The first and only fast casual café chain and corporate catering company in the U.S. has found its way to San Diego. Organic To Go redefines how corporate San Diego eats at work.
Of the eight planned locations in San Diego, five are open already. Organic To Go café locations are at 1143 6th Ave., 701 B St., the AT&T Building on 101 West Broadway and the Symphony Tower on 750 B St.
In January, three more cafés are scheduled to open in La Jolla and the Sorrento Valley and on A Street.
“San Diego is a very important place to grow and develop,” said Organic To Go’s CEO Jason Brown. “I have been living here for eight years and know the market.”
The call for healthful food in offices is shown in the fact that Organic To Go’s corporate catering sales grew 157 percent in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year, according to a press release.
From the opening of the first café in Issaquah, Wash., Organic To Go now has a total of 25 cafés in four regions, producing $7.5 million in sales for the first six months of 2007.
Organic To Go also tries to be a green business. With biodegradable packaging and fuel-efficient delivery vehicles, Organic To Go carries the organic theme over.
The cafés are strategically placed in areas with large office buildings. In San Diego, Organic To Go focuses on the catering side.
“If it is important to you personally to eat healthy, you can show that you went out of your way to serve delicious food [to your employees],” Brown said. “It is a real respect level. It is about being polite.”
Organic To Go’s main chef is Greg Atkinson.
“He is a great guy and sustainable agricultural chef,” said Brown. “His philosophy is that the ingredients drive the way.”
Atkinson developed a normal American cuisine for Organic To Go.
“We have meat loaf, roast beef and turkey sandwiches on the menu,” Brown said.
The Organic To Go catering menu includes an extensive selection of sandwiches, wraps, salads, hot and cold buffets, all-day meeting buffets, soup and chili kettles, appetizer platters, seafood, Mexican food, Asian specialties and desserts. For more information on Organic To Go visit www.organictogo.com.