Homegrown, the rapidly expanding, Seattle-based fast casual concept created by Forbes “30 Under 30” duo Ben Friedman and Brad Gillis, is changing things up as it evolves from a sandwich-focused destination to a broader clean-eating café with a new menu that features breakfast sandwiches and bowls, healthy bowls for lunch and dinner made with warm ancient grains and new sandwiches built on thinner, crispier bread. Chef Michaela Skloven, who hails from award-winning restaurants like Gramercy Tavern and Per Se in New York City, was brought onboard to oversee the new culinary direction. Continuing the Homegrown mission of utilizing the best of the season from the brand’s own certified organic farms, Skloven will ensure seasonal and organic produce is featured in every dish on the menu as well as more diverse and bolder flavors.
Homegrown’s new menu embraces more craveable flavors like Moroccan chermoula, za’atar and matcha. New items include the Matcha Chicken Avocado Bowl with grilled chicken breast, avocado, warm ancient grains, feta, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, farm greens & basil lime matcha dressing and the Spicy Braised Tofu Bowl with braised tofu, charred broccoli, avocado, warm ancient grains, red cabbage, farm greens, miso lime dressing & a sriracha drizzle. Homegrown’s sandwiches will be made on new thinner and crispier bread to offer a healthy yet hearty option for bread lovers. Highlights include the Charred Broccoli featuring molten feta, caramelized onions, chermoula aioli and farm greens as well as the Za’atar Smashed Chickpea with raw beets, avocado, cucumbers, pickled red onions, cilantro, lemon harissa tahini & farm greens. The breakfast menu now includes the Two Fried Eggs Bowl with applewood bacon, harissa home fries, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, braised farm greens and chermoula aioli and the Coconut Chia Porridge with toasted coconut, chia seeds, tart dark cherries, sultanas, oats, ancient grains and pecans, served with almond milk.
After five years of growing the Homegrown brand in the Pacific Northwest, Friedman and Gillis developed Homegrown Sprouting Farms in 2014 to better connect Homegrown’s customers, sandwich partners (employees) and community to the land and to their food. When Homegrown expanded into the Bay Area in 2016, the founders purchased two acers in Discovery Bay, CA to provide produce for all California Homegrown stores. The co-founders believe that starting their own organic farms near their stores in every market helps connect people to their food and continues the trend of taking fine dining ideas and the slow food movement into a more accessible fast-casual restaurant format.
