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A good-for-you drive-thru

Farmer's Road Drive Thru in Chadds Ford emphasizes healthy, local and sustainable ingredients in an eco-friendly environment.

    by Michael Klein
    Published 

The term "adaptive reuse" pops up from time to time in the dining world - usually when a bank or pumping station becomes a restaurant.

Courtney Rozsas' new restaurant - Farmer's Road Drive Thru in Chadds Ford - emphasizes healthy, local and sustainable ingredients in an eco-friendly environment.

And by "adaptive reuse": It's set up in the former KFC at Routes 1 and 202.

Rozsas, 28, who also owns Lotus Farm to Table in Media, offers not only drive-thru service but 30 seats indoors and 30 seats outdoors. She has enlisted Lotus chef Ryan Sulikowski to execute a family friendly menu with heart healthy, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options; prices are $6 to $9.

It's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday; till 2 p.m. Sunday). There's an oatmeal bar at breakfast that serves as a homemade pickle bar for lunch and dinner.

A few items:

  1. Stadium Dog (all-natural grass-fed beef hotdog, sodium-free sauerkraut, low-sodium yellow mustard, rye pretzel hotdog bun (vegetarian option)

  2. Apple Sandwich (local cheddar, local organic American cheese, Granny Smith apple, raw honey, maple sourdough bread)

  3. Buffalo Blue (natural grilled chicken breast, red onion, hot sauce, blue cheese, watercress, romaine, kettle cooked BBQ potato chips, whole-wheat wrap)

Joseph Nichols of Nichols Woodworks used old barn doors with original hardware from the 1870s as room dividers. He hammered reclaimed corrugated tin to create a drive-thru covering and added burlap wallpaper to cover the walls. Chairs and tables are recycled from former restaurants, then whitewashed and burned for a rustic look. Neighboring business Terrain supervised the landscaping, planting flowers and carbon reducing plants bordering the drive through path and the outdoor cafe area. The outdoor area also features recycled milk jugs and mason jars planted with fresh herbs to be used in the restaurant. A large mounted chalkboard proclaims "Know where your food is from" with a listing of farmers and purveyors. Other eco-friendly touches include the use of nontoxic cleaning products, packaging, energy-efficient cooking equipment, LED lights and a recycling station.

Farmer's Road Drive Thru, 210 Wilmington Pike, Chadds Ford, 610-558-2220