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    Team Behind Chapman’s, Ginger Rabbit Ready for Third Concept – Hiraeth, Opening This Fall

    Something new is coming from the couple behind Chapman’s Eat Market and Ginger Rabbit. Bronwyn Haines and Chef BJ Lieberman will open Hiraeth this fall at 36 E. Lincoln St. in the Short North.

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    Hiraeth is a Welsh word that Lieberman says doesn’t really have a direct translation to English. It’s more a feeling.

    “It’s a longing for home,” he says, or when one sees something for the first time and it feels like home. “We thought that it was a really cool concept for hospitality.”

    Hiraeth will welcome guests home with a fire in the hearth – literally. The kitchen will be centered around globally-inspired, wood-fired cuisine. (Not Welsh food.)

    Lieberman didn’t necessarily go searching for a wood-fired restaurant, but the opportunity found him. Just as he never imagined opening a jazz lounge, but found that it was the perfect fit for the Ginger Rabbit space, “I like to find spaces that speak to us,” Lieberman says.

    Spanning two floors, Hiraeth’s restaurant space is part of a Wood Companies project at the corner of Lincoln and Pearl streets, which also includes a parking garage and number of residences.

    Lieberman says the developer approached him about the space that they designed specifically for a wood-fired restaurant. Going into a new build wasn’t necessarily on the radar either, but having the opportunity to create within such a layout (a set-up that would be extremely difficult to retrofit), was intriguing. It checked another important box for Lieberman as well – he didn’t want to take over the space of a restaurant that had to close because of the pandemic. He took the opportunity back to his team and the ideas started flowing.

    The research and development of Hiraeth’s menu will really kick off once the hearth is installed, but Lieberman is noodling around a few ideas. He expects some focus on Mediterranean, North African and Middle Eastern dishes – pitas and flatbreads with dips, more primal cuts of meat, all wood-fired. He describes it as a very back down to basics cooking technique and letting the ingredients speak for themselves.

    Fire will make an appearance in the drink menu as well. Lieberman and Beverage Director Seth Laufman frequently collaborate using savory items from the kitchen on the cocktail menu, and expect to incorporate smoke and fire with a deft touch. They’re also thinking of focusing on spirits that use fire in their creation – like scotch and mezcal, or even spirits aged in charred barrels.

    Duality will play heavily into the design of the space. Hiraeth occupies 1,500 square feet on the ground floor, with an additional 4,000 square feet of space in the basement. The ground floor will be light and airy with ample natural light, and while the basement will be plenty inviting, it will be darker, featuring more wood-fired elements – fire-treated wood, wood-fired clay, etc. It will also house the kitchen, including a chef’s counter for a front-row view of the action.

    Coming on the heels of Ginger Rabbit’s April opening, Lieberman says they signed the lease for both spaces around the same time. However, they knew the jazz bar would be up and running first with its smaller square footage and lack of kitchen space. He says it’s helped them get a foothold in the Short North and understand the neighborhood before opening a large, full-service restaurant.

    Hiraeth is slated for a winter opening, but whether that’s late 2022 or early 2023 largely depends on the supply chain and availability of materials. One thing they shouldn’t be waiting on is the hearth at the center of the kitchen. Lieberman and Wes Grubbs, who currently serves as Chapman’s head chef and will transition to head chef at Hiraeth, traveled to Atlanta earlier this year to custom-design the hearth with Grills by Demant.

    Hiraeth will sit at the corner of Lincoln & Pearl in Short North – Photo by Susan Post
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    Susan Post
    Susan Post
    Susan is the editor of The Metropreneur and associate editor of Columbus Underground, and also covers small business and entrepreneurial news and the food scene in Central Ohio.Susan holds a degree in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing from The Ohio State University. She sits on the board of the Central Ohio Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and loves coffee, whiskey, cooking and spending time with friends and family.
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