Roots Natural Kitchen (Roots) is a participating restaurant of the America To Go (ATG) program. America To Go is a University-wide Contracted Supplier which is available for catering orders through a punchout in the PantherExpress System. This restaurant has two locations at 3610 Forbes Avenue or 5231 Liberty Ave. and has a menu consisting of healthy, natural, and fresh options.
Roots Co-founders Alberto Nannum and Alvara Anspach opened Roots with a simple goal in mind: to sell tasty, affordable and natural food to promote community health. As graduates of the University of Virgina, they realized that all too often college students must choose between health and affordability and sought to help fill that gap. Alberto and Alvara were brought to Pittsburgh and its community by identifying the city as an area that had an opening for more natural and affordable eating options.
Behind every great restaurant is an even greater story, Roots is no exception. When we asked the owners what inspired them to get into the culinary arts, they said the following:
“They [Nannum and Anspach] had committed to active lifestyles and talked frequently about where they could find more nutritious meals. They realized that they were looking for a specific cuisine and restaurant style that they could better create than find. Once their nutrition research began and they started making changes to their own diets, in just a few short weeks they were seeing impactful results. They were feeling better, sleeping better and enjoying more energy and focus. From there Roots grew to much more than just a great idea.”
Roots’ mindfully curated menu comes from the mindset of offering tasty and satisfying natural foods that remain affordable without sacrificing on taste. In their efforts to support a natural and healthy lifestyle, they worked with local chefs to curate their menu of 10 signature bowls. The Cilantro Lime Bowl being a fan favorite!
Roots is a staple in the Pittsburgh area that always makes it a point to give back to its community by partnering with a number of student run organizations to host fundraisers that support health-based initiatives. A great example being the Pitt Dance Marathon that they love to support each year. They also support the community by employing several Pitt students and Alumni at both of their Pittsburgh locations and while they do not have their DBE certification, they are minority founded and have a significant number of diverse crew members across the management team at all stores.
When asked what their favorite menu item is or something unique about their cuisine that they want our users to know, they answered:
“The El Jefe is by far the most popular bowl and what we typically led first time customers to try. It features our house made cilantro lime dressing with our chipotle style chicken, black beans, charred corn, avocado, onions, pita chips, and feta cheese on a base of brown rice and kale. Pro tip - ask for it with The Works to add a squeeze of lime and a kick of chipotle tabasco.”
Sounds delicious!
Roots Natural Kitchen can be easily accessed and ordered through Pitt’s PantherExpress System utilizing the America To Go punchout. All suppliers within ATG offer local and/or diverse catering options, providing users with a variety of excellent catering service options. Please note that you must first be a PantherExpress System user to access the ATG punchout, visit this page for more information.