Tom Colicchio’s Root & Sprig restaurant opens in St. Francis

Celebrity Chef’s Tom Colicchio’s Root & Sprig, a fast-casual concept restaurant, has opened in St. Francis Hospital & Heart Centre in Roslyn.

This marks the first Root & Sprig location at Catholic Health, with other hospital locations within the health system slated for later this year.  The concept is designed to bring healthy food and beverage items to hospital employees and visitors. The New York-based company has locations in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania and Colorado

The host of Bravo’s Top Chef, Colicchio developed and founded Root & Sprig. The concept was brought to Catholic Health through Health Hospitality Partners, which aims to bring modern amenities to healthcare settings.

“We are thrilled to partner with HHP to open Root & Sprig and promote healthy food choices for our patients, employees and visitors,” St. Francis President Dr. Charles Lucore, said in a statement. “As healthcare providers, we have to set the example, and that’s why we have embraced this opportunity to offer healthy, nutritional food in our hospital lobby.”

Through Root & Sprig, Colicchio puts a focus on the connection between food and health. Menu items include salads, soups, sandwiches and breakfast items that  include vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.

HHP Founder and CEO Daniel Kodner said in a statement that his company and St. Francis share a “drive to elevate nutritional quality, physical spaces and daily experiences for health care employees, patients and visitors.”

“The past few years have illustrated just how deserving and important this community is to all of us, and we very much look forward to successfully bringing our collective vision to life together over the coming months and years,” he added.

Catholic Health is working to ensure that patients have access to healthy food options as poor diets are associated with a higher probability of diabetes, stroke, hypertension, obesity, cancer, asthma, arthritis, and kidney disease. In addition, the health system has implemented campaigns to address food insecurity in the communities the health system serves and beyond.

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