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Andre Lopez, whose family owns the Don Quijote restaurants in Miller Place and Patchogue, has decided to embark on his first solo venture with Jardin Café, coming 90 East Main Street this fall.
His idea is to bring healthier alternatives, around the clock, to the downtown, with a focus on the salad bar and rice bowls.
Lopez has taken over the old NOLE Café space that closed in December 2020, a closure that left a void for those looking to explore healthy eating options in the area.
His space will feature a fast-casual setup with some traditional sit-in appeal, with the decor featuring plenty of greenery — as though customers were dining in a garden, or jardin in Spanish, the inspiration for all aspects of his new business.
“That’s where our concept is coming from,” Lopez said. “Everything is from the garden. Everything is local, everything is fresh.”
This fresh garden concept will be most evident by the cafe’s salad bar, as well as other, seasonally changing offerings.
“We’re going to do rice bowls, all brown rice or quinoa, acai bowls,” Lopez said. “We’ll work with the seasons as well. We’ll try to work with local farms and local distributors and we’ll go as the seasons go.”
looking to go?
The plan is to keep Jardin Café open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, beginning n November. That means each day will start with a healthy breakfast, Lopez said, with a wide variety of breakfast bowls to pair with the coffee selections.
For lunch and dinner, commuters or sit-down diners will be able to choose from a list of protein options that will rotate through steak, chicken, tofu, fish and other vegan options before choosing from sautéed vegetables, or sweet potatoes, or other toppings.
Lopez said Jardin Café is still hiring both kitchen and front-end employees, and anyone interested can apply though the restaurant’s website.
Top: A taco bowl, from Jardin Cafe Patchogue’s Instagram
