Writer / Matthew VanTryon
In today’s fast-paced world, it can be hard to find a quick and healthy meal that doesn’t involve fast-food. A new juice bar in Broad Ripple might just be the place to go.
The Garden Table, located on Westfield Boulevard, opened in mid-October. It offers locally sourced juices and foods.
When Jessie Kelley and the two other co-owners of The Garden Table were considering locations for their juice bar, only one place seemed suitable.
“The three of us all grew up in or around Broad Ripple, so we’re very familiar with the neighborhood,” Kelley said. “When we were originally looking at opening a juice bar, we didn’t look anywhere other than Broad Ripple.”
Kelley said the vibe in the neighborhood seemed like the perfect place to settle down.
“It is the place where we like to think new and local businesses can thrive,” she said. “Because of all the local businesses around and how many people live in the area, we knew that it would be a great place to have food, especially breakfast and lunch.”
The menu emphasizes the health benefits of the food and drinks, including medicinal herbs, ancient superfoods and adaptogens.
In addition to be focused on health, the Garden Table also locally sources a large amount of its menu items.
“We’re in an agricultural state, and I don’t think there’s any reasons to be sourcing food grown in our state from other locations,” Kelley said. “We made a decision early on that rather than going through large distributors, we would rather source our food from as many farmers in Indiana as we can.”
Kelley said that while the menu caters to those looking for a healthy diet, there is something for every palette.
“We knew there needed to be a little something for everyone,” she said. “We didn’t want to put ourselves in a niche where we were only doing raw food or green juice. At the same time that we offer local yoga people and people that are active a juice that will power them up for the day, we also want it to taste good.
“We also wanted to be able to provide food for husbands, boyfriends, people’s kids,” she said. “We didn’t want to turn people away by saying we were strictly a raw health-food menu. I think there’s something for everyone.”
The juice bar also emphasizes community involvement. Kelley said the venue is looking to host classes and lectures in the evenings.
“We’re hoping to have some workshops and some how-to’s and some lectures and things like that,” she said. “We’re open to anything. We’re having people email us and reach out to us that want to teach classes there or hold a talk there on a certain topic. We’re welcoming of all of those things.”
Kelley said that there are plans for speakers to come in soon to speak about essential oils and coconut oils, and how to incorporate them into a healthy diet.
While it has only been open for a month, Kelley said the juice bar has seen great support from the community.
“We’re off to a great start,” she said. “The community has been really welcoming, and we’ve had great business and turnout every day. We hope that will continue. We’re really thankful that the neighborhood has embraced us and really been positive about our opening.”
