Fresh food made fast
Crisp, a salad and juice bar, makes healthy cuisine available for students
COLORFUl — Two years ago, Sean Bailey was running “The Canopy Food Truck” in downtown Lynchburg. Now, he and his fiancé, Anne Dorman, now own Crisp. Photo provided
The move toward buying local and eating organic food is a trend that is spreading across the country. Lynchburg is welcoming this trend into the city with downtown’s newest concept, Crisp, a salad and juice bar offering natural ingredients and fresh pressed juices.
Jan. 12 marked the first week of operation for Crisp, and owner Sean Bailey was pleased with the turnout for the grand opening.
Located on 725 Church St., Bailey believes that Crisp is nestled in an ideal part of town.
“(W)e’re in the Allied Arts building, which is one of the tallest and most beautiful buildings downtown,” Bailey said. “We love the building. We love the space. We see the development happening downtown, and we want to be a part of it.”
Bailey and his fiancee and business partner Anne Dorman are no strangers to the food industry. Prior to opening Crisp, the two worked out of The Canopy Food Truck located
in downtown Lynchburg.
“We’ve been in the industry for years now,” Bailey said. “We have a food truck that we run on Main Street that has its own little following, and we ran a food truck in D.C. for two years.”
According to Bailey, The Canopy Food Truck is similar to the concept of Crisp in that it offers a variety of fresh, healthy options.
“We had people constantly coming because they couldn’t generally get that any place else,” Bailey said.
With experience and knowledge in the food industry, Bailey and Dorman saw the demand for fresh, local foods and decided that Lynchburg was ready for a place like Crisp.
“We see a trend happening,” Bailey said. “We realize that it’s a concept that we both fell in love with and wanted to bring our own twist to. We just feel like nobody is capitalizing on this trend.”
Crisp is unique to Lynchburg because of its variety of fresh, natural ingredients that cannot be found at most other restaurants in the area.
“There’s nothing like it around here,” Bailey said. “Right now it’s a trend you see happening a lot in major cities, so you can definitely find it in and around D.C. But other than that, you’re not going to find it in a lot of other places.”
According to Bailey, Crisp will appeal to the more nutrition and health-conscious residents and visitors of Lynchburg.
“The food cost will be a little more expensive than your average restaurant, but we do what we can to make it affordable and accessible because we want to reach everybody,” Bailey said.
Crisp features a full salad bar with more than 40 ingredients to choose from. This bar offers the option for customers to either build their own salad or choose a classic salad from the menu.
“We do a Mexicali,” Bailey said. “It has chopped romaine, grilled chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onions, black beans, sweet corn, cheddar cheese and chipotle ranch dressing.”
Other salads include the Cobb, East Asian, Chicken Caesar and Super Fruit.
“It’s not just the typical vegan bar,” Bailey said. “We offer avocados, steak, chicken, turkey, bacon and falafel.”
Crisp also offers the option of building your own smoothie, juice, oatmeal, parfait or breakfast sandwich.
“I mean, if you’re looking for a nutritious punch, we have it,” Bailey said. “Healthy food does not have to be bland, it’s the exact opposite. I’d say most things in raw form are better.”
Some specialty ingredients include Quinoa, pomegranate seeds, mandarin oranges, multiple cheeses, fresh berries, alfalfa sprouts, capers, nuts, Chinese noodles, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds.
“Basically our concept is all about being able to see all of these fresh ingredients,” Bailey said. “(You) choose whatever you like and you customize whatever you want.”
Another thing that sets Crisp apart from other juice places in the Lynchburg area is its juice machine.
“We have a machine here that juices 40 oranges a minute,” Bailey said. “You’re not going to get a fresher juice anywhere within a hundred mile radius.”
According to Bailey, he and Dorman are seeking local suppliers to stock their fresh fruits, vegetables and meats.
“A big part of the plan is to build relationships with these local growers,” Bailey said. “A big part of this brand we’re building is about bringing in local, organic produce from partners in the area who are like-minded.”
Crisp is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information about Crisp, visit their official Facebook page at facebook.com/pages/crisp.
BUNNER is a feature reporter.