Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen and Josh Ziskin.
Jen and Josh have been married and worked together for over 20 years. Two days after they were married they travelled to Italy where Josh would work at a famous Piemontese Restaurant, Belvedere, in La Morra, Italy. He learned how to make pasta, and he fine-tuned his expertise in Italian cuisine. Jen babysat for the very well-known family, the Abbonas, owners of the first Barolo winery, Marchesi di Barolo. Jen and Josh lived on a vineyard and spent their time learning everything they could about the culture, wine and cuisine.
Jen and Josh opened La Morra in Brookline in 2003. La Morra was recently named 2015 Best Italian Restaurant in Boston by Boston Magazine and 2017 Best Italian Restaurant by The Improper Bostonian. They have an incredible team and began to look for a second restaurant to offer more opportunity for everyone.
They stumbled upon Heritage of Sherborn, formally known as the Sherborn Inn. Although it was a much larger endeavor than they had originally anticipated, it offered everything they were passionate about. The fine dining room will eventually house an upscale farm-inspired restaurant, there is a gastro-pub where they offer farm to table cuisine, there is a wine shop on the premises so Jen can focus on her true passion of wine acquisition and teaching. They have always catered weddings and events at La Morra, and Heritage offered them their own venue, with beautiful grounds where they could host incredible weddings and events. Heritage even has 4 guest rooms with private bathrooms so one day they can create a fabulous place for stay-cationers and vacationers alike. Heritage is evolving in so many ways more and more and as they enter their third year they are looking forward to making their dream more of a reality.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Whenever I tell people I own a restaurant (back when we only had one) they would say, oh you must be exhausted, it is such a tough business! I would reply that it was a lot of work, but nothing compared to teaching middle school, which I did before we opened La Morra. I feel a bit different now that we own two restaurants, a wine shop, offer on site and off-site catering, have 4 guest rooms and are raising 3 teenage boys! It is hard, but the rewards make it truly worth it. I feel very lucky that I love what I do. Heritage has also offered me more opportunity to travel for wine and to learn more as I am studying to be a Sommelier. La Morra has an all Italian wine list. Josh and I lead food and wine tours to Italy, so that has always been amazing, but now my wine travels are taking me all over the world!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Heritage of Sherborn story. Tell us more about the business.
Heritage sits right in the town center for Sherborn. It is a beautiful rural community and Heritage is at the epicenter. We offer a coffee shop for guests to convene and meet in the morning, which turns into a wine, craft beer and spirits shop in the day and night…CWP: coffee, wine and provisions. We have Saturday and Sunday brunch in our gastro-pub, lunch Monday through Friday and dinner 7 days a week. We have 4 small gardens and buy our produce whenever possible from local farms and merchants. We just received rabbits from Natick Community Farms and have been running and amazing rabbit special this Summer! We cater parties as small as 6 guests to weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, funerals and celebrations for over 200. We are a wedding venue some days and a great place to host a shower, birthday, anniversary or gathering in our 5 private dining rooms. We have 4 guest rooms, and a room for a bride to get ready in and a bride and groom to spend their first night as a married couple. There is nothing as unique as Heritage anywhere in the vicinity. We offer an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, only 30 minutes away. If you are lucky enough to live in the suburbs of Metro West, we are basically in your backyard!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We have been very fortunate to have two successful businesses and a family that is incredibly supportive and close as well. I believe it is more hard work than luck, but we can’t deny feeling lucky because of the amazing management team we have at La Morra and Heritage.
Contact Info:
- Address: 33 N. Main Street, Sherborn, Ma 01770
- Website: www.heritageofsherborn.com
- Phone: 508-655-9521
- Email: info@heritageofsherborn.com
- Instagram: heritageofsherborn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeritageofSherborn
- Twitter: HeritageofS
Image Credit:
Topher Cox
Stephanie Rita
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