section of the menu features eight seasonal selections. The current menu features monkfish, pappardelle, duck breast, short ribs, chicken, scallops, grain bowl and pork chop, each with Miller’s personal touch.
“I’d rather do eight things great and kill it,” Lee said. “I go out and see these menus that have everything, and it’s like why not do something really, really well and condense it?”
The menu, changing seasonally, will be almost entirely sourced from local farms.
Accompanying the menu is a beverage program featuring handcrafted cocktails with house-made syrups and purées, craft beer and sustainable wines that pair well with the food.
In preparing to open, Lee put each staff member through a rigorous training program. She created food guides and cheese manuals and had each server taste the entire menu so they were ready to answer all questions.
“The attention to detail is what I really wanted everyone to get out of the entire training process,” she said. “I didn’t want a server going to table saying, ‘I don’t know.’ To me, that’s the worst faux pas of dining. If you’re going to be on the floor and represent the restaurant, you have to know the product.”
The attention to detail also translates to the restaurant’s appearance. From miniature clothes pins holding the menus together to vintage bread plates and silverware Lee has been collecting for two-and-a-half years, Heirloom’s image is very much the realization of Lee’s vision.
Part of that vision was to restore as much of the original home as possible. Preserved under a layer of outdated avocado-colored carpeting were beautiful oak floors. Remaining to showcase the character of the historic home are the crown molding and windows.
The interior walls remain intact, creating three small dining rooms, a bar area and a private room with a 12-person farmhouse table.
New to the structure is a sizable addition off the back of the home to make room for the new kitchen. The home was also widened.
For all of Heirloom’s tables and its bar, Lee tapped her friend Andrew McKnight, executive director of the Challenge Program in Wilmington. The program provides vocational training for Delaware’s at-risk youth, providing the opportunity to learn valuable construction skills, assistance in earning a high school diploma or GED and job placement services. Through this program, Lee was able to have all of her tables and bar made from reclaimed oak and pine.
While there is still some work to be done, Lee said she is more than satisfied with how her once-dream has turned into a reality.
“People have been raving about the service and the food, the two most important components for me,” she said.
Heirloom is open from 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 5 to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Reservations are strongly encouraged and may be obtained by calling 302-313-4065. For more information about the restaurant, go to www.heirloomdelaware.com or follow the restaurant on Facebook and Instagram.
