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Michelin-Rated Restaurant in Long Beach - Heritage Restaurant
41 Plays16 days ago
In our latest episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lauren Pretty, a proud CSULB alumna and co-owner of Long Beach's renowned Michelin-starred Heritage Restaurant. Lauren shared her remarkable journey from The Beach to national acclaim, highlighting the dedication and passion driving the success of Heritage. Discover the story behind bringing top-tier dining experiences to our local community.
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Transcript
Introduction to At the Beach Podcast
00:00:16
Speaker
Hello, I'm Dan Montoya, Vice President for University Relations and Development, and I'd like to welcome you to At the Beach Podcast. This podcast shares news of Cal State Long Beach and ways you can get involved.
00:00:28
Speaker
Today, I'm so delighted to have us to be here at Heritage Restaurant with Lauren Pretty.
Heritage Restaurant's Michelin Journey
00:00:34
Speaker
And Heritage Restaurant has received a Michelin-rated star for the last three years, from 23, 24, and 25. And they have also received a green star, which ist which is another amazing achievement.
00:00:48
Speaker
They started around COVID as a sandwich shop and went on to ah create sustainable menu and a restaurant that has become a staple here in Long Beach, the first Long Beach restaurant to achieve ah such success.
Lauren Petty's Communication Background
00:01:04
Speaker
ah Long Beach's Fine Dining Establishment was established here with Lauren and her brother, Phillip, and ah she earned her degree from Cal State Long Beach in communications in 2017. So we're so excited to have her and and and the on the podcast, and Lauren, we're glad to have you here.
00:01:25
Speaker
Thank you. Happy to be here. So we're going to just go through a series of questions and just to have a a nice conversation. But I'd like to kind of start with ah how it all began at Cal State Long Beach. Tell us about your time there and what inspired you to major in communications is what you study?
00:01:46
Speaker
Yeah. And how that led to kind of, you know, building off your passion for the culinary system. Yeah, my time at Cal State Long Beach was wonderful. I absolutely felt extremely supported and welcomed. And um I felt like my brain was just turned on in different ways that I never really got that experience from community college. um So it was good. i decided to major in communication studies after taking an intercultural communications class.
00:02:23
Speaker
at um Golden West. And i just fell in love with it. I'm still very interested in what people say and how they say it. And, you know, words are powerful. And it's very interesting to study the way that different cultures, genders, people in the workplace all communicate in different ways. Right, right.
00:02:47
Speaker
And so that that kind of has led you to, you know, your restaurant, right? And yeah passion and the love for, know, cuisine. But having said communication, you're responsible for the front end side of the house.
00:03:02
Speaker
So how does your communication play into that? Yeah, it's a huge part of it. You know, they say you win a Michelin star for your cooking, but if the service isn't there, right you know, you're you're not going to be able to get there. And so hospitality is a huge part of what we are doing here at Heritage.
00:03:23
Speaker
And that all starts with how you're communicating with your guests. i I train all my staff on everything.
Heritage's Pandemic Evolution
00:03:31
Speaker
specific verbiage for all types of different interactions should somebody ask a question they know exactly what to say and how to say it that's true yeah so tell us about a little bit about heritage and the history of it and how did how did it come to be um
00:03:54
Speaker
Heritage opened in 2020, which was a crazy time. Right. ah Early in 2020, in January, we were scouting locations on Second Street in Long Beach.
00:04:07
Speaker
And my brother and I were in a position where we were both had quit our jobs, ready to open a restaurant. And COVID hit.
00:04:17
Speaker
And we thought, well, we'll take advantage of this moment while the rest of the world is you know, closing for two weeks, we'll get to work. And um we found this location and he was like, just hear me out. And he showed me the building and I thought you were absolutely crazy. there There is no way this place needs so much work and remodeling.
00:04:40
Speaker
And he's like, well, we can just with our friends and family, we'll give it a paint job and we can make it like new. So yeah. We started on our journey here and obviously the world did not only close for two weeks. It was yeah changed everybody's lives forever.
00:04:56
Speaker
And so we ended up, you know, putting the fine dining idea on hold and we opened as a sandwich shop so that we could serve food to go um because the level of cooking that we're doing now can't really be wrapped in a box and experience the way that we're doing it. So,
00:05:13
Speaker
So, yeah, we opened as Heritage Sandwich Shop in on August 1st, 2020. So we just celebrated five years. Wow. um And, yeah, it was literally this counter behind me. it was just myself and my brother and one cook.
