A North Loop Legacy
Chefs Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley give Austin mainstay Foreign & Domestic a tune-up.
Taking over an established spot with a loyal clientele is like being the successor to a beloved professor; you have big shoes to fill, and you need to stand out to make your mark. When Texas born-and-bred Chefs Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley took over North Loop restaurant Foreign & Domestic in 2017, expectations were high.
Previous owners Ned Elliott and then wife Jodi had opened Foreign & Domestic in 2010 to widespread acclaim, helping to fuel the nascent farm-to-table movement in Central Texas.
Heard and Lemley met at Austin gastropub Parkside in 2014, where they were banquet and executive chefs, respectively. They had both worked for Ned Elliott intermittently in the past covering shifts at Foreign & Domestic, so when Heard found out that he was selling the place to pursue ventures in Houston and Cincinnati, she immediately texted Lemley, who was still at work: Do you want to buy Foreign & Domestic with me?
“We knew we didn’t have the funds to start from the ground up, so buying something that already had people coming in the door was more doable for us,” says Heard.
“It was already a successful restaurant, so it wasn’t opening something from scratch and having to come up with a concept and everything,” says Lemley. “It just needed a fresh set of eyes and a good push." They scrambled for about six months to get a loan and go through the labyrinthine process of buying an existing restaurant, and excitedly stepped in with the goal of creating a more family-friendly, welcoming atmosphere.
“We bought in August, and the loan didn't go through until September, but we took over operations before that because we didn't want a gap in service,” says Heard. “Over six months, I worked as the interim chef. I used that time to build rapport with the staff and meet the regulars, so that when the announcement was made, it would be a happy change, not an uncertain one. We didn't change the menu right away, just rolled with it and slowly changed dishes over time. We went door to door in the neighborhood and handed out coupons to get guests back in.”
Heard and Lemley kept the core emphasis on Texas produce, forging partnerships with local farmers and purveyors like 44 Farms, Hi-Fi Mycology, Windy Meadows Family Farm, and Barton Springs Mill, but Heard wanted to “really focus on service and being more welcoming.”
They enlisted the help of Heard’s handy parents and softened up the formerly industrial-themed space with warmer colors, refinished the wood paneling, and added a patio with a tent to keep operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also leaned into the restaurant’s position as a neighborhood gathering place by adding a kids menu and instituting a happy hour, where diners could enjoy half-off glasses of wine, beer, and inexpensive bar snacks 5:00- 6:30 PM. In addition to adding a brunch menu, they exponentially expanded their beverage selection with a larger wine list (from nine SKUs to 138), Austin craft beers, and nonalcoholic options. They also made changes to ensure their staff was being looked after by adding a service surcharge to their checks.
Tomato Leaf Risotto, Pickled Celery and Cherry Tomatoes, Pecorino
Country Pâté: Pork Liver, Duck Liver, Pistachio, Urban Farms Herbs, Whole Grain Beer Mustard
“We just wanted it to be a great neighborhood restaurant where people could come back a few times a week,” says Lemley.
The success of the restaurant can also be attributed to the seamless way in which Heard and Lemley work together, playing on each other’s strengths. Heard, who grew up in Conroe and would often craft and cook with her Amish great-grandmother, tends an herb garden on the restaurant patio and uses food scraps from the restaurant to compost and feed the animals the couple keeps on their ¾-acre homestead in Luling. Along with menu development, Lemley does a lot of the accounting, and handles all the seafood since Heard is allergic. They both work on dishes separately and come together for feedback, and share a passion for unfussy service.
“It’s not ego-driven. It’s comfortable, affordable food, but you’re still going to get your napkin folded when you go to the bathroom,” says Heard.
While Gruyère popovers (“there would be an uprising if we didn’t keep them”) may stay on the menu forever, the pair get to revel in an age of Austin dining where customers—who Lemley says used to freak out over beef tongue in 2010—are more curious, which has led to more offal offerings on their tasting menu.
Foreign & Domestic has remained an Austin stalwart thanks to Heard and Lemley’s dedication to expanding on the original concept of a neighborhood restaurant that celebrates Texas produce. The positive feedback and experience reopening and managing Foreign & Domestic also enabled the duo to open another spot, Commerce Cafe, in Lockhart in 2020, a full service restaurant serving up fresh pasta, sandwiches, and coffee in a more casual, relaxed setting.
“Foreign & Domestic was one of Austin’s first farm-to-table restaurants, and it hasn’t changed in any major ways,” says Lemley. “You see restaurants now; five years is great. 13 years, that’s pretty awesome.”
Heard is glad to have stuck it out: “When I was first working in a real kitchen, everyone was like, ‘If you want to be a chef and make something of yourself, you have to get out of Austin. There’s nothing here.’ But it’s here.”
