Jordan Joseph, the beverage director of Crawford Hospitality, will lead the bar. He has been at Crawford’s flagship restaurant, Crawford & Son, for four years. “We love the intimacy of this space and look forward to creating an inviting and welcoming setting for cocktails,” said Crawford in a news release. “We hope Sous Terre will be a thoughtful addition to the neighborhood, to our hospitality brand, and serve as a showcase for Jordan Joseph’s cocktails and the area’s most exciting bar talent.”

Sous Terre, which is French for “underground,” is the fourth concept for Crawford Hospitality. It will be located in the current Atlantic Lounge location at 620 North Person St. “We’re excited this opportunity presented itself; it’s a beautiful way for us to continue to share our hospitality with the Oakwood neighborhood, Raleigh community, and our restaurant guests,” Crawford said. “We hope Sous Terre will be a thoughtful addition to the neighborhood, to our hospitality brand, and serve as a showcase for Jordan Joseph’s cocktails and the area’s most exciting bar talent.”

Jolie, a French bistro located in Historic Oakwood, has a rooftop bar that’s a crowd favorite for special occasions and just-because dinners alike.

Jordan Joseph, the talented bev manager behind the bar at Chef Scott Crawford’s neighborhood restaurant, shares his background, favorite ingredients, and looks to what’s next for Crawford & Son.

This bright and colorful dish from Scott Crawford blends smoky corn and okra with tangy pickled peppers and a creamy buttermilk vinaigrette.

The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association has announced its annual Stars of the Industry award winners.
Scott Crawford, of Crawford Hospitality, is the 2023 Restaurateur of the Year. The five-time James Beard semi-finalist opened Crawford and Son in downtown Raleigh in 2016. Next door, he opened French bistro, Jolie, followed in 2019. Two years later, Crawford Cookshop opened in Clayton. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Crawford was outspoken about the challenges the restaurant industry faced. Crawford is also opening two new restaurants this year. Crawford Brothers Steakhouse is set to open in Cary’s Fenton development and Italian and Croatian restaurant, Brodeto, at Raleigh Iron Works.

“Eagle Rare Single Barrel. I discovered this bourbon around 2010 when I started to take spirits seriously. An ABC employee at a local Chapel Hill store who shared some of the same interest recommended it to me. Consistency is huge for me. […] I love it most after a long week, after a shift maybe, with a cold beer.” — Jordan Joseph, Bartender, Crawford and Son, Raleigh, N.C.

Family comes first for chef Scott Crawford. His restaurants are named for his children, Jiles and Jolie, and he runs modern neighborhood restaurant, Crawford & Son, and French bistro, Jolie, like a family affair accordingly, encouraging and cultivating a culture of healthy work-life balance. He extends the same care to his community by supporting local farms and purveyors. […] Heading into Father’s Day weekend, we felt it was fitting to catch up with Crawford to talk fatherhood and traditions—he also shares a menu to celebrate the holiday.

Crawford is ready to take risks, but only measured ones. His restaurants on North Person Street in downtown Raleigh are pillars of the adjacent Oakwood neighborhood. “I’m crafting for my community,” he says. “Raleigh is growing. With that growth, I’ve seen a willingness to try new things. I have established a trust with my community. They will agree to try new things and I’ll deliver in a way that I know they’ll enjoy.”

There is clearly much more to come in the Crawford world, and although they’re abundant, the awards and accolades that have followed him throughout his career never come up once during the conversation.

“I would like my legacy to be pretty simple,” he says. “Did I create lasting memories for my community? Was I a good leader for my people? Did I do a good job as a father and a husband? Did I practice my craft at the highest level I could? If I could answer those questions, ‘Yes,’ that’s what I would love for my legacy to be.”

And this is what Jolie accomplishes, with style and grace: the sense of wonder and joy behind the drilled application of technique and the resulting caloric onslaught that is French cooking.