Photo by Kathy Tran

Unleavened is probably the only restaurant where you can sip CBD tea and lemonade while your kid eats free.

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Founder Tom Dynan has a restaurant background and his business partner, Scott Piland, has experience in private equity and real estate finance.

“We were mutual friends before this and kind of got together,” Dynan says. “It was a match made in heaven because we have very complementary skill sets and not a lot of overlap.”

Together they created Unleavened Fresh Kitchen, a fast-casual restaurant with an emphasis on healthy foods.

“We were looking for a place that was approachable — where people could come and eat multiple times a week without eating the same thing,” Dynan says.

Unleavened started as wraps and salads, but now features all-day breakfasts and protein bowls to keep up with customers’ needs.

“Fresh is our pillar. It’s our compass,” Dynan says. “As we grow and we grow our menu, people are asking for different things, so we stick to fresh. If it’s fresh, we’re going to go with it.”

Current favorites include the lemon pesto bowl with portobello, zucchini, tomato, sautéed spinach, crimson lentils and arugula with a salmon filet on top.

“It is by far the most popular warm bowl,” Dynan says. “My kid eats it all the time. She’s a 6-year-old and that’s her favorite thing.”

The menu also features the southwestern salad with grilled fajita steak, sautéed peppers, hominy, pico de gallo, avocado mash and salsa. The Dagwood — a loaded breakfast wrap with peppered bacon, egg, potato, arugula and shaved cheddar — has been on the menu since day one.

DID YOU KNOW? Unleavened sells smoothies with the option to add collagen, protein or extra greens.

Unleavened listens to the requests of customers, including Cannabidiol (CBD) products. The restaurant now sells CBD kombucha from a local vendor and Vibes, a CBD tea and lemonade.

“If you come in and it’s here, people have a much higher level of comfort to try it,” he says.

The most popular aspect of Unleavened is the fact that kids eat free after 4 p.m.

The kids’ menu is designed to be wholesome and nutritious. The Liberty and Delaney are named after Dynan’s daughters, and the Ruth and Wynne are named after Piland’s kids.

“We don’t have any kid named Chicken Little, but we’ll see, maybe a dog,” Dynan says about the chicken tenders on the menu. “We’re not going to put our name on it unless we feel really strong about it.”

Unleavened Fresh Kitchen

8031 Walnut Hill Lane, Suite 1150

214-360-4762

Hours: Monday-Saturday,

7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Sunday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

unleavened.com