Quick service, superb food and green principles all create unique dining experience called fine casual-

Just Fresh(R) has launched a unique restaurant concept. It promises to create a new niche in the nation's food service industry with the opening of its kitchen/café, in Charlotte's RiverGate shopping center at NC 49 and NC 160.

The new restaurant provides fresh, great-tasting food and the atmosphere of a table service restaurant with the speed and pricing of a quick service restaurant - all in a setting that's friendly to the senses and the environment.

'We spent about a year recreating our menu,' said G. Dana Sinkler, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Just Fresh. 'We wanted great-tasting, healthy items for breakfast, lunch and dinner - with a strong emphasis on natural, minimally processed foods and enticing variety. It's impossible to look at this menu and resist checking it out.'

Joe Drury, a principal with The Front Four investment group that has put its resources behind the new Just Fresh, said, 'The concept is unique in the nation's food service industry. We call our new idea Fine Casual Dining. It's the perfect concept for today's busy, health-conscious families.'

The new generation of Just Fresh kitchen/café,s is built on five principles. At Just Fresh, we believe:

1. In cooking wholesome, natural great tasting food.

2. In creating spaces where our guests feel at home.

3. In practicing green building principles.

4. In partnering with our communities.

5. That you are what you eat so...

'Eat well, feel great.'

The 3,600-square-foot restaurant features at least 18 design details dedicated to green principles, including:

• The ceiling tile in the dining area and restrooms contains 70 percent total recycled content.

• Countertops consist of 100 percent recycled glass solid surfacing, free of volatile organic compounds.

• The carpet tile in the dining area contains Eco Solution-Q fiber and uses EcoWorx backing with water-based adhesive.

• The wall covering in the lounge area and restrooms is made with Duraprene, an earth friendly composite of reclaimed wood fibers fused with latex.

The Just Fresh Kitchen Café, menu is designed to attract guests morning, noon and night. Breakfast includes made to order omelets with Eggland's Best(R) Eggs to whole grain pancakes and muffins. Lunch fare focuses on tossed to order salads, signature sandwiches and wraps made with all natural deli meats, even turkey and veggie burgers.

Dinner's Green Plate Specials feature Coleman's all natural beef and pork, plus salmon, chicken, pasta and a veggie plate. Specialty wines and beers round out the offerings. The Just Fresh Kid's menu is extensive and offers healthy alternatives to run of the mill fast food fare. Other touches include fresh blended smoothies, shakes, floats and coffees, desserts, cookies and brownies.

'Even on a busy school night, Mom and Dad can take the kids to Just Fresh for a tasty, healthy dinner that can squeeze into their budget and their schedule,' Sinkler said.