This article is part of our Nutrition + Dining series. Here we explore holistic health topics and share favorite dishes from aligned restaurants.
Gone but not forgotten: cherished healthy, local restaurants with future evolutions TBD
In our recent article, “Survival of the Healthiest: Why Supporting These Special Restaurants Matters,” we revealed that an alarming 24% of the restaurants we’ve featured to date have closed their doors for good. Today, we pay homage to five of the special restaurants that graced our taste buds and left an indelible mark on our memories as they bid adieu over the past year.
In a culinary landscape that constantly evolves, it’s with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to some of the most cherished dining establishments.
Endings can be painful, but as nature demonstrates: a cycle of decline, followed by a fallow period, most often precedes a wonderful and spectacular blooming.
And on the bright side, nearly all of these intrepid restaurateurs vow to return in due time with their next evolved concept.
Here we celebrate their most recent contributions and wait in hopeful expectation for what’s to come.
Bento Picnic (Austin, TX)
A beautiful expression of balance and community, Bento Picnic celebrated the Japanese concept of Washoku and specialized in healthy bento boxes — all handmade using fresh, local sustainable ingredients.
Washoku incorporates a balance of tastes, colors, and textures for optimal enjoyment (and health)! We loved Bento Picnic’s vibrant produce, pickled veggies, and pastured organic Tamagoyaki eggs.
Coming out of the pandemic, Bento Picnic added a natural wine shop, “Saba Sans”, and also paired up with a sushi Chef to host exclusive pop-ups.
While the sushi pop-ups continue, both Bento Picnic and Saba Sans have said farewell for now… Chef/Owner Leanne Valenti is taking time to reflect and determine what’s next. In the meantime, she and Chef Leah Richardson are available for private parties and catering around ATX.
We’re eager for what’s next from these ladies and for more of their beautiful food!
Fresh Thymes Eatery, Marketplace, & Bodega (Boulder, CO)
Yet another “best of” place for clean, nourishing food has vanished from the landscape. Fresh Thymes was started by Christine Ruch, a veteran in the food industry who experienced dramatic improvements in her own battle with chronic illness (MS) through clean, nourishing food. Her mission was to share beautiful, delicious, and healthful dishes that would serve to help others – regardless of health status – feel good too.
Thymes was 100% gluten-free and all real, whole food with craveable options for a variety of preferences: vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and keto. Featuring house-made dressings, sauces, and gut-friendly ferments and broths. They always sourced sustainably, with priority going to local farms first.
Over the years, Thymes had expanded to include the Eatery, a Marketplace, and a Bodega. Yet starting in late 2022, they started shutting down one by one, like a painful prolonged domino effect.
In early 2023, the Bodega was the last Thymes standing and became the last shoe to drop. The news was hard to take, but it was a devastating season for Christine.
In a heartbreaking message to the community on the Fresh Thymes website, Christine wrote:
“I understand that this will come as a heartbreaking surprise to most of you, but want to be transparent about why I’ve made this decision, and what it means for the future. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit almost three years ago, we have been battling the rising cost of food, staffing challenges, and an increasingly difficult environment for small businesses in Boulder. Over the last few years, I have spent much time, resources, and energy toward keeping Fresh Thymes afloat, but at the end of the day, the financials simply do not make sense anymore. When something you love and cherish deeply becomes unsustainable, that is when honest conversations begin and difficult decisions have to be made.
This was a heartbreaking decision for me to make. I are so grateful for all of the love that you, our community, have shared, and cannot even begin to explain how much your support means to me.
In the end, my love and passion is not enough to allow the Eatery, Bodega and Marketplace to stay open. As such, with gut wrenching sadness, I have officially close all of the businesses and move to the next chapter of my personal and professional devotion to education, local ingredients, authentic health, and damn tasty food.
Thank you for everything,
–Christine”
For fall 2023: In collaboration with a couple behind an Ikarian organic winery and farm, Christine’s put together an immersive lifestyle retreat October 27-29 in Denver based on the principles of “Blue Zone” living, with a focus on Ikaria (Greece), where more of the population experiences exceptional longevity.
