Café Vivant Unveils A Sustainable Heritage-Breed Poultry Program

In a quiet corner of Menlo Park, a bold new restaurant is preparing to change how Americans think about poultry. Set to open this summer, Café Vivant is the first restaurant venture from acclaimed New York sommeliers Jason Jacobeit and Daniel Jung—names long associated with elite wine programs at Tribeca Grill (@tribecagrill) and the legendary Bâtard. But this isn’t just about pairing wine with food. It’s about redefining an entire category of American dining through the lens of heritage-breed poultry.

The idea for Café Vivant took root during the duo’s travels in France and Japan, where they observed a cultural reverence for poultry not as a mere protein, but as a prized ingredient with lineage, terroir and complexity. “In these countries, the focus isn’t on conventional farming labels and lifestyle inputs like organic or free-range but on heritage breeds—birds prized for their robust genetics, which directly contribute to their rich, complex flavor,” says Jung.

The realization? No one in the U.S. was doing this at scale, so they built the supply chain themselves. Just 20 miles from the restaurant site, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Jacobeit and Jung invested in an 80-acre farm dedicated to raising heritage chickens, guinea hens, quail and partridges—and eventually pigs and sheep—on regenerative pastures.

“It’s all designed to prioritize exceptional flavor and environmental stewardship.” –JASON JACOBEIT

“For the past seven months, our farm has been ground zero for an ambitious research and development project into heritage breed poultry genetics,” says Jacobeit. “It’s all designed to prioritize exceptional flavor and environmental stewardship.”

With executive chef Jared Wentworth (17 Michelin stars) and chef de cuisine Emily Phillips at the helm, Café Vivant aims to deliver a restaurant experience where every element—down to the genetics of the birds—is shaped with intention. The result is a menu that serves poultry with a story.

Backed by science, passion and the promise of a more flavorful future, Café Vivant isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a reckoning with how poultry—and perhaps American cuisine—can evolve. 720 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, @cafevivant