Central Florida Green Guide

There’s a new “Green” restaurant on Lee Road!  I’ve frequented the restaurant several times in the past couple of months with my kids and we’ve enjoyed the different wrap sandwiches and the “broccoli slaw”.   They also have kids meals that are healthier than the selection at most fast food restaurants.  The building stands out on Lee Road- it’s is a very bright green painted building.  The inside features bamboo floors, eco-friendly furniture, and paintings by local artists.  Green Day Cafe is an affordable, family friendly restaurant with vegetarian and vegan options, and drive through service.

Following is the interview I had with Chad Tomlinson, the restaurant owner.

What was the inspiration behind starting this restaurant?

The inspiration for the green day cafe came about because of a global marketing company that markets an Anti-Aging product called ViaViente. My entire family and I have been involved in this company and this was our main source of income. We wanted to get the word about it out so we decided to open a concept that would support it. I have always wanted to own a restaurant so…when the opportunity came about to work in a fast food restaurant I postponed my home based business and went to work for a major chain. 9 months later I felt I had learned all I needed to from the fast food giant and 12 weeks later green day cafe opened its doors. Our entire restaurant is centered around ViaViente which we proudly serve in our ViaBlast.

Also, there are so few healthy choices out there. In today’s economy, everyone is in such a hurry that our fast food choices are limited to a slim few. Many of which lack proper nutritional values. This was also a strong component as to how the green day cafe concept was born.

What are your future plans for the restaurant?

We have many new and exciting salads and wraps as well as organic coffee delights and desserts that will be surfacing later this year. green day cafe has opened with a bang but has not even come close to its full menu potential. We also have sever plans in the works for 5 more locations to be opening in late 2009.

How difficult or expensive is it to be a green fast food restaurant?
It is very difficult to have a green concept restaurant. Not only are green products 2-3 times more expensive then traditional supplies, but many companies have just started to entertain this concept and therefore their production costs are still very high. These costs are passed on to the purchasers and so on. We have however been very fortunate in the fact that we have negotiated heavily with our current and even some future vendors in order to supply high quality products in eco-friendly packaging at a price that is very competitive with many fast food restaurant chains.

I noticed everyone was smiling today .  Tell me about your employees.
A store and its team members are only as strong as its management team. We are happy, smiling people because we like what we do and are happy to be here. Therefore, our entire team feels the same way. We were actually very lucky in the fact that this new concept was so appealing and hit home with so many people. We had the best candidates to choose from. In fact, it was hard to decide who was the most qualified as all the applicants were outstanding individuals.

For more information about Green Day Cafe you can go to their website at greendaycafe.com.