The town of West Chester is filled with several exceptional restaurants, but there is one that stands out as truly remarkable and unique: Roots Café. Roots is located on 133 E. Gay Street inside an old, historic West Chester house.
Roots presents an earthy and cozy atmosphere. The excellent service experience will be one you will not forget.
Roots serves local, organic and sustainable food by supporting local farmers.
Sustainability is the most important term when describing Roots’ philosophy. Sustainability is defined by the means that systems and methods are used to produce foods that are economically, as well as environmentally, favorable by avoiding wasteful practices that have negative impacts. Roots’ menus are seasonal, which means menu items change from season to season. Roots’ dinner menu changes almost weekly depending on what produce is available.
Can’t get enough of Roots? Visit its sister music club, Sprout Music Collective, located at 130 Prescott Alley, attached to the back of Roots’. Sprout is open Wednesday through Saturday nights from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Sprout is a member-based club, guaranteeing no cover charge fee, the ability to take advantage of all of the drink specials and attend all of their exciting events.
Events are booked every night with local musicians, who perform on a large stage, accompanied with a dance floor. Although its menu falls under more of a bar food type of cuisine, Sprout shares the same philosophy as Roots does when it comes to its food. In fact, Roots and Sprout do a lot of collaborative catering, whether it be a fundraising event, graduation or business meetings. Sprout’s full service bar offers a selection of local beer, wine and seasonal handcrafted cocktails.
Dan Cellucci, owner of Roots and Sprout, is a Coatesville native and a 10-year resident of West Chester.
Cellucci felt there was a void in West Chester for fresh and local cuisine. He stated that in order to get the good food he was looking for, he had to travel to Philadelphia.
Because of his own personal experience as a cook and connections with both the town of West Chester and his uncle, a local, organic farmer, Cellucci took the initiative to open a restaurant with a great, sustainable and simplistic menu.
Roots and Sprout have direct ties to the community of West Chester and Chester County.
Both currently participate in composting all of their food waste to Longwood Gardens.
Roots has even offered cooking classes to the public. A huge part of the restaurants are built on the support of local businesses.
Senior Kira Huron has worked at Roots for a little over a year now.
“I would definitely have to say Hobo Ed Coffee [is my favorite], because I love the twist of caramel taste,” said Huron. “Most importantly, it’s local and organic coffee.”
One of their biggest projects is the Community Garden at the Charles A. Melton Arts and Education Center, which is located on the corner of Miner and Worthington Streets.
The Community Garden teaches children of the local area agriculture, the importance of cultivating your own food and sustainability.
Through donations, seeds, plants and tools were obtained, and the construction of 15 raised beds was made possible.
With the Community Garden, they are able to donate hundreds of pounds of produce to the Chester County Food Cover.
Depending on the weather, planting will start in late March or early April.
The Community Garden is looking for volunteers from the university and appreciates all the help they can get.
For updates on menu changes for Roots Café and upcoming events happening at Sprout Music Collective this coming weekend, please visit www.rootscafewc.com and www.sproutmusic.org. You can also follow their social media account on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Annie Margle is a third-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in Spanish. She can be reached at AM802063@wcupa.edu.