This week, Happy Half Hour sits down with the culinary director of Juniper & Ivy, Jon Sloan. The restaurant arrived in a dingy warehouse district near the tracks in Little Italy a decade ago, the product of an opening partnership (which has since ended) with Richard Blais, who was fresh off his run on Top Chef.
The restaurant has endured thanks, in large part, to Sloan, a 30-year industry veteran (and once-roving Deadhead) who honed his unpretentious culinary style in Portland before making his way to San Diego in 2008 to launch Roy’s Waterfront. Though Juniper & Ivy’s opening was a culmination of certain efforts—“This place is what I’ve worked towards for 20 years,” Sloan says—there was always the question of what was next. The answer? The Crack Shack, a fast-casual joint where classic fried chicken gets the full “Sloan treatment:” sustainable, local ingredients and meticulous preparation.
Now the team has even more big plans, including a remodel of Juniper & Ivy to add a distinct bar area and a new executive chef, Jonathan Kinsella, whose resume includes New York’s Daniel and LA’s Chateau Marmont.
