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Business & Tech

Sweet Green a Model of Local Business Success

Three Georgetown grads go from college kids to local restaurant entrepreneurs.

What do you do when the college town you live in just doesn't have the food options you're looking for? Or when three years of pizza and burgers finally force your digestive system – and waistline – to cry for mercy and ask for relief? That's pretty much the questions three Georgetown students – Nick Jammet, Jonathan Neman and Nathan Ru – were asking themselves at the beginning of their senior year in 2007.  The obvious answer was to start a restaurant – a place that would serve healthy, high quality, organic produce at cheap, fast-food prices – and that's what they did. Welcome to Sweet Green.

"We wanted to make a place that we would want to go to eat," said Nick. "Living here as students for three years, we all knew (Georgetown) well and what the places were to eat. There just weren't healthy fast-food alternatives," he explained.

Nick said the three brainstormed the idea for the restaurant did not wait for graduation to begin. "We planned everything throughout our senior year, and the grand opening was two months after we graduated." 

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With four open locations in D.C. and one in Bethesda (with a Reston, VA spot opening soon), Sweet Green's desire to satisfy the region's healthy appetite keeps growing (and don't miss their funky Sweetflow Mobile truck – find them at http://twitter.com/SweetflowMobile).  Plans are in place to double the amount of locations by 2011, and even try the Philadelphia market.   

But the Georgetown spot at 3333 M St. will always be special. "We've been involved with Georgetown from all angles – as students, customers, and now business owners," Nick said, "we feel really connected with the community."

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It would be pretty difficult to find a better tasting salad than the Guacamole Greens Salad. Fresh mesclun, avocado, grape tomatoes, red onion and roasted shredded chicken, topped with crushed tortilla chips and a fantastic lime cilantro jalapeno vinaigrette made for a divine lunch, and the portion is large enough for two. The frozen yogurt is the perfect closer – slightly sweet with a tangy kick, topped off with some diced mango and strawberries. Sweet Green is a treat college students and long-time residents shouldn't miss.

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