Sweetgreen's new Columbus storefront, located at 700 N. High St., had its grand opening Wednesday. Credit: Jack Like | Lantern Reporter

Sweetgreen’s new Columbus storefront, located at 700 N. High St., had its grand opening Wednesday. Credit: Jack Like | Lantern Reporter

Local fans of quick-service restaurant Sweetgreen are sure to be satisfied after the spot’s first central Ohio location opened Wednesday.

The new Short North storefront — located at 700 N. High St. — marked the bowl-and-salad bar’s first location in central Ohio. The location is now open for regular hours from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., every day. 

According to Sweetgreen’s website, the brand’s main focuses include sustainability, partnering with local farmers and producers who participate in regenerative practices and calculating the carbon footprint of each menu item by commissioning carbon assessments of its suppliers. 

Jenny Seltzer, a Sweetgreen spokesperson, said Sweetgreen was originally founded by college students on the campus of Georgetown University in Washington D.C. She said the company has since grown to encapsulate over 200 locations around the country and has stationed its headquarters in Los Angeles. 

Seltzer said she and other Sweetgreen employees have been receiving online requests for nearly ten years from Columbus residents with hopes of a location coming to central Ohio. 

“We got tweets all the way back to 2014,” Seltzer said. “There were so many people asking, ‘Please come to Columbus.’ I think it’s because Columbus is a hot spot; a lot of people are moving here from out of state, and they’ve tried Sweetgreen in other markets and they’ve fallen in love with it.”

Chad Brauze, head of culinary at Sweetgreen, said the grand opening’s anticipation brought in a lot of customers.  

“We want to go to markets that are looking for us and [we’ve] got so much outreach, especially from Ohio State students,” Brauze said. 

Brauze said at Sweetgreen, the company takes pride in its fresh ingredients and sourcing. He said it was the attention to detail at Sweetgreen that first drew him to the brand after an extensive career in fine dining.

“You can see where every ingredient in the back house comes from,” Brauze said. “You can see where the mustard, romaine and kale come from. To me, that kind of stuff is important.”

According to Sweetgreen’s website, its menu includes salads, rice bowls, protein plates and more. 

After just one day of sales, Brauze said the harvest bowl — a kale-based salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, roasted potatoes and almonds — was the best-selling menu item in Columbus.

“We have such a great online presence and people want to try it,” Seltzer said. “They see how fresh our ingredients are and they want it here, they want to have that option.” 

More information about Sweetgreen can be found on its website.