Grand opening celebration at Great Grains Monday

Published 9:15 am Friday, July 10, 2009

Great Grains Market and Café, 112 South Broadway Ave., Albert Lea, announced its grand opening celebration on Monday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The business features a new concept in healthy eating. This new idea for Albert Lea involves cooking organic foods from scratch without any trans-fats.

The new market and cafe also offers three cooking classes to support healthy living. These classes, “Healthy Breakfast on the Go,” “Healthy Snacks for Kids,” and “What’s on the Grill at the Vegetarian BBQ,” are offered through Albert Lea Community Education. You can register online (http://es.albertlea.k12.mn.us/commed/default.aspx), on the phone 379-4833, or in person at 211 W. Richway Drive.

The Great Grains cafe salad bar is becoming well known by many locals as they congregate for lunch. The salad bar has seventeen items that are made fresh daily. Items include Texas vaviare, Tabouli-a Levantine Arab dish; fresh fruit, sauces and dressings that are homemade. Great Grains Cafe also has sandwiches, entrees, soup, homemade chili, fresh fruit smoothies, lemonade and other healthy options.

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The Great Grains Market has specialty products that also help balance out the human bodies acidic rate such as Teeccino — a caffeine- free herbal coffee and Ice Age Water, bottled in British Columbia from the Hat Mountain glacier, part of the Coastal Glacier Range, which feeds into a glacial lake, structured watershed, totally remote from habitation and industry and environmentally protected by the British Columbia Government. Additionally, the Great Grains Market also offers non-dairy products such as cheeses, sour cream, soy ice cream and other gluten-free products.

The Great Grains Cafe is also a venue for fine art. Great Grains Market and Cafe Director Norah Nainani contacted Solid Rock Photography to build a partnership. Solid Rock Photography agreed to help promote Great Grains Market & Cafe by being its photographer for different events. Additionally, Solid Rock Photography and Carl Christsen Photography have fine art for sale at Great Grains.

The celebration ceremony on Monday, including a ribbon cutting by Albert Lea Mayor Mike Murtaugh, will be from 9 to 10 a.m. The Great Grains Market is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 3 p.m. on Fridays. The cafe is open from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.