Sisters Find a Place at Ojai’s Table
Two sisters on opposite coasts were dreaming up two different projects—until their ideas merged and brought them both to Ojai. Meave McAuliffe, previously head chef for Saltwater in Inverness (CA), executive pastry chef of Gjelina in Venice (CA) and chef for various restaurants and catering companies in Martha’s Vineyard, was planning for a restaurant of her own back East while her sister, Rory, who had also worked at Gjelina and for several catering companies, was imagining a wine bar in L.A.
Choosing Ojai to work together on their combined project brought Meave back to California, but honored her small-town affinity, and they were both excited about the area’s abundance of ingredients, farmers and fisherfolk. They spent the next year and a half getting to know their new home and discovering what their community needed, and also what would fulfill their original dreams.
“We were inspired by Ojai from the beginning as we were biking and picking fresh fruit from pomegranate trees along the way,” says Meave. “It was September, and at that time everything would be shutting down in Martha’s Vineyard, but here in Ojai there is never a dull moment.”
CULINARY HERITAGE
Proudly they share what they call a “culinary heritage”—a history that, like fate, brings them into what they admit is an inherently difficult industry. Growing up in the McAuliffe family meant spending a lot of time in the family’s bakery and restaurant in Santa Monica. Their most vivid memories from their childhood involve food, whether it be stopping by the restaurant to make lunches and snacks after school, or summers in Cape Cod farming oysters with extended family and preparing trout that had just been caught by an older sibling.
The restaurant was an extension of their home, and the kitchens of both were filled with pots and pans and good food. “I can remember simple things like sitting on the counter at the restaurant and reaching into a jar of chocolate chip cookies; chocolate eclairs with vanilla bean custard; or the smell of lamb chops with Dijon and rosemary,” says Meave.
She was 11 on the day the restaurant closed and held her own bake sale out front with its last items.
“Food is our language and our way of communicating and connecting with our community,” says Meave. And with this new collaborative endeavor called Rory’s Place, the McAuliffe sisters plan to do just that, together in Ojai.
DISCOVERING THE OJAI SPIRIT
What they have found in Ojai is a profoundly supportive community. It was just before COVID hit that Meave and Rory signed a lease for the space adjacent to the historic Ojai Playhouse for their restaurant. With their plans temporarily halted, they started a supper club by drop-off only so they could cook for the community right away.
Customers forwarded the supper club emails to friends and more and more positive feedback came through. “There is always some nervousness in opening a restaurant, but the supper club helped us learn the palates and tastes of our new community and gave us confidence we could really give this town what they wanted,” says Meave. “It built up our excitement for the restaurant and made us feel like the circumstances of COVID weren’t insurmountable.”
“We are energized by the incredible and endless bounty of delicious food in Ojai, but also by the relationships we have already developed with people who are doing such amazing things here,” says Rory.
CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY
They hired local sourdough baker Corban Fairbanks and are sourcing herbs such as nettle, rose and ashwagandha from Zoe Nathan of 50-50 Farm in Meiner’s Oaks to develop house tea blends for the restaurant.
Fresh culinary herbs will come from Earthtrine Farms, olive oils from Sheer Rock Farms and flowers from Shepherdess Land and Livestock Co., whose owners will also be taking ash and food waste from Rory’s Place when it opens to support the regenerative practices on their property.
Along with traditional Old World wines, they have partnered with Roni Ginach, a wine importer specializing in naturally produced wines. “Natural wines from California and the country of Georgia, in particular, interest us because they complement the food and processes we use in the kitchen—less is more,” says Rory, who will focus primarily on the overall look and feel of the restaurant and its wine bar.
The sisters have creative pairings in mind for the menu that will come from the foods and wines they both love, such as charred squid with a Catarratto Le Mie Origini by Alessandra Viola; winter pumpkins charred in ash from the restaurant’s live-fire grill with a Lagvinari Rkatsiteli from the Kakheti Appellation of east Georgia; and steak with a Casot des Mailloles El Niño VdF. They will also be putting a newly acquired sausage maker to use, serving housemade sausages and sauerkraut with a Bardos Mestizo Cider from Sonoma or Orval Trappist Ale from Belgium.
OPENING COVID-STYLE
The plan is that Rory’s Place will open this spring in “a very flexible way,” focusing on takeout first with more of a marketplace inside. The restaurant will have outdoor seating on the back patio and the interior will be retail only, eventually scaling back to make room for a raw bar, wine bar and live-fire grill in the dining room.
“The atmosphere will be warm and inviting, with something for everyone,” says Meave. “Ojai is an outdoor community with a wide range of demographics, so in addition to our fully prepared meals, we will offer pure ingredients and partially made items such as house-made sauces, dressings and ferments, charcuterie, sandwiches and sides to take on picnics or incorporate into a family meal at home.”
For more information visit RorysPlaceOjai.com.
