Lily Rivkin always loved cherries—until she bit into one while sitting at her desk as an intern and suddenly couldn’t breathe. After a terrifying trip to the ER, she learned she had developed adult-onset allergies. That meant many of the fast foods favored by busy young professionals—fried chicken, french fries, and hamburgers—were out of the question.
At the time, the 20-year-old Yale student was on a fast track to success in finance and tech in New York City. While immunotherapy helped her manage her allergies, her approach to fast food changed forever. She now had to carry an EpiPen in case she consumed dill, a commonly used spice. Eating out became a challenge due to the lack of ingredient transparency.
“I’m a foodie, and I never had to think about what I was consuming, so this experience threw me for a loop,” Rivkin says. “I learned that menus aren’t what you see, and the only kitchen you can trust is your own. But there’s a growing amount of Americans who want to know what’s in their food and who need simplicity and transparency.”
Rivkin felt a growing desire to challenge traditional fast-casual restaurant norms and redefine how Americans approach fast food. She wanted to provide ingredient-conscious consumers with a menu rooted in simplicity, transparency, trust, and taste.
In a bold move, she left the fintech world for hospitality, juggling her MBA studies with learning how to cook and training under former Restaurant Daniel chef Robin Ferrier. While taking classes, the idea for Rooted began to take shape.
“The first thing I did on campus was go to the Venture Lab, which helps entrepreneurs build businesses. I was learning how to pitch to investors while also taking classes on how to create a brand focus based on consumer behaviors. My professors were advisors to me … I felt like I was in an incubator,” Rivkin adds.
Her idea earned spots in Wharton’s VIP-C and Food Innovation Accelerators, secured funding from its venture capital arms, and reached the semifinalist round of the Wharton Startup Challenge. She used feedback from her professors and fellow students to refine the Rooted concept, developing a transparent restaurant experience that eliminated the guesswork from fast food. She tested menu items by hosting dinner parties in her apartment.
Inspired by better-for-you consumer packaged goods brands like RXBAR, which champion minimalistic, straightforward food, Rooted’s menu stands out by using seven household ingredients or fewer in every dish, cooking exclusively with olive oil, and listing all ingredients clearly.
Customers can customize their meals by mixing and matching vegetables, proteins, legumes, starches, sauces, and sides. Rivkin wanted Rooted’s proteins made to order rather than sitting in warming trays. She envisioned a restaurant without an assembly line—where customers order from a kiosk, wait two and a half minutes, and receive a freshly prepared meal.
“Simplicity doesn’t make something difficult or boring. I think it elevates the natural flavors of a dish,” Rivkin says. “I don’t think you need more ingredients to make something delicious. Customers can see every ingredient listed when they order on the kiosks, with pictures and a team member there to guide them through if needed. I wanted Rooted to have a higher level of transparency, service, and efficiency in the fast-casual space, and you don’t necessarily have to have an assembly line to do that.”
She also scrapped the standard tan takeout bowl commonly associated with fast-casual restaurants. After five months of research and development, Rivkin introduced what she calls the Bounty Box—a compartmentalized container designed to keep each dish separate during transit, preserving quality and freshness.
“Sometimes flavor profiles don’t mix well in a bowl, and I wanted to stay away from an unappetizing cafeteria tray type of look,” Rivkin says. “I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could create a sleek box that kept food separate and gave customers the optionality of deciding exactly what goes in there.”
In summer 2023, Rivkin brought her idea to life with a pop-up shop at Olly Olly Market in New York. Six weeks later, her permanent location opened, incorporating insights from Wharton and the market. The storefront echoed everything Rivkin envisioned—kiosks, flat-top grills, and a simple yet warm and inviting interior. Floor-to-ceiling windows reflected Rooted’s philosophy of transparency.
Rivkin documented her journey from business proposal to pop-up market to permanent storefront on TikTok, gaining a massive following in the process. She went viral, amassing more than 22,000 followers as she shared behind-the-scenes insights into launching a restaurant.
“I posted five days a week for the entire summer [since the pop-up], and towards the end, we had our first viral video hit over 40,000 views,” Rivkin says. “It changed everything. Our online orders quadrupled, people were flying in from other states, our first day open had a line out the door … It was an eye-opening experience and allowed me to have a direct line of communication with my customers. It’s created this incredible, friendly community rooted in transparency.”
While her journey into the fast-casual world is just beginning, Rivkin has big ambitions. She believes everyone has a right to ingredient transparency and aims to provide access to simple, clean food across the U.S.
“I believe in my vision, and I’ve learned that ‘no’ is a full sentence. People ask me if I’m ever going to evolve the idea of Rooted … but I want to grow based on my key pillars, on the things that make my restaurant different. Especially as a small female in business, you have to learn that you can be both kind and firm with people, and it’s not a weakness,” Rivkin says. “I want to grow, but I don’t think I’m reinventing the wheel here. Every recipe requires ingredients … Why not show our customers them? I want to increase food transparency for customers in every community, not just in New York.”