00:05:29
Speaker
And i would go do the dishes so they could do a pickup. And then I would take somebody's order. And then i would take the food out to them and run their check. And so i was the whole front of house.
00:05:41
Speaker
you You were doing a lot. Yeah, i so I mean, I still am, but and my role is different now, obviously. so so talk to us a little bit more about the culture of heritage.
Sustainability Practices at Heritage
00:05:54
Speaker
I know because it's it's really a sustainable model for food and you know no waste.
00:06:02
Speaker
Yeah, so we run a zero waste kitchen. And so that means anything that we can't incorporate into the dish gets composted or turned into a useful item for something else.
00:06:17
Speaker
And so a lot of our dishes are using the entirety of the vegetable. We're turning like if we have carrot tops instead of just, you know, discarding it, we're turning the tops into dust, right?
00:06:32
Speaker
And that's just like one small example of what we're doing. um Every single dish has multiple components of vegetables or proteins that are used in different ways.
00:06:45
Speaker
So my brother is being super creative um about how to utilize those items. And then... All of the beer and wine is sourced as close to Long Beach as possible. So, like, we love having wine from Paso Robles or Santa Rita Hills, um you know, Santa Barbara, places that are really as close as we can get and and strictly California only.
00:07:10
Speaker
right ah And then there's also other things that we're doing. So we actually have retained not only a Michelin star, but a Michelin green star.
00:07:21
Speaker
And there's less than 500 worldwide, wow which is, you know, it feels like a bigger accomplishment. And we are certified blue and green restaurant and business as a whole.
00:07:34
Speaker
And so all of our paper products from, you know, printer paper is made from recycled content as well as any to-go bags that we use are all recyclable or made from recycled content.
00:07:48
Speaker
Even our chemicals, we use seventh generation and peroxide instead of bleach. And we're very conscious about our carbon footprint and how we can lower it. So, you know, most of my employees live in Long Beach, so their commute isn't far.
00:08:03
Speaker
And we carry California beer and wine to reduce carbon emissions from shipping. Wow. um So there's a lot of thought that goes into where we source our products.
00:08:14
Speaker
Our aprons are made by a local seamstress. Our bread comes from Hey Brother Baker, who is opening up actually today, his first day in Long Beach. But he's he's been baking locally um the whole time we've been using him. So our cheese all comes from Olavash, which is right up the street. So we just walk down to the street to get it.
00:08:33
Speaker
Wow, that's amazing. And and what what inspired you to to think like that or to create a business like that? ah What was the thought process behind that?
00:08:45
Speaker
and Before we opened the restaurant, my brother knew that he wanted to create zero-waste kitchen. And it was purely from working in fine dining restaurants for many years. right And seeing all of the waste because they're trying to achieve this perfect dish.
00:09:02
Speaker
But, you know, breaking down a whole chicken but only using the breast is just so wasteful. And he's like, we could be making money off of this. Sure. um But also our our grandma and, you know, on both sides, our mom and dad side, they both grew up on a farm. Right. um And, you know, they were up early in the morning and growing their own produce and raising their own cows. And so i grew a garden with my mom when I was little. And so I've always...
00:09:30
Speaker
been interested in it. And i it's always bothered me the amount of trash that we are producing. And so he, you know, set off on this mission to be a zero waste kitchen. And then actually a student from Cal State Long Beach was interning with the city of Long Beach and reached out to me on Instagram and said, Hey, I see you're, you have this zero waste kitchen and would you be interested in getting certified with the green business network?
00:09:56
Speaker
wow And I said, yes. And so ah Somebody from Cal State Long Beach facilitated helping me getting signed up for the Green Business Network. And that really sent me on my journey to change over all of we were already using like disposable um or sorry, compostable to go where during COVID.
00:10:17
Speaker
But then we just took it to a whole nother level with our toilet paper and paper towels and um chemicals. And i I really learned a lot from that program. Wow. that's That's so inspirational. And you know what's funny? I was talking to somebody the other day how I grew up in a ranch as well and everybody everybody's trying to get back to the organic.
00:10:35
Speaker
Yeah. but you guys have been doing it all your lives. Yeah. And that's that's awesome. talk to us about Talk to us about the menu. How do you guys come up with the menu? Because I was looking at it and, you know, so many good ah selections on there. Talk to us a little
Local Sourcing and Seasonal Menus
00:10:50
Speaker
bit about that. The menu really revolves around the farmer's market and also our farm.
