Opening August 14 in Murray Hill (440 3rd Ave), Local Leaf is a new fast casual restaurant that will serve chef-crafted, responsibly sourced lettuce wraps, breakfast bowls, seasonal soups, customizable cold-pressed juices and more. With a focus on all-day dining options and a passion for farm-to-hand cuisine, the eatery aims to make common menu items both uncommonly delicious and inherently sustainable and is committed to making socially conscious food more accessible in everyday dining.

Local Leaf will take a creative, health-conscious approach to its all-day dining offerings, with a focus on fully loaded Swiss chard lettuce leaf wraps.  Local Leaf’s wraps will be available in signature flavors like the West Coast (wild grains, seitan al pastor, black bean falafel, tortilla crumble and a Tabasco-lime dressing) or fully customizable with an array of sustainably sourced, expertly prepared grains, proteins and toppings.

Lettuce-based platters and bowls will also be available, and the eatery’s expansive breakfast menu will include an assortment of nourishing items, from green breakfast crepes and grain, yogurt and acai bowls to hearty egg and tofu scrambles. Beverage options will include a range of uniquely customizable cold-pressed juices and teas as well as ginger shots and spice-, herb- and fruit-infused waters, all available at Local Leaf’s Hydration Bar.

Founded by Jon Mizrach, a hospitality expert; Rick Bender, an accomplished career chef; Solomon Choi, a successful food entrepreneur and founder of the frozen yogurt chain Sixteen Handles; and Shaun Goodman, a licensed CPA and business management professional, Local Leaf is committed to keeping its dollars invested in local farming economies and its principles rooted in supporting the global community.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing healthy all-day dining options to New Yorkers while highlighting on sustainable, socially conscious ingredients and modernizing the definition of local and delicious,” says Jon Mizrach.

Produce and proteins will be sourced as locally as possible through trusted vendors like Hudson Valley Harvest, a cooperative of over fifty farms in upstate New York, and Local Leaf will work only with suppliers whose practices and principles align with their own. In an effort to minimize food waste, Local Leaf will also actively purchase second tier produce from local farms and will repurpose fruit and vegetable trim from Local Leaf’s kitchen in creative ways when crafting house-made salad dressings, juices and infused beverages.