Story and photos by VANESSA CAMOZZI
Observer Staff

Nelson Trejo prepping fresh produce.

While most college students live on a diet of bland cafeteria meals and greasy fast food, three recent Georgetown University graduates craved healthier fare. They had a vision and the smarts to put it all into place.

That vision is Sweetgreen, a casual dining salad bar on M Street in Georgetown. Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman and Nathaniel Rue are the Hoyas who had the idea and made it happen.

Having lived and studied in Georgetown for four years, Jammet said he and his partners were tired of eating at the same fast-food eateries, most of which didn’t offer healthy items on their menus.

The entrepreneurs wanted to fill the gap by creating a healthy spot for lunch where people could get a fresh, made-to-order salad that wasn’t typical.

Jammet, who hails from the East Coast, and Neman, who is from the West Coast, knew that natural, healthy, organic food was the rage in both New York and Los Angeles. They felt the District was a very health-conscious city, considering all of the bike riding, running and rowing that goes on around the Potomac River.

“It was a logical market to tap into,” Jammet said.

Making it happen

Jammet, Neman and Rue enrolled in an entrepreneurship class their senior year. It taught them the skills they would need to make their vision a reality.

It’s not easy to obtain property in the prime Georgetown area. It took several calls and weeks of negotiations to finally get a meeting with the real estate company that listed the former Little Tavern hamburger hut, Jammet said.

When the young men finally acquired the property, their next task was to get financing. Many of their investors were college friends who shared their vision and felt that the healthy, fresh, organic approach to eating wasn’t just a fad but a lifestyle change that Washingtonians would be willing and eager to make.

“There wasn’t anything like this here in D.C., so we knew that this was the perfect market to make it happen,” Jammet said.

After the initial concept was developed, the partners hired an architecture and interior design firm to transform the 560-square-foot space into a health-conscious, eco-friendly eatery. They used environmentally friendly, reclaimed antique hickory to cover the floor, walls and ceiling.

Big name backers

Sweetgreen’s partners Jonathan Neman
and Nicolas Jammet.

While the partners take pride in their youth and relative newness to the industry, they do have the backing of some very well-known gastronomical superstars. Joe Bastianich, who is well-known in the Italian food and wine industry, and his partner, Chef Mario Batali, are both investors.

“They believed in our vision and concept,” Jammet said.

Once they had backing and construction was underway, the recent graduates put a lot of thought into their menu.

“All of our products are natural,” Jammet said. “We get our produce from local farms, and there is a real seasonality to our menu. We adapt our menu accordingly.”

All of Sweetgreen’s produce is delivered fresh each morning and sometimes twice a day. All of the lettuce is organic, and many of the salad dressings are too. But the partners didn’t want to go completely organic right away, since they didn’t want to overwhelm themselves. Going totally organic can be a difficult process, Jammet said.

“We will eventually be headed that way and would like for all of our products to be organic, but we don’t tout ourselves as the all-organic eatery,” he said. “We want to get the best produce and freshest possible. . . . Our focus is on the integrity of our food.”

Robin Habberay, who works in the Georgetown area, eats at Sweetgreen and ordered the La Scala salad during a lunch break, one of the restaurant’s six chef-crafted options.

“Sweetgreen is one of the few places in Georgetown you can get a decent salad. It’s a healthier alternative and reasonably priced,” he said.

“My nutritional needs are met, the salads are made–to-order, well-priced. We need more options for healthier fresh foods made to go,” said Margo Carper, a fitness trainer from the Kalorama area.

Sweetgreen is trying to be socio- and eco-conscious. They are certified by the Green Restaurant Association, a non-profit organization that helps restaurants and its customers become more environmentally sustainable in convenient and cost-effective ways, according to its Web site.

Trio planning to expand

Jammet, Neman and Rue are soaking in the success but have no plans of slowing down. They are considering adding two more Sweetgreen restaurants in the Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle areas.

“People are a lot more conscious and becoming very educated on what goes into foods and how it can be natural or organic,” Jammet said. “The whole organic craze isn’t just a phase. Information is now becoming readibly available. People are demanding quality and want to create a healthier daily life. It’s a lifestyle. This is not a trend.”