Green Gables Cafe Celebrates 10 Years of Serving Healthy Foods
For more than a decade, the family-owned Green Gables Cafe in Coral Gables has been nourishing the community with organic whole foods in their friendly neighborhood restaurant. They partner with local artisans and work with sustainable farmers to serve pastured, grass-fed, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free meats and dairy. Their commitment to sustainability extends to environmentally conscious practices like 100 percent compostable packaging, recycling and plastic bottle waste initiative. We talked with owner Ana Rabel about 10 years of serving fresh, healthy meals.
How has Green Gables Cafe changed over the past decade?
Green Gables Café has stayed true to its original concept and I believe that is why we have gained the trust and respect of our followers. As everyone through the years has become more aware of their health, we have made a commitment to provide busy businesspeople access to healthy, nutrient-dense foods. We moved from a hole-in-the-wall to a bigger dining space. We have enhanced our catering options and have been able to offer a wider variety of organic foods as availability has increased. We have become more efficient with space and time in order to handle the increasing volume while our high customer service standards have also stayed in place.
Green Gables Cafe was a pioneer in embracing clean, healthy eating. What does that mean today?
More than ever, clean eating to me means nothing has dairy unless is cheese, nothing has animal protein that is not actual animal protein and nothing has gluten except flour: no hidden ingredients (no butter or cream in the soup or in the sauce, no flour to bread the meats or to thicken sauces).
Do you think people are more conscious today about what they eat?
There are definitely a lot more people aware of what they put in their bodies. Also, a lot more information is available to the public, which is wonderful. Paleo, vegan and gluten free are here to stay – thankfully, very few people are the three at the same time, those are difficult to feed – but of course we love the challenge!
How has your menu changed over the years?
We have learned that “bowls” are very popular, so we have created a few of those with paleo, vegan and vegetarian options. Our staple dishes are still there: butternut squash soup, lentil vegetable soup, the pulled turkey, the turkey “vaca frita” and the award-winning black bean-vegetable burger.
What are the biggest challenges you've faced? The most rewarding experiences?
Biggest challenges: Keeping prices accessible while using expensive ingredients, and having well-trained, properly compensated staff.
Most rewarding experience: Having customers bring their family and friends to share the experience and when they approach us to share their achievements – lowering their blood pressure, their cholesterol, when they can run marathons and have healthy babies and they thank us for helping them achieve these goals – and when those healthy babies become customers, nothing can beat that!
GREEN GABLES CAFE
327 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables
greengablescafe.com
Open for breakfast and lunch Mon.-Fri. 7:30am-4:30pm
Oatmeal Emma at Green Gables Cafe
The “Oatmeal Emma” at Green Gables Café walks a fine line between sweet and savory: nutty almond milk and creamy tahina...
