St. Louis residents can enjoy freshly cut lettuce in the Grove and see the concept in action as a new vertical farm-to-table, quick-serve salad restaurant opened March 19. Neon Greens grows its lettuce in a container farm which is connected to the restaurant, located at 4176 Manchester Avenue. St. Louis native and owner Josh Smith has a mission to provide customers with fresh salads, according to a press release.
The concept "was born out of a passion for fresh and flavorful ingredients," Smith said.
"Our salads are made with the freshest lettuce you can get, making them better tasting and much more nutritious than what you'd find in most grocery stores. There aren't many other concepts like this in the country, and I can't wait to share something so special with my hometown."
Three types of lettuce are grown in the 400-square-foot vertical farm at Neon Greens, including Green Oakleaf, Red Sweet Crisp, and Mizuna. It can grow up to 6,500 pounds of produce annually. A conveyor belt system transports the produce from the farm to the restaurant, where guests can watch the process through a window near the ceiling, according to the press release.
The window also is a starting point for the conveyor belt system to bring lettuce into the restaurant that travels over the heads of diners before it arrives in the kitchen. "By introducing this new way of dining that connects guests to what they eat, Neon Greens is reshaping the future of farm-to-table restaurant concepts," the press release states.
Read the entire article at Spectrum Local News