Sprout is a family-owned restaurant in Maplewood that offers salads, wraps, bowls and soups with a wide variety of different options to customize a meal.
Todd Marvel, the owner of Sprout, said the establishment’s focus is on “providing high quality food to the community.” He also said that this restaurant has been something that he and his wife have been thinking about for a while, and even called the restaurant a “labor of love.”
“We had our eye on this exact location and thought that this type of restaurant [and] this type of food made sense for the community, so we decided to take a chance and put it together,” Marvel said.
Marvel said they offer a “differentiated product” compared to what the other restaurants in the town of Maplewood offer. He emphasized how many other good options there are in town, and that Sprout is one of these.
Marvel said that all the food is made with fresh ingredients and guests can customize salads or other products. Marvel added that some of the more popular products are the Dorian bowl, which includes braised lemon herb chicken, quinoa, feta and carrots; the Sedona bowl, which includes braised southwestern chicken, quinoa, avocado and scallions among other ingredients; and the Endless Summer salad includes quinoa, avocado, scallions and pumpkin seeds as well as other ingredients.
David Farrelly, a junior business administration major, spoke of the highlights of having a healthy restaurant in the area of Maplewood.
“Having a healthy restaurant in the community helps bring up the value of the amenities in the area,” Farrelly said. “It also helps give us a collective sense of accomplishment when we dine in a restaurant like Sprout, as eating healthy is a good feeling we should all have.”
Karen Chernoff, a sophomore social work major, also spoke about how it is nice to know that there’s a healthier choice out there in the community and that she would be interested in trying it.
Other students have doubts about the type of restaurants they normally would associate with Sprout, however.
William O’Connell, a sophomore finance major, said, “Even though I love healthy restaurants that use farm-to-table ingredients or locally sourced food, they tend to be a little more expensive than other places.”
Despite this, O’Connell said that he would try a restaurant like this if it opened up in South Orange.
Marvel said that as far as staffing goes, the restaurant has had a variety of Seton Hall University alumni and students, all of which have been great. He highlights how the work is good for college students, as it includes a very flexible schedule.
Marvel said that they are currently hiring and encourages anyone interested to apply.
Daniel D’Amico can be reached at daniel.damico@student.shu.edu.