The retreat includes cooking classes and workshops, anti-stress and anti-inflammatory exercises, nature walks, lectures, as well as their lifestyle tips on well-being and longevity. (and with Christine on board, you know the food’s gonna be great!)
Learn more HERE
Fresh Thymes’ closures reminded us of another health-focused, much beloved Boulder restaurant, Shine, that stood for 20 years and shuttered in 2021. They’ve since doubled down on in-person and virtual community.
Beloved Cafe (New York, NY)
This special Vegetarian cafe offered scratch-made daily brunch and more using sustainable ingredients and healthy oils.
Local organic farms in New York and Pennsylvania provided fresh produce for the vibrant salads, soups, sides, and house specials.
Everything was made in-house, including the veggie burger patties and the daily-baked bread, made from fresh-milled organic whole grains from upstate NY (fermented using a 600-year-old sourdough culture from an abbey in Salzburg!).
Dare we mention those AM sourdough donuts!
There was even local organic A2 whole milk and housemade organic almond milk to pair with espresso or coffee… sigh… and natural wines.
It was everything NYC and the area needed.
But the awareness and support just wasn’t enough.
Alas, Beloved Cafe’s original location is still alive and kicking in San Francisco. If you’re near the Mission, stop by and say hello and enjoy their nourishing hand-crafted food, specialty artisan teas, wholesome treats, and more.
Misfits Bakehouse (Palo Alto, CA)
This one’s bitter sweet as Palo Alto’s loss will soon be Tampa, Florida’s gain!
Misfits was a 100% gluten-free and grain-free kitchen that turned out paleo, keto, and low-carb breads + baked goods using a proprietary almond/coconut flour blend.
Those delicious breads and baked goods just happened to be gluten-free, grain-free, Paleo, corn-free, soy-free, and refined sugar-free. Not to mention, nutrient-dense!
Mina Makram opened Misfits in 2015 at great personal expense. Literally, he sold his personal belongings to purchase equipment for the bakery.
And he spared no expense, using clean fats like grass-fed butter and ghee, and clean oils like olive oil and coconut oil. Natural sugars like coconut sugar and date syrup were used, and psyllium husk was also incorporated to boost fiber content, which helps stabilize blood sugar.
Misfits’s last splash in Palo Alto was mid-April 2023, preceding a cross-country adventure and a big move to Tampa.
Mina noted that the Bay Area had increasingly become a difficult place to run his alternative bakery, but that he’d never give up and will be bringing his healthy baked deliciousness to Tampa.
Everyday Pizza (Denver, CO)
This neighborhood spot featured creative wood-fired pizzas perfected with fresh seasonal veggies, foraged local organic mushrooms, and house-made vegan ricotta, cream, and dipping sauces.
Veggie-forward small places, handmade pasta, and even craft cocktails were inspired by the seasons (zero-proof too!). It was all whole food plant-based by the team behind the much-beloved Somebody People.
Can we just take a moment to honor their The Root Veg pizza, which featured salsify, ajo blanco, watercress, poblano, and meyer lemon ?!
It was pizza perfection – yet Everyday Pizza wasn’t even open for 12 months before closing down.
Silver linings: Everyday Pizza will return as more of an events and music venue, optimized for the community. #waitforit We can only hope for the return of The Root Veg!
And Denver plant-based fave Somebody People is still bringing delicious eats and creative, hyper-seasonal craft cocktails. Be sure to hit them up!
Help make healthy, sustainable, local restaurants be more Sustainable
This small sampling gives you a ‘taste’ of the caliber of restaurants we feature and what we’ve regretfully removed from our app over recent months.
And we’ll be here waiting to celebrate their next iterations and to welcome newcomers, time and again.
May this reminder of the fragility of the restaurant industry encourage us all to support such small local restaurants as much as possible.
YOU can help by showing up and sharing your support for local restaurants.
Vote with your wallet. Get out there, support, and enjoy while you can!
Order up and Tip well!
Finding sustainable, delicious, healthy restaurants
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