Nature’s Brew Cafe offers healthy food to South LA



Nature's Brew

Nature’s Brew Cafe (Photo by Sarah Zahedi)

After the July 6 opening of Nature’s Brew, a healthy South Los Angeles café, University of Southern California students and local residents no longer lack an alternative food option to chain restaurants, fast food stops and coffee shops.

Located at 2316 Union St., Nature’s Brew offers a range of fresh food and pastry items for breakfast and lunch in addition to various juices, coffees and teas. The cafe also offers free WiFi to customers.

The café is run by the team behind wine bar and restaurant Bacaro LA, which is located two doors down the street. Brothers Danny and Bobby Kronfli run the Bacaro LA and Nature’s Brew locations along with chef Lior Hillel and general manager Noa Sztar.

Noting the absence of a café like Nature’s Brew in the USC area, Sztar says the team was very excited about the opening.

“We always knew there was a need in the neighborhood for a nice coffee shop and restaurant that give you more than plain coffee and dried, day-old pastries,” Sztar said. “We wanted to bring a place to the area with fresh-baked pastries and high-quality food.”

Nature’s Brew’s location was previously occupied by the Ragazzi Room, which closed down in mid-2012. Upon its closing, Sztar says the team jumped on the opportunity to open a café that offers options beyond what’s available at generic coffee shops in the area.

“Usually when you go to a basic coffee shop, the options are not that high-quality and there isn’t much to choose from,” Sztar said. “For the excellent level of food and drinks that we offer at Nature’s Brew, I hope the neighborhood finds us attractive.”

Sztar also emphasized that the team has worked to set reasonable food and drink prices as to be affordable to individuals from a range of socioeconomic classes living in South L.A

“We are not trying to take all our customer’s money with unfair prices. We strive to give them a good product at a reasonable, affordable price,” Sztar said. “People are often telling us that they have had a similar smoothie or sandwich to the ones at Nature’s Brew at other restaurants that are far more expensive.”

By setting more affordable prices for their food and drinks, Sztar also hopes people living in South L.A. will be encouraged to choose Nature’s Brew over other unhealthy options in the area.

“We already are seeing a lot of business owners, workers and families from the area as customers,” Sztar said. “It’s a good thing to see because instead of going out and eating fast food, more residents are coming here to get a similarly priced juice or granola breakfast as a healthy alternative.”

While business has been gradually picking up over the past two weeks that Nature’s Brew has been opened, Sztar is anticipating a rush of new customers as the new school year begins at USC.

“We opened in July because we wanted to have a month to prepare before the students being moving in again,” Sztar said. “We think it’s going to be packed as soon as school starts and it’s a positive thing to worry about.”

The Nature’s Brew customers can stay updated on new add-ons to the Nature’s Brew menu and learn about upcoming Nature’s Brew events via the café’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

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