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Long Beach just got a fresh dose of healthy — and it’s right on the boardwalk.
Barrier Beets is just steps from the sand and ocean at Riverside Boulevard and is serving up vibrant, health-conscious eats year-round.
“It’s got great food and it’s in an amazing location!” a jogger shouted to a reporter from the city boardwalk on Thursday.
Owner Margot Palazzo says that was exactly the goal.
“We have all these health-conscious, vibrant people, but there wasn’t a lot of vibrant food to match,” she told Greater Long Island. “We wanted this place to be inclusive for every kind of diet, any kind of need.”
Your way
The menu is all about options. Think signature and build-your-own salads, fresh-pressed juices and a colorful lineup of toasts served on either homemade gluten-free bread or sweet potato flats.
Add chicken, steak, salmon or tofu to any dish — and customize it however you like.
“We made it a point to have no asterisks on our menu,” Palazzo said. “There is no, ‘if you are vegan,’ ‘if you are nut-free,’ ‘if you are gluten-free.’ We have no nuts or gluten in this building. You don’t need to feel excluded if you follow any specific diet or if you have health issues.”
Colorful, never boring
Palazzo has spent most of her life working in restaurants.
Her partner, Toni Marie Melito, always dreamed of opening a salad shop.
Together, they blended those ideas into Barrier Beets — a place where healthy doesn’t mean dull.
“We want to be creative and different,” Palazzo said. “I want the food to be fun and pretty and colorful. You can’t do that with bacon, egg and cheese. But you can do that with our toasts and salads. They are works of art.”
If you go
Barrier Beets is located at 190 Boardwalk, next to the Mount Sinai Primary Care Walk-In Center. It’s open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Click here for the menu.
