Rocky River’s Go Buddha offers first healthy food ATM in Cleveland area – cleveland.com

Rocky River’s Go Buddha offers first healthy food ATM in Cleveland area – cleveland.com

ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — Go Buddha opened its food delivery service in Rocky River last July and is finding the city to be a friendly place. Maybe that’s because the chef really knows food –healthy food — and apparently that is being appreciated.

But now he is going even further, offering the Cleveland area’s very first ATM food service at the west-side restaurant. But let’s step back for a moment.

Chef and owner Joshua Ingraham and his wife, Emily, started the business in October 2019. Ingraham was the former executive chef for the Cleveland Indians and, prior to that, was the culinary director at the Cleveland Clinic.

“We started our restaurant as a sideline,” Ingraham said. “I always wanted to pair food and health. I had to learn plant-based food prep and wanted to go back to the root of simplicity in food. Whether vegan or not, we can all use more plant foods.”

Ingraham said he saw 1,500 people a day at the Cleveland Clinic and realized, that for many of them, it was too late, as they were suffering from many health problems.

“I wanted to be a part of preventative medicine, and I saw that as what food we eat,” he said.

He noted that when patients left the Cleveland Clinic, many of them had no place to go for a new healthy diet and recipes.

“So, Go Buddha was created to help my family and friends,” he said. “Using our knowledge to be able to create new food systems to provide the benefits of bulk purchasing and bulk production, we prepare the food for you. We are now even shipping overnight nationwide.”

The staple of Go Buddha’s food is creative, tasty vegetarian bowls featuring grains, beans and greens — all plant-based. Customers can order the food and eat at the restaurant or have it delivered.

But the new twist is the ATM “machine” in Ingraham’s storefront — a “kiosk” of sorts. Menus are displayed and there is fresh food in the machine — fresh Buddha bowls — 24-7. The food will stay fresh in the machine up to five days, Ingraham said.

“We control the ATM by a computer dashboard, so we can see what is being bought and what needs to be refilled,” he said.

“The bowls are priced at $12 and are the same generous size as inside or for delivery. But we are going to add some smaller ones now, as well as some more variety,” he said.

Good news for allergy-prone people: All the food is gluten- and dairy-free. There is even a gluten-free burger bun.

“I have had a lot of ideas over the years,” Ingraham said, “but this (the ATM) is our growth strategy now that we want to put in schools, businesses, living spaces, fitness facilities and more. We will be selling it as a service and we will provide maintenance on the ATMs.”

“Go Buddha is more than just a new restaurant,” he said. “We are a new health brand that provides affordable plus accessible nutrition to our community. The introduction of the new food ATM is just another way for our fresh, plant-based meals to be available to those who need them around the clock.”

For more information on Go Buddha, visit https://gobuddhameals.com/ or call 216-352-0820. You can order meals online. In-restaurant hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and it is located at 19900 Detroit Road in Rocky River.

And of course, you can hit up the ATM any time of the day or night.

Read more from the West Shore Sun.

Published at Tue, 26 Jan 2021 03:06:00 +0000