The Living Green Story: From Produce Trucks to a Passion for Clean Eating
Living Green Cafe started long before the espressos, the fancy sandwiches, and the iconic food bar it’s known for today. Fresh produce was at the center of it all, specifically tomatoes. One tomato truck turned into hundreds of different produce items and a distribution network that we serviced from South Miami to Palm Beach. Along that path is where we learned that quality ingredients are the foundation of every great restaurant. That experience continues to shape how we source, cook, and serve food today.
Lessons in Quality from World-Class Mentors
Working in wholesale gave us the opportunity to supply some of the most exclusive restaurants and cafés in the world. Places such as Milos by Costas Spiliadis, where his team insisted and educated us to age (ripen) certain produce for their clients to experience them at peak taste. Their bar for quality is so high they can write a best seller on that alone; we even had a dedicated area in our warehouse just for them.
Another place that influenced us tremendously is Ethos Greek Bistro. That’s where we witnessed one of the best run operations we have ever seen—it was like the military except that all the soldiers were happy to be there and the clients felt it. By watching them, we saw what great leadership and team culture should look like. Out of all of them, we couldn’t leave Mezes Greek Taverna out of our gratitude list. Sam, the owner, is the embodiment of lead by example. His team is like a Swiss clock; there is not one thing out of place and his kitchen is like an operating room, spotless!
I know it sounds like a Greek restaurant promotional piece, but after all, Greeks are known for their hospitality, and the thousands of positive reviews these places have would agree. Though completely different concepts, what they all have in common is world class leadership, quality ingredients and consistency.
Building the Backbone of Living Green Cafe
We sold that distribution company in 2012 and all these lessons we picked up are the backbone of how we operate and serve food today. For nearly two decades, on one hand we’ve been fortunate to learn from masters in the field and on the other to work directly with local suppliers, and built long-term partnerships grounded in trust and shared values. Those same relationships are still serving us today in our current venture, Living Green Café.
When you order your green smoothie, fresh juice, or grilled chicken wrap, you’re tasting the result of years of research, hands-on experience and a passion for wholesome, clean eating. Every leaf, fruit, and grain is chosen for its taste, freshness, and nutritional value because we believe that healthy food should also taste incredible.
Redefining the Future of Healthy Food
At Living Green Café, just like all of our mentors taught us, settling for “good” isn’t an option. We constantly strive for excellence in taste, nutrition, and honesty. Yes, we make mistakes, but we learn quickly and evolve daily to make our café a little better than it was yesterday.
The same standards that helped us earn the trust of world-class chefs are the ones guiding us now: commitment to quality, respect for relationships, and dedication to long-term growth. No shortcuts, no compromises, just a genuine mission to serve clean, healthy, and delicious meals that reflect who we are and what we believe in. The world has a stigma when they hear “healthy food” and we are out to redefine it.