Matthew & Tiffany are the the Owners/Operators of Real Roots Café. They are a husband and wife team that loves health and loves food. Trained in cruelty-free, plant-based kitchens for years, they have merged the worlds of healthy and delicious; creating recipes that keep health and simplicity at the core. Meatless Movement recently had the opportunity to chat with them.
Real Roots Café is a plant-based cafe and smoothie bar, which specializes in smoothies, Real Bowls (think sorbet w/ granola and fresh fruit topping), paninis, hot food, assortment of grab-and go lunch items, delicious avocado toasts, frappes/lattes, slushes, and dang good coffee to boot.
Tell us more about yourselves, please
Get back to your roots
Real Roots Cafe
My wife and I are all about the outdoors, food, camaraderie, and anything vegan. We have 2 dogs and a 4.5 year old little girl that is absolutely full of positivity, smiles, laughs, and life. We both grew up in Chattanooga and love calling it home. After working in the corporate world for years, we both recognized it wasn’t healthy for us and finally heard our calling.
We opened our business in 2017 after gaining several years of experience in the local plant-based/vegan restaurant scene, getting our nutrition certification, and deciding we could expound upon what we knew.
Imagine being able to eat these amazing healthy foods without sacrificing flavor or portions
Real Roots Cafe
We operate a full menu cafe that runs the gambit from juice/smoothies, to coffee/baked goods, to paninis/salads/burritos, along with grab&go options. Being from the restaurant and health world, first and foremost we were focused on flavor.
We then started tweaking recipes to up the “health” factors. We would replace high fat items with starches and low fat ingredients to mimic textures and to keep recipes more on the simple side. Then we would focus on presentation and color…didn’t matter if we were creating a smoothie or a new entre…we focused on the same level of detail throughout the menu to make sure everything was delicious, while also being unique.
What we created is a plant-based cafe that feeds both omnivores and vegans alike.
We have spent hundreds of hours studying and perfecting recipes while also finding the highest quality and closest to source ingredients
Real Roots Café
My wife and I have been vegan since 2014 and we wanted to pass on the amazing health benefits, but we wanted to do it in a new way. We had been to many plant-based establishments in the past and they always seemed to carry the same things (hummus, bland salads, overly simple smoothies, tofu in every menu item, and lots and lots of coconut oil).
We knew we could create something that was unique, healthy, but full of flavor. We tested recipes on our family for a year or two, and most had no clue they were eating vegan dishes. Eureka!
So come in – hang out – and “Get Back to Your Roots”
Real Roots Cafe
A few of our top items are:
- The Reuben (local rye, house made “mozz,” house made seitan corned beef, sauteed mushrooms & onions, raw kraut, and house made 1000 island).
UMAMI! This is a crowd favorite that is absolutely loaded with flavor.
- Hawaiian Panini (local sourdough, house made BBQ jackfruit, diced pineapple, chopped pickles, and “mayo) – very unique and flavors fresh from the islands.
Friends who have visited passed along the info that “BBQ sauce, pineapple, and pickles are on all the Hawaii menus” – we thought a mix sounded delicious. We weren’t wrong!
- Smothered Burrito (huge tortilla with seasoned rice & beans, our signature “nacho cheeze,” cilantro/lime/avo sauce, lettuce, and tomato – grilled – then smothered with more “nacho cheeze,” and more cilantro/lime/avo sauce
- The Miso Healthy Salad (our salads are BIG…bed of mixed greens, cucumbers, carrots, hummus, red cabbage, avo, blackened tempeh, wonton strips, and our delicious and savory miso dressing)
- Raw Brownie Batter “Cheezecake” (avocado, raw cacao, vanilla, maple syrup, dates, and cashews) a rich, decadent desert we can hardly keep stocked
We want to thank all you wonderful people for the support because without yall we wouldn’t be here
Real Roots Cafe
Firstly, our families…we have spent years and years learning about the science & health side of diet and lifestyle. During that time, we have utilized our families for recipe testing, to tell them new and interesting health information, and for a myriad of other, less glamorous things. We can’t thank them enough for their efforts on doing the cafe buildout including flooring, walls, painting, equipment moving, signage printing and hanging, bar building, and anything else we could do ourselves. Honestly, we wouldn’t be even close to where we are without them. We also want to thank our friends who support the cafe through $ or through sharing our mission and social media. It’s been an amazing ride and they have been integral to our success.
We have many transplants in Chattanooga from Chicago and New York. I get at least one person a week who is not plant-based and says “this is the best Reuben I’ve ever had!.” Makes my heart smile everytime this happens. Shows just how good our food is.
We have cut out the unnecessary ingredients to provide you with true and real food. Come see how food should be!
Real Roots Cafe
Real Roots is the Jamaican slang for “organic” or “from the Earth.” We heard about this when watching Bob Marley documentaries a few years back. We knew it was the perfect name for our future cafe.
With 70% of the world lactose intolerant, it’s no wonder more and more places are starting to look at plant-based options on their menus. It’s also no wonder that more establishments are starting to open that are fully plant-based as there are many restaurant niches to fill that have barely been touched, especially when it comes to healthy “fast food” and the bar scene.
Everyday, we strive to give you the most nutrient dense and nourishing foods without sacrificing taste or the comfort that food and drinks can bring
Real Roots Cafe
The main misconception is that plant-based diets are depriving diets, which is just not true. In fact, I encourage people to eat as much fresh fruit, veggies, grain, nuts, seeds, and starches as they want. The more plants you eat, the more variety you have, the more vitamins and minerals that are then naturally in your diet. There is a right and a wrong way to do everything…doing plant based the right way is the healthiest, most fortifying, and complete diet possible.
We absolutely love our life and we thrive more than we ever have. We have our little girl with us daily and we get to offer amazing plant-based dishes to our community…which takes tens of thousands of animals off of peoples’ plates annually. We also get to show people how versatile and abundant plant-based cooking actually is and how amazing it is for your body, mind, and spirit.
Real Roots Cafe
Restaurant
M-F 8AM-6PM: SAT 9AM-4PM
NRTH MRKT | “Get Back to Your Roots”
<<100% Plant-Based Cafe>>
vegan | smoothies | food
coffee | paninis | healthy