Introducing Harrison Schailey and Kit Henshaw
Chef Harrison Schailey and wife, Kit Henshaw, own and operate Harrison's Wine Grill and Harrison's Catering and have since it opened as Harrison's Chef-Prepared Foods in 2000.
Harrison, a native of the Levittown, Pa, originally came to State College to wrestle for Penn State. He got his start in restaurants and management in State College with well known local restauranteur, Mike Desmond at Great America, now known as Hi-way Pizza North where Harrison and Kit, a State College native, met. They lived and worked together in Chicago, Il, Sanford, FL, Charlevoix, MI, Milwaukee, WI, Louisville, KY, Barnegat, NJ, Charlottesville, VA, and San Francisco, CA. Along the way, Kit acquired an MBA from the University of Virginia, Darden Graduate School of Business. They had their first child, a son named Cole in 1994. Like many State College natives and PSU alumni starting a family, they decided to move back to State College and had another son, Mac, in 1996.
In 2000, they opened Harrison's Chef-Prepared Foods on North Atherton Street, offering quality foods for carry-out, eat-in and catering. As this business grew and the lease ran out, Harrison's grew into a full service restaurant by relocating to the restaurant space located within the Hilton Garden Inn. This added breakfast, banquets and full bar service and allowed a more extensive and interesting dinner menu influenced by the seasonal-regional cuisine of California wine country.
Now known as Harrison's Wine Grill and Catering, this growing business is upscale yet casual – offering contemporary American cuisine with a seasonal/regional focus (see below for more info on local food interests) for lunch, dinner, catering and carry-out and providing the breakfast and banquet-fare for the Hilton Garden Inn.
Why Fresh? Why Local?
A few words from owners Kit Henshaw & Harrison Schailey:
"Twelve years ago we had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with Cathrine Sneed on the life-changing San Francisco Garden Project. Cathrine believes gardening has fundamental human restorative benefits and that prisoners can be rehabilitated through gardening. She pioneered a groundbreaking program to teach gardening, business and life skills to inmates at the San Francisco County Jail so that they can create a life after prison. Garden Project participants raise organic produce to give to seniors and the homeless, and they sell it to prominent San Francisco restaurants like the world-renowned Chez Panisse, where Harrison also apprenticed with Alice Waters.
"It's important to us that we learned from Cathrine about restaurant-supported agriculture, environmentally sound growing practices and running a socially responsible business. It's important to you that we learned from Chez Panisse, Cindy Pawlcyn of Mustards Grill and others, how to get the best tasting food—it simply must be fresh, fresh, fresh.
"We've come back East to work cooperatively with local growers and suppliers to produce our own community "win-wins". We have been partnering withTait Farm for years, and now begin our second year of a farm-to-table "restaurant supported agriculture" relationship. We purchase from Tuscarora Organic Growers and from other local growers who show up at our back door with beautiful bumper crops (really!).
"While we don't expect all of you to share our passion for mission-driven business, we hope you share our passion for great tasting food.
"Eat Fresh. Eat Local. Eat Well!"
Harrison Schailey, Chef/Proprietor
Kit Henshaw, Business Manager/Proprietor