How Rachel’s Kitchen perfected healthy fast-casual before it was cool

Right now, healthy fast-casual chains like Cava and Sweetgreen are having a big moment as nutrition-focused lunch spots resonate with increasingly health-conscious consumers. But before Cava and Sweetgreen opened their doors, Rachel’s Kitchen — the nine unit, Las Vegas based, healthy all-day café concept — was created 18 years ago.

The growing brand is named after founder Debbie Roxarzade’s daughter and distinguishes itself from other fast-casual concepts by serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a focus on bistro-inspired fare like salads, gourmet sandwiches, wraps, and pasta.

Roxarzade started out her career in Los Angeles but when her daughter Rachel was two years old, her family made the move to Las Vegas. In Los Angeles Roxarzade had multiple restaurant concepts, and when she opened up Rachel’s Kitchen in 2006, she took inspiration from some of the menus of those early concepts.

“We got some mixed reviews initially, because we had things like fresh juices and goat cheese on our menu, and some guests were really appreciative of that while other people looked at me like I was nuts, and said, ‘you're never going to make it,’” Roxarzade said. “But slowly guests started to come to us and start to frequent [burger places] less often. And we started to have more positive reviews.” 

Rachel’s Kitchen was born as a tiny, 1,000-sqaure-foot spot in Summerlin right outside of Las Vegas, which Roxarzade used to test the waters of the brand and location. In 2008, they wanted to take the plunge and begin franchising (which, Roxarzade said, was terrible timing economically). It took a while for the first franchised location to open due to the recession, which eventually got going in 2010.

Since then, Rachel’s Kitchen has been slowly expanding. The next region Roxarzade wants to conquer is the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the company just had the grand opening of its first store in the area, in Frisco. Roxarzade said she feels she could add multiple locations in the area without cannibalization, simply because there is so much white space. Rachel’s Kitchen plans to have at least five locations in the Dallas area over the next several years.

“Expansion through franchising is really about finding the right partners,” Roxarzade said. “We’re looking for owners that know how to run a restaurant, of course, but we specifically want people who are willing to get involved in the community though charity and community work… I feel like that's how you really get embedded in a community, and you really become this great local place that people want to come back to. I want people who work with us to be proud of the brand. We’re not just looking to work with anyone.”

Contact Joanna at [email protected]