Good to go

Gary Tucker
Posted: December 4, 2007

Washington, D.C.—Last fall, Georgetown University student Jonathan Neman, wearied by the dearth of healthy options near campus, countered with plans for what has sprouted into SweetGreen, a hip new California-style salad and yogurt eatery in the heart of the trendy university neighborhood at 3333 M Street NW. Foodie classmate friends Nicolas Jammet, Scott Goldstein, and Nathaniel Ru are partners in the venture, along with investors amongst recruited friends and families in the hospitality business, including New York City restaurateur Joseph Bastianich.

Intrigued by the young entrepreneurs' vision, CORE Architecture and Design transformed the tiny (a mere 600 square feet, including basement storage) long-shuttered Little Tavern hamburger joint into a model of green efficiency and clean minimal design with lots of natural light and exhibition-style foodservice areas where patrons can see exactly how their salads, wraps, and yogurts are prepared. A sophisticated green leaf blowup pattern, evocative of fresh, light, and healthy eating, complements the environmentally friendly antique hickory paneled interior.

Opened in July, the grab-and-go spot, with hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from noon to 8 p.m. on weekends, offers healthy patron-customized salads and wraps along with deliciously tart frozen yogurt from a recipe that took the owners six months to develop (ingredients include nonfat yogurt, skim milk, lemon juice, and a pinch of sugar) with fresh fruit toppings, plus bottled natural juices and herbal teas—all conspiring to champion fresh, organic, and local. Sustainable practices include menus printed with environmentally sound soy inks on recycled bamboo paper and reusable Tupperware salad containers, equipped with an ingenious "blaster" button on the lid that, when pressed, dispenses dressing from a little compartment.

Jammet seems to have inherited his parents' food business know-how. He's the son of André and Rita Jammet, celebrated proprietors of La Caravelle, one of the last bastions of French haute cuisine in New York City, which closed in May 2004 after 43 years. In his position as "food guy," he hopes to assuage notoriously ravenous college student appetites with the likes of deconstructed guacamole salad of mesclun, avocado, cilantro, grape tomatoes, red onion, and crushed tortilla chips, topped with cilantro/lime/ jalapeño dressing, or "Le Parisien," a Francophilic mélange of baby arugula, warm roasted turkey, Brie, pears, toasted almonds, and Champagne vinaigrette.

Plans are already underway to open additional SweetGreen locations, in partnership with CORE, in Dupont Circle and in Bethesda, Maryland, with more down the pipeline.