Heister's Grill Opens in Arbutus

Leslie Heise opened with no business plan, just a collection of cherished recipes handed down three generations and a compelling desire to create delicious foods.

"I enjoy to cook," she said from behind the counter of her carry-out, located at 1405 Sulphur Spring Road next to . "I have a good sense of what people enjoy."

An native who grew up as Leslie Baron in Huntsmoor, Heise is married to Edward Heise, a native Arbutuan as well.

While working for several years in a variety of careers, ranging from waitressing to real estate, and raising two children--now 13 and 16 years of age--Heise daydreamed of one day opening her own restaurant and filled notebooks with ideas for menus and dishes.

"This is something I've talked about for the last 15 years," she said.

On Sept. 15, Heise's dream became real when Heister's Grill opened its doors. Providing what she described as "comfortable gourmet" foods, Heister's uses freshly prepared ingredients to make deli sandwiches on a carry-out basis to eat at home or the office, or at one of two tables on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.

The ham and chicken are freshly roasted, the steak marinaded and grilled before being placed between your choice of sourdough, wheat or rye bread. Heise said that one of her regular items will be an old-world matzoh ball soup with a freshly made chicken stock, as well as other homemade seasonal soups.

Top it off with generously portioned homemade desserts, including coconut custard pie and chocolate eclair cake.

"I call the cakes shares," Heise said. "They're big enough to share."

Heise is determined to provide customers with a flavorful and memorable experience. "I want to revolutionize lunch in Arbutus," she said. "I just want to bring something new and fresh to Arbutus."

Standing behind the counter on her grand opening Oct. 3, Heise appeared in her element--happy and in control. "This is exactly what I've always wanted to do," she said.