If you were to point to some of the biggest trends in the pre-pandemic foodservice world, health-oriented concepts would have to be in the top five. Especially in the fast-casual category, there was a lot of momentum for salad and bowl concepts that were geared toward that healthy, active lifestyle. When COVID showed up, though, some wondered if the momentum for that category had hit a wall.

But that’s not really been the case—at least not for Crisp & Green. In fact, founder Steele Smiley says the pandemic could be the “single best thing that ever happened to this company.” Indeed, COVID-19 gave Crisp & Green an opportunity to add some muscle, and it's accelerating from eight stores today to around 40 by the end of 2021.

Smiley joins the podcast to talk about how Crisp & Green will capitalize on a coming health food boom, why community is key to the success of healthy restaurant brands like Crisp & Green, and how COVID has changed the health food movement going forward.

This episode is brought to you by Blount Fine Foods.

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