Using healthy ingredients two men have revolutionised the lunchtime takeaway market in Nicosia by offering a light alternative. Eleni Antoniou gets stuck in
You have thought of a business idea and conducted the appropriate amount of research to back up your overflowing confidence but people still scream ‘It’ll never work!’ As a result, many brilliant ideas just get shelved. When the owners of Get Fresh came up with the idea of creating an alternative eatery producing salads, sandwiches and juices for lunch, they ignored all those merchants of doom. As a result, they should now be hopping on the wooden tables of their hugely popular deli because Get Fresh has become a success over the past year.
Enter the clean and bright outlet between ten and two and you’ll get the full picture: the phone is ringing off the hook, two out of the three tables are full and people are working non-stop behind the counter but it’s the rows of brown paper bags with receipts tagged on that really give away Get Fresh’s success – they are the orders lining up to be delivered.
Instead of energy-zapping heavy meals for lunch, Get Fresh offers salads, sandwiches, light puddings and healthy smoothes and juices. And all using local produce as much as possible, even organic in some cases, delivering healthy eating alternatives directly to your workplace. Each week the menu changes and last week it included a pineapple, mint and peach juice, peach, maple syrup and vanilla smoothie; a salad of chicken, apricot, almond, carrot shavings on a bed of mixed lettuce and cherry tomatoes with a light mayo and orange dressing; and a wrap consisting of houmous with carrot and beetroot shavings, cucumber, lettuce, fetta and sundried tomatoes. And the best? Chilled soup: tomato gazpacho with watermelon and fresh mint!
It’s a wonder how they manage to keep on top of things and continually come up with new combinations. “Inspirations come from everywhere,” says Yiannis Tryfon, who used to write advertising jingles before entering the food and drink frey. “We’re always trying out different combinations and thankfully people have come to love them. We love to cook, our families do too so we’re adding a bit of everything and putting it in our work,” adds Demetris Iouliou, who used to work in marketing, a useful tool considering Get Fresh’s distinctive image.
“It wasn’t just about a healthy alternative,” says Yiannis. “We wanted to give people the best and we wanted more than a light lunch and that could only be achieved with a great customer service as well.” He is referring to Get Fresh’s constant interaction with its customers through phone, email or directly. During our one and a half hour interview, they wave to almost every customer that walks in and are greeted by many. Sending out weekly e-mails with the newest menu additions long with quirky quotes, asking questions, respecting and in quite a few cases even recreating customer recipes, is what has set Get Fresh apart.
The guys are friends, who met through their partners. Yiannis is married to Maria and Demetris is engaged to her sister, so the once ridiculous idea is now a family business too. But why all the negativity? “Sandwiches and salads for lunch in Cyprus? It didn’t seem right to some who thought Cypriots needed a heavier meal. But we were looking for something like this ourselves before opening Get Fresh and knew that if we wanted it, others wanted it too.” Now, middle-aged Cypriot men who you know love their souvla, come in for a sandwich and a juice. Every day.
Get Fresh has only grown significantly in the past six months and I remember exactly what set off this health bomb: it was soup! One cold day, an email boasted about hot soups delivered to your door: avgolemoni and trahana to begin with and then it was carrot soup, tomato soup, tuscan bean and rosemary, spinach, sweet potato and peanut stew! Never had I experienced such a variety of goodness for lunch and brought to my desk too. So, not only had I given the boot to bad carbs and soft drinks and was now filling up with excellent light food and snacking on a strawberry smoothie while at my desk, I didn’t even budge to get it! Get me a bikini!
Get Fresh: 4, Andrea Dimitriou Street, Nicosia/ www.getfresh.com.cy
Tel: 22-667332