00:10:55
Speaker
And so what happens is chef goes to our horticulturalist, Kiera, says, can we try to grow these things? So he really wanted to grow fifteen hundred year old cave beans And then she sets forth a plan in place of how to make that happen. And so we have a good system going now that we've been ah farming at Heritage Farm for um three years.
00:11:24
Speaker
So we've seen all the seasons multiple times and we know it grows well there. um So we do beans every year, the cave beans. And she plants them in succession. And they so that way each day we get more beans in because when I was doing I didn't know what I was doing. i have a green thumb, but not to that level.
00:11:43
Speaker
And so we just planted a bunch of stuff all at once. But then when it's time to harvest, you get to pick it all at the same time. And you're like left with this surplus when we need things to come in daily so that we can serve them fresh. Right. um So, yeah, they have a great system going over there. And then ah we just really watch what comes in at the farmers markets and get inspired by by the produce.
00:12:05
Speaker
So does that mean your menu changes every now and then? or Yes. at Every season, the menu gets completely flipped. So about four times a year, sometimes five five times.
00:12:18
Speaker
We know when the season is going to change. Like we're about to go through a big menu change right now. And so we start to change dishes kind of one or two at a time. and then sometimes abruptly, like especially today is the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. So...
00:12:34
Speaker
um My husband actually goes in. a Chef, my brother, hand-trained him on how to select all of our produce. So he's up at 4 in the morning to head to Santa Monica Farmer's Market this morning.
00:12:47
Speaker
And when he's there, you know... He might say, oh, figs are done. where We're done with figs now. And so he'll come and there will be no figs. And so chef will go, what are we going to do? And so usually he's already been, ah we call it R&D, so research and development.
00:13:04
Speaker
So usually he's already been R&Ding something to replace that dish with. yeah And so they'll have sort of an idea, but then, um you know, we'll just have to change it on the spot sometimes if produce isn't available. so It's definitely high pressure for the kitchen and then the servers to learn all the new dishes constantly. Yeah, that's that's pretty it's pretty amazing. But I'm sure the food is amazing as well.
00:13:32
Speaker
It's you know, we're we're definitely taking care and time to select yeah what goes on the menu. And um that's all chef, though. I'm I run the front of house and and the business and yeah he can be the creative person.
00:13:46
Speaker
So what is your favorite dish on the menu right now? I always love our roasted beets. so okay I think that we've done them so many different ways. And I think that a lot of people have this idea in their head of like what beets are. Right.
00:14:01
Speaker
And yeah I get so many people saying like, I don't like beets. But this was so amazing. like You changed my mind that now I'm a beet fan. Yeah. and But I think that they just haven't had it prepared in this way. know, we're sous-vying it and thinly slicing it and wrapping it and served with basil seed and herbs from Heritage Farm. And yeah, it's so like unexpected. So I think that's why. Yeah, it's that's...
00:14:28
Speaker
That's so great. and um And so when it changes, you'll have, does it change with like the seasonal? It does. even, because I know you guys catch, you have fresh catch from here locally. And so do you change that as well?
00:14:48
Speaker
We changed that as well, yeah. um we We pretty consistently have diver scallops on our menu because we know we can get them from, um you know, the local sea and somebody goes out on a day boat and dives down yeah to get them. And so that's a seafood choice that we know is sustainable and can respect the process and always taste good and consistent. Yeah.
00:15:17
Speaker
And so we tend to have scallops on our menu a lot. So with the scallop, though, the setup might change just depending on the season, like the the vegetables or the sauce will change, but the protein will remain the same. Yeah.
00:15:31
Speaker
So there's kind of like a theme of of how our menu goes. And we start with snacks and then move into vegetable and then to seafood and then to meat and then dessert. And it kind of follows that pattern, but changes as the seasons do. That's wonderful.
00:15:45
Speaker
Okay, so Michelin star, how hard is that to do?
Impact of Michelin Recognition
00:15:49
Speaker
And what is stop what is the process to achieve it? Yeah, um when we opened along with our zero waste mission, it was also our goal to receive a Michelin star.
00:16:01
Speaker
We knew that that would put us on the map and, you know, really give us the credit we were looking for. yeah,
00:16:10
Speaker
i I think just knowing that that's your goal is where you really start. Right. Because you have no idea. the Michelin inspectors come in anonly anonymously.
00:16:22
Speaker
They pay for their tab. They're very polite. Say please and thank you. Everything's delicious. And then they leave. And you never know who they were. So you really have to treat every single guest as if they could be a Michelin inspector. Wow. um And they vet you multiple times.
