Fresh Kitchen (FK), the popular build-your-own-bowl quick-service concept, officially opens its 13th Florida location yesterday in bustling Midtown Miami, one of the hottest and fastest-growing neighborhoods in the city, with an immediate effort to give back to the community it serves. The restaurant has opened its doors for the first time in Miami for both lunch and dinner as well as take-out orders and group catering. During their Friends & Family soft opening days on Sunday, February 19th and Monday, February 20th, Fresh Kitchen offered in-store guests the opportunity to donate to Dream in Green, a 4-star rated charity in Miami that addresses the unique environmental challenges and raised $3,000 for the non-profit organization during their soft opening.
Fresh Kitchen’s Midtown Miami Launch Supports Local Charities
FK also brought attention to fighting food insecurity by implementing a food donation component aimed to serve local women’s shelter, The Lotus House, and Buddy System: a collection of selectively placed neighborhood refrigerators that provide people in under-represented communities with free, healthy food. The initiative was funneled through Food Rescue US, whose Miami volunteers picked up excess healthy food (including pre-made bowls) from Fresh Kitchen and delivered it directly to these life-saving organizations. Sheltering 1,550+ women, youth and children annually, The Lotus House is the largest shelter for women and children in the country. The center provides resources and multi-faceted, comprehensive supportive services to help guests successfully exit the shelter system and lead lives of greater opportunity. Respectively, Buddy System has established ten Community Fridges in Miami-Dade County. These fridges are changing the landscape of food insecurity in Miami, existing in food deserts with a simple message: Take what you need, leave what you can.
New to the brand, the Miami location also opened its doors with composting in their efforts to be more sustainable and help reduce food waste. FK partnered with local South Florida company Renuable in hopes to roll out the composting program company-wide later this year. During training week, Renuable founder, Xavier DeRoos, joined the team to help train and teach their 90+ new team members about composting and how they’ll be directly helping fight climate change, supporting local farmers, and playing an important part in ensuring a healthier food system.
“Our main focus at Fresh Kitchen is to share love. Whether it’s through providing clean food that people can feel good about eating, creating a welcoming atmosphere where our guests and team feel like they belong, or making a positive impact in our community and doing better for the planet,” says Steven Lanza, President of Fresh Kitchen. “It’s become a tradition for us to celebrate our openings by giving back to the local communities that so generously welcome us. We are excited to partner with such great organizations and support local businesses that really align with our values. It’s also been incredible to experience such a diverse team, with so many unique stories that help bring our Miami location to life. I was touched watching it all happen and I am truly grateful.”
FK reimagined fast food when they opened their first restaurant to overwhelming success in Tampa, Fla.’s SoHo district in 2014. Fresh Kitchen has a total of 12 locations that span the state with locations spanning Tampa, Central Florida and South Florida. Their most recent location prior to Miami opened in Winter Garden in 2022. The brand, which has become synonymous with healthy options made with the freshest ingredients, has set plans to continue its expansion with additional restaurants on the horizon that includes a 14th location in Lakeland, Fla. slated for April 2023.
FK invites guests to build their own chef-inspired bowls “as fast as they can point.” Made from scratch and fresh-to-order, guests can choose from seasonal ingredients including fresh greens, sweet potato noodles, perfectly seasoned rice, roasted veggies, hormone and antibiotic-free grilled meats, responsibly sourced salmon, home-made sauces, and flavorful add-ons. All veggies are cut in-house daily, and the entire menu is 100 percent gluten-free with vegan options available. Bowls range from $13.65 for a Six Bowl (two bases, two veggies, two proteins, one add-on, one sauce) to $10.65 for a Four Bowl (two bases, one veggie, one protein, one add-on, one sauce), and $8.95 for a Kid’s Bowl (one base, one veggie, one protein, one add-on, one sauce).
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As part of FK’s unwavering commitment to their food ethos, all food is prepared using pure olive oil, a nutrient-friendly, heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory alternative to the more frequently used canola oil, which is often genetically modified and highly processed.
Freshly brewed teas, lightly sweetened juice frescas, and juices are prepared in-house daily and complemented by cane sugar craft sodas. Treat yourself with gluten-free, paleo-friendly dessert, Chocolate Chip Cookies. FK also offers convenient catering options such as individual catering bowls and shareable meals like the Family Meal (feeds four for $52) or Feast Meal (feeds eight for $97). Their catering meals are perfect for businesses and sports teams, as well as families looking to make meal prep easy.
Fresh Kitchen Miami is located at 3201 North Miami Avenue, Suite 103 in Miami, FL and is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:35 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9:05 p.m. The restaurant can be reached by phone at (305) 239-6005.
