Alfalfa opens on Main Street in Santa Monica
By Toi Creel
A new restaurant has opened in Santa Monica, bringing everything from bone broth and and donuts to Main Street.
Started in Hoboken, New Jersey, healthy café Alfalfa is now up and running at 2309 Main Street.
“We’re healthy guys at heart but the same time we also believe in balance,” said Daniel Sobsey, one of four co-founders of Alfalfa. “You can eat healthy with a salad, you can satisfy your sweet tooth with a donut, you can get a ton of nutrition from our bone broth.”
Home of the former Astro Doughnuts, the restaurant at 2309 Main Street was originally started in 2018 at a farmer’s market stand in New Jersey. The four founders Sobsey, Ben Sobsey, Andrew Arrospide, and Daniel Londono all had a connection to Los Angeles and decided on Santa Monica to be the home of their first west coast location.
For the Santa Monica location visitors can expect the same menu but it will include a special green donut and merchandise that will raise funds for the non profit Bring Change to Mind which helps end stigmas against mental health.
“Our menu is the perfect combination of joy and balance,” Daniel said.
Inside their Santa Monica location they’ve also made cosmetic changes, brightening up the space and giving it palm spring tones. They’ve also added floral colors and in the patio incorporated dessert plants including a Joshua Tree.
As far as dealing with COVID-19 struggles that have left many vacant spaces on Main street, co-founder Andrew Arrospide said Alfalfa isn’t worried. Pre-pandemic their business model featured 50 percent online sales so the conversion to mostly takeout and carry out items wasn’t too much of a hardship. The group says they plan to help Santa Monica by bringing more jobs.
“The Main Street/Ocean Park community has been ver neighborly and very friendly,” Arrospide said.
Alfalfa is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. To check out the restaurant you can visit https://www.eatalfalfa.com/ .
