Why New Yorkers Love Dig Inn, The Healthy Restaurant Chain That Just Raised Another $15 Million From Investors
Dig Inn wasn't always known by its current name. In 2011, Eskin, a former private equity associate at Wexford Capital, officially started rebranding what was then called the Pump Energy Food, a five-store eatery that catered to a bodybuilding crowd. Eskin changed the name to Dig Inn and completely revamped the menu to focus on fresh, locally sourced produce.
We visited Dig Inn's tenth and newest location, which opened in the Nomad neighborhood of Manhattan in November. Eskin says they plan to use the funding to open five new restaurants, and hope to eventually expand to new markets.
Eskin says that Boston will likely be home to Dig Inn's first restaurant outside of New York City. "I think we just want to be measured and responsible with how we think about sites and locations. As we find sites that work, along with the folks trained in a position to run those restaurants, we’ll open them," he said.
At lunchtime, the line to get food is long.
The line is so long, in fact, that it stretches all the way down the stairs and into the dining area. Dig Inn's 10 New York City restaurants feed more than 1,000 customers a week, each paying an average check of $10.
Dig Inn, as well as other growing chains like Sweetgreen, have benefited from American consumers' push toward healthier eating. "Vegetables are becoming more mainstream," Eskin said. "If we could make a bigger percentage of the plate be plant-based food, we all win."
Digg Inn is perhaps best known for its market plates, which feature two side dishes and a protein on a bed of grains. This one has flank steak, brown rice, roasted sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts with spicy sunflower seeds.
Proteins — charred chicken, spicy meatballs, grilled salmon, flank steak, or veggies — are kept warm in large pots.
The chicken and steak were being grilled right behind the counter.
For a healthier alternative, you could opt to have your protein served on a bed of greens rather than grains. Most locations now also have fresh salads and sandwiches made with ciabatta.
Dig Inn partners with small-scale farms in Upstate New York, Long Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to bring the freshest produce to their stores. Though some staple items, like Brussels sprouts and kale, are in high demand year-round, Eskin says the menu is wholly determined by what's in season at any given time. "I think when you say 'OK, here’s the menu' and then try to figure out how to get the produce, that’s when you start making tradeoffs," Eskin said. "That’s just not how we’re trying to run our business."
Kale, tofu salad, and broccoli with roasted garlic and almonds are among the nutritious side dishes. Dig Inn served an astounding 174,708 pounds of kale and 134,680 pounds of broccoli in 2014.
That's a lot of veggies. According to Eskin, the amount of kale in this refrigerator would last roughly a day and a half.
Most of the food prep happens in this room.
Dig Inn's recipes don't call for many ingredients; most are flavored with olive oil and one or two herbs. Once the produce is properly chopped and seasoned, it's stored in equally portioned cases to make sure the taste is replicated across servings.
Workers spend hours chopping mounds of kale for the lunchtime crowd.
This particular Dig Inn location has a very homey seating area downstairs, just on the opposite side of the food prep area, so that customers can see just how their food is being prepared.
Dig Inn is also working on building up the tech side of their business. Their new mobile app allows customers to place an order for pickup and delivery. "This will help us learn more about how our customers are interacting with our food," Eskin said. They've also partnered with LevelUp to bring mobile payments to the app.
Now read about another growing chain.
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