00:16:39
Speaker
And so when we were still open as our sandwich shop, but we had begun our dinner fine dining service. ah So and in 2021, they had to be coming to vet us and we had no idea.
00:16:55
Speaker
Um, but there was one particular table that I remember and you know, I'm always paranoid. I'm like, is that Michelin? Is it them? um but we had this one table and of course, you know, somebody called out in the kitchen, somebody called out in the front of house. I'm a server. I'm the server and I have one other server and there's nobody else. So we have no hosts, no back servers. Like our team is much more robust than it used to be.
00:17:19
Speaker
um but it's, it's my one server and then me in the other room. And I knew that this table was Michelin inspectors. they They dressed in all black.
00:17:30
Speaker
And then usually from movies and stuff, they say that the telltale sign is they place or drop something or put something on the floor. They say a fork or a knife. um But it was a straw. And I saw the straw on the floor.
00:17:42
Speaker
And I panicked. And I was like, they're here. And I couldn't tell anyone because we were so... busy and so short staffed and everyone was just like heads down like doing their best and I had to go into the other room because I physically started to like have a panic attack really because I was like we're short staffed tonight of course this is the night that they're here so I laid down on the floor and I put my feet up on the chair just to like calm my body and the other server came in to like grab a bottle of wine and he screamed he got Why are you on the floor?
00:18:13
Speaker
i scared him. um But he was like, get back out. I was like, Michelin's here. And he was like, get back out there. And I was like, all right, we can do this. Yeah. um And then she went into the bathroom and there was paper towels everywhere.
00:18:28
Speaker
And I caught it and i I cleaned up all the paper towels because we do frequent bathroom checks. And then... she went back to the bathroom. So she was seeing, did I notice that there was a mess in there? And did I clean it up it from the time that she went there once and then returned again? Right. um So, yeah, but, you know, there's there's other guests. They say they dine in twos and fours and sixes and solos and they dress different. And you just really have no idea. Like, of course you can guess, but I think that there's times that they're not doing any of those things.
00:19:01
Speaker
And they're really just coming to see, have you improved? And, What's different? And so I think just constantly, you know, improving on what you're doing is is really the goal to maintain it. And of course, that comes with a huge amount of pressure. But it's it's worth it to us because, as you mentioned, our our business just completely changed overnight. And yeah so, you know, we're we're forever grateful for that. So, of course, we want to keep earning it. And you are a shining star in Long Beach and that's amazing. Thank How does it feel, especially for being, you know, born and raised here? Like that's, that's a big point of pride. Yeah. I mean, I get chills when you ask me the question. I, I'm so proud to be from here. i love Long Beach. yeah um
00:19:45
Speaker
I've traveled a bit and every time I come back home, I'm grateful that I'm from here and I live here. our culture in the city is amazing and it's such a melting pot and,
00:19:56
Speaker
I feel like I've had this, you know, worldly experience from attending Cal State Long Beach and just being from here. And so that in itself is rewarding.
00:20:07
Speaker
And to be able to open a restaurant and have the success that we have is just, it's amazing.
Lauren's Advice for Success
00:20:13
Speaker
I mean, it's, you know, it it feels like a dream. So what advice would you give somebody who's thinking about taking on ah similar adventure as Heritage and and a lot of the things that you've been through because, you know, you're a great example for our students coming through who say who who who are looking at them and and saying, wow, that's success. That's excellence.
00:20:39
Speaker
I would love to be able to achieve that. And everybody always sees the finished product, but they don't always see all the hard work that it takes to get there. But what what words of wisdom would you have for somebody who's considering doing something like you Yeah, I think I would just say that no matter how you feel every day when you wake up, you just need to do it.
00:21:05
Speaker
You just have to wake up and say, I'm committed to this and it's I'm going to make this happen. and even if you feel like, oh, today is not my best day, you still just need to show up, with um put your mask on, a smile on your face and and just tackle whatever problems come at you and know that your to-do list isn't, is going to be never ending. yeah Um, especially in a restaurant, there's, there's always needs and concerns and, um, you know, taking care of my staff is my number one priority. yeah But with that also like the dishwasher breaks and sure people call out and, um, you know, hot water goes out, like, it's just all kinds of, You never know what you're going to walk into and just saying like, OK, I put that on my to do list and then check it off one at a time. And even if it grows, like you'll eventually be able to complete what's most necessary. But it's really just about showing up every day.
