The fact of the matter is, Nina Anakar is busy. Tasked with community marketing at sweetgreen, only the best and newest local restaurant, Nina’s out making real relationships with real people. sweetgreen starts with salads but ends in community. Step foot into one of their locations, then experience, (yes it is an experience), their locally sourced food, then find out there is a whole world to get involved in, just from picking up lunch.
The seven-year-old company has made it their mission to get involved in what’s going on. Teaming up with New York City trainers, running crews, plus schools and organizations, they’re looking out for your best interest, not just theirs. sweetgreen isn’t taking over cities, they’re just helping bring the best out of them and then connecting the dots.
UndoOrdinary: What is sweetgreen’s mission and how did it get its start?
Nina Anakar: Our mission at sweetgreen is to create a place for the community to enjoy delicious and healthy, organic salads, with ingredients sourced from local farmers and purveyors. sweetgreen was founded in Washington, D.C., in 2007 by Georgetown graduates Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru who believed it was possible to create “food that fits” – your values, your budget, your tastes, your imagination, and your community.
U: How is it different from any other salad spot or restaurant? Especially in a time where health and fitness seem to be trending. Not a bad trend by any means!
NA: sweetgreen isn’t just your typical grab and go salad bar; we’re really involved in each community that we open up in, from the local sourcing of ingredients to collaborating with fitness studios in the area for sweetgreen passport to teaching kids about healthy eating through sweetgreen in schools.
U: What void does sweetgreen fill in the market? Or is it just doing it better?
NA: What I love about sweetgreen is that the food is not only healthy, but it’s also filling and comforting. Eating a sweetgreen salad isn’t something you have to do to be healthy, its something you want to do, and can feel good about doing.
U: What’s it like when you step into a store? What’s the feeling and food you experience?
NA: The in-store experience is something we really take pride in; we hire passionate people with great smiles, and the music is always fun. It’s a positive environment–people aren’t just taking their salads to go–they like to hang out at sweetgreen, especially back in the bleachers at our Nomad location.
U: What is your job? What’s your favorite part of your job?
NA: I do the community marketing for sweetgreen in New York. My favorite part of the job, besides getting to eat delicious fresh food every day, is the people that I meet. I’m making genuine connections with people every day, be it through classes at sweetgreen passport or by simply getting to know our regular customers.
U: How did you come up with sweetgreen passport? How did instructors and studios respond when you approached them about this? What’s the criteria? How often do classes occur?
NA: sweetgreen passport started in January 2013 by our community marketing team in DC as an initiative to give our customers easy access to fitness classes in their community. I started it in NYC last January. It’s a way for us to connect with fitness studios, individuals, and a way for our customers to connect with each other of healthy living. Our customers have really become a community through passport. We usually host about four classes a month; anything from sunset yoga and meditation, a run club with UNDO-Ordinary, a FlyWheel class, to brew kamp with our friends at Kombucha Brooklyn. And we usually head over to the nearest sweetgreen for a salad after class!
U: What is the 5-year goal with sweetgreen? 10-year?
NA: I personally want us to have a store on every block in NYC! But for now, I’m focusing on continuing to build out the passport community and getting people excited about our opening in Williamsburg this Fall.
Writer: Sarah Kim // Photographer: Seher Sikander
Tags:
fitness,
green,
health,
healthy,
interview,
local farming,
Nina Anakar,
restaurant,
salad,
sweet,
sweetgreen,
sweetgreen passport,
vegetables
