CoreLife Eatery brings healthy food to Boardman

By JESSICA HARDIN

jhardin@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

The ranch dressing at CoreLife Eatery has 12 ingredients, none of which are unpronounceable preservatives.

“You understand everything that’s in this recipe ... This has a four-day shelf-life,” said Mac Lewis, the owner of the Boardman location.

The fast-casual restaurant opening at 700 Boardman-Poland Road on May 9 aims to de-mystify healthy food.

Calories and ingredients for each meal are listed on the menus displayed in the shop. The menu consists primarily of green bowls, grain bowls and broth bowls.

Lewis understands that healthy food has a reputation for being expensive and lacking in taste. At CoreLife, “that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.

On CoreLife’s menu, customers can find Caesar salad, BBQ ranch chicken and steak salad with bacon and bleu cheese.

“The flavors are just endless,” Lewis said.

And, CoreLife team members are educated on the foods served and can answer any questions guests might have about unfamiliar foods such as kimchi or jicama. The bowls cost around $8 to $12.

CoreLife kicked off 2019 with a 21-day challenge campaign, featuring former NFL player Tim Tebow. In addition to promoting a healthy start to the year, the campaign spread the message that CoreLife food is for everyone.

“Big huge male athlete, all the way down to an infant can eat here. I want to make sure every walk of life knows they can find something to eat at a CoreLife Eatery,” said Lewis.

For the team behind CoreLife, promoting healthy eating does not stop at one meal. The Boardman location plans to host yoga classes and community activities.

“One of our missions is to become a staple in our community.” Lewis said.

The Boardman location is the third CoreLife Eatery for franchisee Red Door Hospitality. The other two locations in Mentor and Fairlawn have begun forging these community connections.

“We saw it work wonders in the Mentor, Ohio community ... The community just totally grasped onto it and you can feel this transition to a different way of thinking about food,” Lewis said.

One strategy for connecting CoreLife to the community is developing relationships with local school districts. CoreLife has brought students into its locations for tours and done “lunch room takeover days” featuring CoreLife food.

“It’s about allowing a young person to figure out that spinach isn’t terrible and developing that habit of making healthy choices,” said Lewis.