00:22:05
Speaker
I 100% agree with you on that. Showing up is is the key to life, I think. And, you know, you just mentioned something that is huge in leadership, right? Taking care of your people.
00:22:16
Speaker
You know, talk to us a little bit about that. what What do you mean when you say you take care of your people? What does that mean to you? um I worked in a lot of restaurants and it can be ah tough environment. It's very high stress and you have to take care of your guests that walk through the door.
00:22:35
Speaker
And so it's important to me that my staff feels supported and taken care of as well. So if they have a concern, everybody has my cell phone number. They know they can call me, text me any day, time of the night.
00:22:48
Speaker
um And I just, I try to make everybody feel welcome and happy. And this is a culture where people can be happy at work because that's, I think that that's my purpose in life is to provide people place to work where they feel happy. And that's, that's what's important to me because, you know, that's, unfortunately, that's not every work environment. And so while it is stressful, I still want it to be you know, a place that's joyful because we do spend so much of our lives working. Yeah.
00:23:22
Speaker
yeah So we provide family meal for our employees every day and health care. That's crazy. four one k That's awesome. Yeah. How's it working with bro, with your brother?
00:23:38
Speaker
It's great. um He's actually 11 years my senior. Okay. And so I think we just have a different relationship than most siblings do. Like a lot of people say like, oh, I could never work with my sibling. You know, would just like tear each other up all the time. But um I tell people he's kind of like a third parent to me because he was so much older when I was born.
00:24:02
Speaker
We never really had a chance to like butt heads about anything because – aye you know, when you when you see someone as ah an infant, you have just like a different bond with them. And so that's different when you're, you know, toddler infant versus like, you know, already 11 years old when I was born. So he he took care of me as a baby. He would wake up early with me in the morning and yeah hold me when I cried. And so it's just different. So you guys yeah got a great bond. Yeah. So that's yeah good. So,
00:24:32
Speaker
um so How can people come and enjoy the restaurant? ah You're open Tuesday through Saturday? Yes, we're open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 9.
00:24:45
Speaker
And reservations are on OpenTable. You can find that on our website, heritagerestaurantlb.com. um And then if there's a specific day or time that you can't find availability, feel free to call or text our phone number online.
00:25:01
Speaker
So we can always try to squeeze in or move things around to accommodate reservations. And do you do, what's what's the largest party you do? or um We usually only do tables of six. Okay. But if you'd like to have a larger event here, we have an events coordinator, Katie Hanica. Okay. So um you can buy out the other side of the restaurant or the whole restaurant.
00:25:25
Speaker
And then we also do events at Heritage Farm. Okay. um And then we actually just recently opened, well, I guess it's been nine months now. We have another restaurant called Olive and Rose ok named after my nieces, my brother's daughters. nice um There's a beautiful courtyard area where we have events there, too.
00:25:45
Speaker
Good. Yeah, I've heard of it and I've also heard good reviews as well. Yeah, thank you. That's good. and um Any other thoughts that you want to share before we wrap it up? I mean, it's it's been so amazing to hear your story and just your passion for this industry and passion for Long Beach. Is there anything you would like to share with folks that they they may want to know about you your family or the restaurant?
00:26:08
Speaker
I think because this is a Cal State Long Beach podcast, i you know, really just speaking to the students that um I think just with determination, you can absolutely make your dreams come true. And when I was in school, i i kind of thought, like, I don't know. i think you think, oh, it's just a dream and maybe it'll happen one day. But i don't know. It seems so unobtainable or hard to get there. But Everybody needs somebody for something. And if you're really passionate about something, you can totally turn it into a business with just hard work and determination and really just focusing and believing that you can do it and showing up every day is is the first step to make it happen. so Awesome. Yeah. I think those are great words to to end on.
00:27:03
Speaker
We want to thank you for having us today here at your amazing restaurant. And it just seems so welcoming. And so I look forward to coming back and actually dining here and, and you know, tasting all the exquisite food that you guys prepare. So um we want to thank Philip as well for having us. And and and we but we wish you guys all the best in everything you do and continued growth and success.
00:27:28
Speaker
So to our listeners, if you haven't been here yet, come here to Heritage or Olive and Rose as well, and you can experience this amazing food. A big thank you to our team for producing this podcast. Thank you so much. We appreciate you.
00:27:43
Speaker
And Lauren, we always like to finish with a Go Beach on 3. One, two, three. Go Beach.