New restaurant focuses on healthy dining options

Brandon’s newest restaurant will provide the community with another quick-serve healthy dining option, local franchisee Tom Price said.

The Chopped Leaf opened at 601 18th Street on Sunday, and is run by the husband and wife team of Tom and Mlee Price.

The couple already own the Booster Juice franchise on 18th Street, which they say gave them some creditability and knowledge as to how a restaurant should be run.

"That exposure has helped us, and that was also instrumental in us getting granted the franchise," Tom said, who is a retired teacher with the Brandon School Division.

"Chopped Leaf head office really valued that we were (already) running a nationally-recognized franchise."

It’s one of the first locations in the province, but the Canadian company has more than 85 locations across Canada and the United States.

The restaurant has both dine-in and takeout options, and they also plan on catering events.

Workers bustled around behind the counter on Tuesday morning, getting ready for the lunch time rush.

With people living busy lives it’s a quick way to get a healthy meal, Tom said.

"A lot of times with the rushed lifestyle, they don’t have time to prepare vegetables and the toppings and whatever goes with it, and we’re a great alternative for people on the go and people that are making good choices," he said.

After the husband and wife team first tried The Chopped Leaf, they thought it was something that people in the community would enjoy. It wasn’t long after that they looked into the steps required to open a franchise in Brandon.

"It took a couple of years but we found a great location, good accessibility traffic-wise, and it has good visibility and exposure," he said.

The location used to house a Pita Central, but after the man who owned it retired, the couple ended up buying it from him.

"The front of the house is totally changed, but with the back of the house we were able to utilize the fridge, the freezer, the washrooms and storage," he said. "It’s not big by Chopped Leaf standards, but it works."

The quick-serve restaurant currently has 10 full-time employees and 12 to 20 part-time workers.

The idea is for Tom to run The Chopped Leaf, and for Mlee to run Booster Juice.

"Ultimately, you’d love them to come to Booster Juice and then come to Chopped Leaf for another item," Tom said.

The hope is that the restaurant will become a popular spot for locals to come and grab a healthy bite to eat.

"We’re cautiously optimistic that this will be a good market for us," Tom said.

"We’re looking forward to servicing Brandon, and hopefully people see the value in our product, enjoy our product and make us a destination choice for their food."

» mverge@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @Melverge5