Fork & Salad is a Maui restaurant with a mission: #EatLocalEatHealthy. The new eatery is aiming to redefine the “farm-to-table” movement, and reconnect people to their food sources. The restaurant, which just opened July 13, has partnered with more than 25 different farms and suppliers to source its menu as locally and organically as possible.
Fork & Salad’s fresh concept is catching on quickly with Maui residents and visitors looking for a healthy dining option.
Featuring signature and build-your-own salads with around a dozen house-made, gluten-free dressings and 50 ingredients to choose from. Its goal is to make fresh, local food more affordable and accessible to everyone.
“Convenience is a key factor,” explains Fork & Salad co-owner Travis Morrin. “We want people to have plenty to choose from, so there’s always something new to try. They can sit down and enjoy it here, or take their food on-the-go.”
Fork & Salad has been training staff to build salads and menu items in three minutes or faster, and with that in mind they have developed a mobile app for take-out orders, available on IOS and Android.
“People pick their menu items, order and pay, all using the app,” says co-owner Jaron Blosser. “Then we have a dedicated space in the restaurant just for to-go orders, so it’s fast and easy.”
Fork & Salad also offers sandwiches, soups and an extensive array of beverages, featuring fresh juices, health shots and kombucha on tap. It will be serving beer and wine after receiving its liquor license.
The food isn’t the only custom creation. The chefs built-out much of the restaurant themselves and hand-crafted many features, including the tables, counters, railings, recycling receptacles and water stations. They also completely built out the space with help from professionals; the construction process took several months and transformed the empty site into the modern space they have today. The chefs’ hands-on work was a labor of love, and allowed them to stay within their budget.
“We wanted to pass the savings onto our customers,” explains Cody Christopher, whose woodworking skills are showcased all around the restaurant. “We kept our start-up costs down, did a lot ourselves. We want people to not have any excuse for not eating healthy!”
The restaurant is striving to be cost-conscious. For instance, customers choose their base greens plus five fresh ingredients to build an entrée-sized salad for just $8.95. Sandwiches start at $9 and include a small spring mix salad.
Co-owners Jaron Blosser, Travis Morrin and Cody Christopher have been working on the concept for several years. The friends, surfers and business partners also own Three’s Bar & Grill in Kīhei, which opened in 2010.
The new restaurant is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Azeka Mauka shopping center, in part of the former Stella Blues building. Please visit www.forkandsaladmaui.com for more details and blogs.
