E+Rose Wellness Cafe: Fresh & Fast

Robbie Nowinski is the man behind E+Rose Wellness Cafe. The name of which is actually short for Elizabeth and RoseMary––a nod to Robbie’s two grandmothers and mother, Elizabeth, Rose, and Mary. Robbie notes, “Rosemary is the herb of remembrance, so it’s kind of a way to pay homage to my upbringing and a tribute to them as three strong-willed women. They were always the people that were taking care of others, putting others in front of themselves––and doing that through food. They always took care of people through food, whether it was they were sick or coming home from school or whatever. It was always, ‘hey, let’s bring everybody together over food.’ The purpose of this place is to feed the community different options and to take care of the community though that. So, it’s a fitting name for what we’re trying to do.”

 

With that Midwestern hospitality he learned from his family’s matriarchs, Robbie sought to do the same. Robbie is a registered dietitian (RD), unusual to find in this frenzied world of juice bars and vegan restaurants. After working for years in healthcare (specifically on IV nutrition teams) on both the East and West coasts, Robbie learned that by the time patients reach the hospital, it’s almost too late. He wanted to get to people earlier––to help people make healthier choices in their everyday life, because as he says, “food is medicine.”

 

He wanted to get to people earlier—his goal: fast super healthy food that tastes good. “People are in a hurry and eating healthy typically takes longer. We need to make sure that we can get something that is healthy and fresh into the hands of them as quickly as possible.” That’s the New York coming out.

 

Because of his training as a registered dietitian, Robbie knows every ingredient and its purpose. For example, in the Banana Butter smoothie––he explains the banana makes it sweet, the cinnamon, hemp seeds, and flax seeds work to naturally level out your blood sugar (so you don’t

have a spike from that banana), and the almond and peanut butter provide protein.

 

As new research comes out, the menu evolves. Right now, Robbie is very excited about recent discoveries on the use of mushrooms and the healing properties of celery juice. His advice for anyone wanting to start off right in the new year is to “commit to one small change, focus on that. Once that becomes a habit in your everyday life, then move on from there and add another thing.” And hey, make it easy. Start at E+Rose, where you can trust an RD is putting together what’s going in your body and their team can get it to you in a New York minute.