Boneyard BBQ opens in Waterford where restaurant nomad settles in to make barbecue, more

WATERFORD ― Jared Heath quietly opened Boneyard BBQ about three or four weeks ago. But he hasn't been lonely. Plenty of folks have stopped in for what he lovingly calls "a pile of meat."

And while the brisket is to die for, and Heath, 32, has four homemade BBQ sauces to lick off your fingers, he has a few surprises up his sleeve as well.

Which brings us to Pig & Fig pizza, which is your basic thin, crispy crust, sauce and mozzarella, all made infinitely better with the addition of smoked pork, fig and goat cheese, a delicious barbecue-sauce glaze and beautiful baby arugula for color. Not only is it beautiful, it's so good I could have eaten the whole thing by myself.

"Waterford needs more diversity in restaurants," he said. "I have worked in plenty of restaurants. I wanted to try and do what I want."

Most recently, Heath was a cook at the Sheraton and the Courtyard by Marriott, where he was a sous chef.

"I didn't enjoy the corporate world too well," he said. "And it was something I wanted to do, open a barbecue restaurant in Waterford. In Erie there's a lot of barbecue, but I thought it was a good option for Waterford."

Following family

He and his brother, Dustin Heath, grew up in Indiana and Jared graduated from Johnson & Wales culinary school in Rhode Island in 2012. Dustin, 33, met his wife, Tori Heath, in seminary, and she was called to be a minister at Asbury Global Methodist Church of Waterford.

"I wanted to come here to be close to family," Jared Heath said. "I've been here about four years," living in Conneaut, Ohio.

He said he'll be hiring in the summer when he hopes the restaurant's 42 seats will fill up, but right now his cashier and server Candy Butala, is his champion.

"I like everything he makes," she said. "But the Pig & Fig Pizza is my fave."

If you happen to order a "pile of meat," you get a choice of two sides, such as Cowboy Beans and Gouda and Bacon Mac & Cheese, both of which were delicious.

"It's the mac and cheese of your dreams," Butala said.

Tricks up his sleeve

Long term, Heath said he wants to introduce more entrees to the menu.

"I'd like to step away if I could to better options and more options," he said.

For now, he's humming along, saying plenty of people have come from Erie and Waterford to try his food, and he said he couldn't be happier. The restaurant is takeout and dine-in, but he won't do delivery anytime soon.

"I don't want to. It just causes problems," he said, adding that apps such as DoorDash and others can't prevent his nachos — which were perfectly crunchy when they left the restaurant — from getting soggy on a 30-minute drive.

So, he suggests visiting the Boneyard, at 118 High St., to try the barbecue, but come back to try the gnocchi with brown butter and sage with chicken and mushrooms.

"I want to do more stuff along those lines," he said.

Contact Jennie Geisler at [email protected] or at 814-870-1885. 

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Boneyard BBQ in Waterford PA offers smoked meat, creative dishes