FOOD & DRINK FEATURE
A GEM OF THE SOUTH
Sanctuary Bistro quietly carries out vegan mission in south Charlotte BY JASIATIC ANDERSON
Pg. 16 NOV 17 - NOV 30, 2021 - QCNERVE.COM
We don’t deserve Sanctuary Bistro. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I finally made it to this unassuming, fine-dining vegan restaurant tucked into the Piper Glen area of south Charlotte. Since I found myself in the neighborhood on a day when they’re open for lunch (they’re closed Sunday through Tuesday), I decided to stop by. Firstly, I never imagined it to be as beautiful as it was — strip malls can be deceiving — but the food is what truly took me by surprise. I ordered a macadamia miso salad with crispy tofu on my first visit. In a world of cashew and almond everything, macadamia tasted like manna. Though I couldn’t have imagined it could get better, it did. I returned on another night for dinner and found the charcuterie board to be magic. The oyster mushrooms and the lion’s mane “steak” were the best I’ve ever had. Honestly, I was blown away. My first time in, I heard a patron wish Chef Barry Horton a “Happy Birthday,” and thought “Wow, he’s working on his birthday?” For her part, owner Jennifer Jones Horton was taking care of everyone in the restaurant as the only server that day. Sanctuary Bistro is the epitome of family vision and dedication in the restaurant industry. I had to chat with the folx behind Sanctuary Bistro, so I reached out to Jennifer Jones Horton to learn how this brilliant restaurant came to be, among many other things. Jasiatic: Tell me about yourself and the rest of the team behind Sanctuary Bistro? Jennifer Jones Horton: We are a little womanowned business. I am the owner, speaker, writer, front-of-the-house manager, marketer, server, you name it. If it doesn’t involve cooking, I have my hands in it. I grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and have lived in Atlanta, California and now North Carolina.
JENNIFER JONES HORTON PHOTO COURTESY OF SANCTUARY BISTRO
nominated by VegNews three years in a row for best vegan restaurant. He always lent a helpful hand in the kitchen growing up. In high school, Barry enrolled in a one-semester cooking class, unaware this would eventually be his life’s path. In 2000, Barry began attending culinary courses at Johnson County Community College when he realized, “This is what I love to do.” By 2002, taking things more seriously, Barry decided to take his skills to a French culinary program. After perusing his options, Barry chose the Le Cordon Bleu program at the Western Culinary Institute, in which he graduated at the top of his class. His desire to continue his education learning about an organic, sustainable, vegetarian lifestyle led to his internship at the Ravens Restaurant of the Stanford Inn in Mendocino, where he quickly worked his way up to co-chef in 2005 and head chef in 2006 until October of 2009. During this time, he has learned that a chemical-free, locally grown, plant-based diet is optimal for a long, sound, healthy life, as well as, and most importantly, a
restaurant business since they were 1-and-a-half and 4. Now, we want to do for the community what we’ve been doing for our family. The world is an imperfect place. Many of us feel the weight of responsibility but we can’t fix everything. So we do our small part whenever we can and hope that each small choice creates a ripple and together we can make true change with you. We have co-created a cookbook: Sanctuary Bistro’s Recipes for Everyday Living: An Easy and Loving Approach to Gluten-Free Veganism. Chef Barry has been creating delectable dishes for any and every palette. He was told once by a culinary instructor, “Never trust a skinny chef,” but this has proven to be false. Barry feels the instructor should have told him to always trust a healthful, conscientious and meaningful chef. A vegan diet is the key to mental, emotional and physical healing. His passion for his food and health is thus transferred to family and friends. You mentioned that you’ve owned other restaurants. What did you learn during the process? We opened our first successful restaurant in Berkeley, California, and with great sadness closed that after five-and-a-half years so that we could move closer to family. We opened our Charlotte
The passion behind Sanctuary Bistro began when I was 13. I became concerned about the cruelty and pollution of factory farming when a friend shared a PETA flyer with me. From there, I started buying veggie burgers. For my traditional meat-and-potatoes family, this was considered different and rebellious. As I continued learning, I slowly stopped eating chicken, eggs and eventually seafood, out of compassion. It was hard not to change once I knew about the cruel treatment that is inflicted on animals. I feel that if people would open their minds to understanding it, they would not choose to hurt something. I have concerns about the effect the meat and dairy industry have on the planet, and so Sanctuary Bistro is our solution for making change. Executive Chef Barry Horton, my hubby, is amazing in his culinary skills. We are a team BROCCOLI AND “BACON” SOUFFLÉ PHOTO COURTESY OF SANCTUARY BISTRO at work and in life. He has been the executive chef at the famous restaurant in March of 2020. Ravens Restaurant in Mendocino, California. He has compassionate life. We also are raising our two children vegan: When you support a local small business you been on television with View from the Bay and has had many published articles in Edible. He was also Jayden and Adeline. They have been raised in the are directly supporting that family behind the
