UFood Grill, a fast-casual restaurant chain with an emphasis on the use of fresh ingredients, healthy eating and menu items that are never fried, has selected Metro Centre at Owings Mills as the site of its first location in Maryland, with an expected opening of January 2017. Franchise owner Stephen Goldberg, MD, a forensic psychiatrist who discovered the chain while traveling through the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, intends to open an additional five locations around the state within the next three to five years.
“I spent many years traveling around the country and always struggled to locate places to eat on-the-go that matched my healthy eating philosophy,” Dr. Goldberg, who resides in Howard County, explained. “When I discovered UFood Grill while on a business trip in Texas, I was amazed at the concept’s ability to appeal to so many different tastes, while remaining true to its core of offering healthy food choices. I was sold immediately and knew I wanted to bring UFood Grill to the Maryland area.”
Consumers can order at the counter, at kiosks upon entering or on-line, and have their choice of breakfast, lunch and dinner menu items. Breakfast options include steel cut oatmeal, burritos and paninis. Hamburgers are made from grass-fed, organic ground beef and start at less than 700 calories. Other regular items include made-to-order UBowls that feature Brussel sprouts and bacon, roast curry cauliflower, spicy Thai peanut or chickpea and almond. The assortment of “handhelds” include turkey and Swiss, tuna and Thai Chicken, as well as Buffalo chicken, chicken pesto and artichoke melt paninis. UFood Grill also offers a full complement of salads, side dishes and crispy “Unfries,”french fries baked using state-of-the-art equipment that keeps them crispy and delicious.All of U food’s dressings, sauces, cole slaw and pickles are made in house.
Vegan options include a grilled black bean burger with steamed brown rice and quinoa.Gluten-free menu choices include oatmeal, Greek yogurt parfait, Ubowls, specialty salads and fire-grilled entrées.
The restaurant also differentiates itself with specialty smoothies, including Kale Verde, passionate peach, strawbanilla, mango and berrylicious. According to Dr. Goldberg, many of the ingredients are organic and most meals are less than $10. UFood Grill currently operates in eleven states across the country, and it was recently recognized as among twenty unique restaurant franchises for “Foodie” business opportunities.
Metro Centre at Owings Mills is a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) encircling the Owings Mills Metro Station that currently includes restaurants Eggspectation, Times Square Kitchen, Fractured Prune and Subway. Metro Centre at Owings Mills is being developed by Owings Mills Transit, LLC and managed by David S. Brown Enterprises, Ltd.
“After scouting the Baltimore metropolitan region for the perfect location for our inaugural restaurant, we kept coming back to Metro Centre at Owings Mills,” Dr. Goldberg added. “It is multi-faceted project that includes the library, the community college, hundreds of thousands of square footage of Class A office and retail space as well as a built-in consumer audience with nearly 300 luxury apartments already 80% occupied with 1500 more on the way. New office buildings and a luxury hotel are coming soon, which will provide significantly more foot traffic. I have watched the activity during the day in the courtyard and existing restaurants, and it is impressive. We intend to be another food option.”
Metro Centre at Owings Mills is designed to support more than 1.2 million square feet of Class “A” office space; 200,000 square feet of complementary retail space; 1700 residential units; educational facilities totaling 120,000 square feet and a hotel offering 250 rooms.
David S. Brown Enterprises, LTD., founded in 1933 and headquartered in Owings Mills, MD, is a full-service real estate company providing leasing, sales and management services. For additional information, visit: www.davidsbrown.com