Everything at Real Roots Cafe is vegan — though it may not look (or taste) like it.Despite having a new name, a new menu and a new owner, The Local Juice in Fort Oglethorpe has not strayed far from its roots.
Matt and Tiffany Lake purchased the operation from Trent Brockie, who still owns the location in downtown Chattanooga. Opening shortly after the Lakes became vegans, they cut their teeth at that location making cold-pressed juices, smoothies and raw foods.
Matt was the store manager; Tiffany was the kitchen manager.
With their first child on the way, they were both training their replacements when Brockie offered to sell them the fledgling Fort Oglethorpe store.
"We'd been trying to figure out what the next steps of our lives would be," Matt Lake said. "It was kind of like a slap in the face from the universe: 'If you want it, this is the time. It's going to be hard but this is the time.'"
Calista was born July 28. They opened the restaurant Sept. 19, renaming it Real Roots Cafe.
Though fresh juices and locally roasted Mad Priest Coffee are still available, the menu focuses more on food and smoothies now. The juice menu has been stripped down to four options, while the food menu keeps growing.
"Cold-pressed juice is just not in high demand [here], especially with the price you have to charge," Matt Lake said, referencing the pounds of fresh produce required. "We thought, what are we good at? Tiff is great in the kitchen so I knew we needed to include hot food items."
Everything is handmade sans animal products, he said - no butter, no cheese, no eggs. But that hasn't hindered flavor, with a steady stream of five-star reviews on Facebook.
"We don't advertise that we're plant based, vegan, all that fun stuff," said Lake. "We want the food to speak for itself. We want people in the area to come in and go, 'Oh my God, what is this? This is so good,' and then we tell them it's all plant based."
Tiffany, Calista and Matt Lake, from left, are making it easier for North Georgians to go "raw" with their eatery Real Roots Cafe. "I'm about to be 34 but I feel like I'm back in college," Matt Lake said regarding his vegan diet's impact. "I just feel like I have way more energy."
Simple items like a variety of toast and grab 'n go items make up the bulk of Real Roots' menu, though since taking over in September, new owners Matt and Tiffany Lake have added daily specials like Buffalo jackfruit tacos.The recipes are ones the Lakes eat at home. The daily specials and grab 'n go items have been perfected over four years of veganism and four years of vegetarianism before that. The slushes are the result of pregnancy cravings and a desire for a healthy alternative.
"We sell our chili during the week like crazy. Tiffany can barely keep that made," Lake said, listing other top-sellers like the Island Hopper toast and the Almond Monkey Bowl. "The food is that mouthwateringly good; it just happens to be plant based."
The food is proving so popular, in fact, that they are adding take 'n bake options in the near future.
"I probably got more [Facebook] comments on [that post] than anything I've posted, so people definitely want it," Lake said. "We'd originally pinned this month but it may have to be next month."
The servings will be large enough to feed a family the healthy option of vegan lasagna, for example. Guests will be able to come into the store for pick-ups once or twice a week.
"With the potential for that comes so many other things," Lake said of future plans to sell some of the existing offerings in bulk, like "our hummus, which Tiffany makes in-house, and the 'cheese,'" a vegan nacho-like sauce that people have been requesting tubs of.
To see a menu or to learn more, visit facebook.com/RealRootsWellness. The cafe can be reached at 423-802-2699, and is at 1549 Battlefield Parkway.
Email Jennifer Bardoner at jbardoner@timesfreepress.com