Heritage jazzes it up in NoLibs

Hertiageopened its doors last week at 914-22 N. Second St., a doublewide Northern Liberties spot operating as several things at once: a bar/restaurant with an outdoor garden, a jazz-focused live venue and a sky-lit greenhouse whose vegetables and micro greens are for both your dining and viewing pleasure.

Owner Jason Evenchik has already done many of these things at Time in Midtown Village. “Great bar food and live jazz is always my fallback position,” he says.

But at Heritage the emphasis is on chef-driven, East Coast fare and a tap-only craft beer menu. “No bottles or cans,” says co-owner Terry Leach, who also runs Garage in South Philly with Evenchik. “The food is the focus, but everything else here is pretty cool too.”

Start with the look of Heritage, whose design, and much of its execution, came from Evenchik: “I got tired of paying people for 3-D models,” he says. The space has a warehouse feel, including a bright
entryway with a chandelier fashioned from brass and percussive instruments. Behind the 40-foot walnut bar is a 36-beer tap system.

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Leafy foliage hangs from every space, including the roof and the indoor pilot seed house, where microgreens and roots vegetables grow. Evenchik is currently planning Spanish moss and other hanging plant life for Heritage’s garden area.

There’s also a small stage for the live jazz that Heritage will feature seven nights a week. The lineup will be a rotating mix of adventurous local musicians, such as singer Pete Gaudioso and saxophonist Tom Moon. Time hosts musicians, too, but “we’re going to be different than Time in that we’re planning a Sunday brunch, starting soon, that features jazz, bluegrass and folk — all quiet music,” Evenchik says.

What you’ll eat

As for the food, Evenchik wanted something “more grown up than Time.” He enlisted Chef Sean Magee to integrate the vegetables grown at Heritage into the dishes.

Expect crudo with Maryland crab claws, meaty razor clams from Cape Cod, and Jersey fluke. The smoked brisket is made with locally raised beef.

“This is pub fare done with love,” Evenchik says.

Heritage has 60 seats indoors and 40 in the garden.