OCTOBER 21-27, 2009 UCW 27
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
Business Profile:
Carrots
by STEPHANIE CRIDER
STEPHANIE CRIDER, Staff Writer
COMMENTS?
484-6200 ext. 222 or
Stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com
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Great Products - Great Prices
Another favorite of Up & Coming Weekly readers, Carrots Juice Bar
& Cafe was voted Best Hidden Restaurant, Best Lunch, Best Chef, Best
Vegetarian Restaurant,
Best Bagel, Best Salad
and Best Soup. That is a
bevy of accolades for one
establishment, but after
a chat with the folks who
run it, it is easy to see
why so many folks voted
the way they did.
Fayetteville's best
chef and the manager of
Carrots, Erin Morris is no stranger to good food and the importance of
serving healthy and diverse options. She grew up eating that way.
"I've always had really good food. Since the time I was little my
mom, who was a great cook, has always gone out of her way to find new
recipes..... and things like that," said Morris. "So I get a lot of that from
her. I love cook books — and listening to the customers too. Customers
will tell you what they want."
Apparently, Morris's customers want choices — lots of choices.
With a menu that offeres not only gourmet smoothies and fitness drinks,
hungry patrons don't seem to have any problems finding something that
pleases their palate. The
garden fresh salads bring
variety and zing to any
healthy diet with offerings
like Asian chicken salad,
summer salmon salad and
citrus spinach salad. The
wraps and specialty sand-
wiches are as creative and
enticing as the the rest of
the menu. Sicilian grilled
chicken, veggie pita melt
and ham and brie on a
toasted croissant are a
sampling of the choices
here. Don't forget the coffee bar and soup selection too.
" We are unique. We offer a lot of different gourmet food choices —
healthier food choices of stuff that you just can't find anywhere else,"
said Morris. " We have fresh salads and soups. We have the smoothie bar,
too. We are very unique to what we serve and we try to please every-
body."
Like any good manager, Morris realizes that the success of a business
rests on the staff and she considers hers to be top notch.
"Our staff here is great. Right now the staff and I, we have been
working together now for (I just hired one new person but the rest of us
have been here) a year or two," said Morris. "People come to see us and
to socialize with us and have us serve them lunch. We try to make people
feel at home and be very welcoming."
Although Carrots is housed in the same building as The Spa Fitness
and Wellness Center and the Renassaince European Day Spa, at 860 Elm
St., many consider this out of the way eatery a destination unto itself.
" We have a lot of business lunches that go on here," said Morris.
"And we also have a lot of families in the evenings that come in."
Carrots is open Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. Call them at 484-2111 or check out www.thespafitness-
center.com/carrots.
