At Green Sage, we are committed to serving food that promotes good health and supports a vibrant community. Our food is nutrient-rich, chemical-free, and thoughtfully sourced. We are an environmentally responsible company gratefully serving an enlightened community that cares about our future. Breakfast and lunch are served all day!
PURE FOOD
PLANT-BASED + THOUGHTFULLY SOURCED
Our menu items contain a lot of whole plants because eating mostly plant-based is a key component to good health. Additionally, eating organic food has been linked to lower cancer rates and fewer toxic chemicals in our bodies.
Green Sage sources as many organic ingredients as possible. We also follow the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” lists when sourcing our ingredients. Whenever possible, we avoid conventional produce from the “Dirty Dozen” list, and have opted to source conventional produce from the “Clean Fifteen” list.
GMO-FREE
We do not consider the current genetically modified foods on the market to be healthy food. Therefore we do not use genetically modified soy, apples, corn, canola, or zucchini.
THOUGHTFULLY SOURCED
We like to know where our food comes from. We work meticulously with local farmers and food suppliers to ensure we know what we are serving our customers.
We carry locally raised grass-fed beef as well as pasture-raised pork from Hickory Nut Gap. Our salmon is wild-caught from Alaska. All of our meats and dairy products are from responsible companies that raise animals humanely, without antibiotics or growth hormones.
NO UNNATURAL INGREDIENTS
With the help of our food consultant, we inspect every ingredient in each menu item to ensure that we use only the purest and the fewest ingredients possible. We do not use food additives, toxic chemicals, or artificial preservatives.
HEALTHY & NOURISHING
Our kitchen makes our food from scratch, including all of our soups, sauces, dressings, and baked items.
PFC-FREE COOKWARE
Our cookware is free of Teflon and other perfluoralkyl substances that are now known to be harmful to your health. We use an eco-friendly line of cookware with a stone-derived non-stick coating.
PURE WATER
WE DRINK WATER EVERY DAY & IT MAKES UP 80% OF OUR BODIES.
This means that drinking pure water is extremely important to our health. Our water is activated carbon filtered in order to remove chlorine, pesticides, herbicides and VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
In our Merrimon location, we have expanded and now offer high pH, reverse osmosis, triple filtered water so as to also remove fluoride. Enjoy while you are in the cafe or take some bottled for your next workout.
PURE JUICE
Our juice is cold pressed, 100% organic, raw, and unpasteurized. The process of cold pressing and lack of pasteurization helps to maintain the most nutrients and flavor. Our cold-pressed process has numerous benefits over the centrifugal process. Cold-pressed juicing reduces heat and oxidation leaving more nutrients intact while reducing waste by extracting up to 30% more juice from the produce. This means that you are getting a more concentrated juice – a vitamin and mineral powerhouse! Cold-pressed juice has a shelf-life of up to four days compared to the 15-minute to one-hour shelf-life of centrifugal juice. That means you could drink half now and half later, and rest assured that the juice will be as nutritious as ever.
But the best news is the way it tastes. We trust you will agree that our juices are vibrant, flavorful, and consistent with a smooth and refreshing texture that you can only get from a cold-pressed juice!
THE PROCESS
We sterilize our bottles, all fruit/vegetables are thoroughly washed, our juice machines are sterilized between juices, and juices are prepared in a room not shared with any other task. The juices are bottled cold and kept cold throughout the process, sealed, and acidified to maintain freshness. We also closely monitor dates, so as to avoid any potential spoilage or contamination.
Help us in our mission to keep single-use items out of the landfill by repurposing the glass juice bottles, recycling them, or bringing them back into the cafe - we sterilize and re-use them through our own in-house recycling program. Each time you return your juice bottle to our cafes, we donate 10¢ to a charitable, environmental, or community-focused organization!
PURE COFFEE
WE PROUDLY SERVE LARRY’S COFFEE, ONE OF AMERICA’S FIRST ROASTERS TO COMMIT TO 100% ORGANIC, FAIR TRADE, SHADE-GROWN COFFEE.
Larry’s is devoted to pushing the boundaries of flavor, offering Master Farmer Microlots, Beta Roasts, and Cask-Aged coffees.
As a certified B-Corp, Larry’s is part of a global movement that aims to make business a powerful force for good.
PURE GREEN
WE ARE “GREEN” SAGE FOR A REASON.
Our business model, and our name, is grounded in sustainability and respect for the planet. We strive to use energy from renewable sources, divert waste from the landfill, and buy local, organic and plant-based ingredients.
We were the first restaurant in downtown Asheville to incorporate solar thermal panels into our hot water system. We have partnered with Arcadia Power to replace all of our company's coal-generated electricity with renewable wind-powered electrons. Additionally, All of our locations are Green Restaurant Association certified and have been given the highest honor awarded by N.C. Green Travel of three dogwood blossoms.
We divert approximately 95% of our waste from the landfill. Most of our waste by weight is food scraps, which we send along with all cardboard packaging, paper napkins, and recyclable containers to commercial composting and recycling centers. The trash we have left after recycling and composting in our restaurants is comparable to what a typical family household would produce.
Purchasing local, organic, and plant-based ingredients reduces our carbon footprint and promotes sustainable agriculture. Most of our food purchases are plant-based, and much of our produce is organically grown. Many of our products come from small, regional businesses and farms. We also source non-GMO ingredients that do not rely on industrial farming with Round-Up or other pesticides.
Our green practices are better for our bodies and better for the planet.