Common Roots
Restaurant, Coffee/Tea/Juice, Grocery/Bakery/Deli
$ - inexpensive
Deli, Eclectic (Varied)
Bagels, coffee, soups and sandwiches with an emphasis on local foods
This cafe focuses on local foods and sustainable practices. The bagels are made in house. The menu is small and varies daily by what is available from local farms. The cafe also has a community meeting room that can be reserved for free and they have frequent speakers. There is also an outdoor patio seating area. Common Roots opened in the summer of 2007
- (Mostly) Organic
- Brunch
- Kid-Friendly
- Large Group-Friendly
- Outdoor Seating
- Private Rooms
- Wireless (free)
Added by Rachel Widome on Aug 16 07 (updated Apr 6)
Reviews
note for vegans: the bagels have honey.
initially they didn't have as much vegan things as i'd like, but they've improved. they always seem to have a couple vegan sweet things.. cookies, cupcakes, tarts, bars.. they usually seem to have a vegan soup or two. and i think some sandwiches can be made vegan.
could use a little more atmosphere.. like some art on the walls or something. though it does have tall airy ceilings and good light. and i like the idea of trying to do as much local as possible.
Common Roots has the best bagels I've had in the Midwest. They only have basic varieties (no cinnamon-asiago-blueberry -chocolate chip bagel but who cares). I'm blown away by their commitment to principals. The tables are made from reclaimed wood from a Minnesota barn. The counter is made out of recycled cardboard. There is no trash can, only a compost bin. (They mostly use washable silverware but the also have those corn-made compostable tubs for cream cheese and compostable straws for beverages.) When I was there I had a salad that was nothing more than heirloom tomatoes, arugula, sea salt and olive oil but oh my gosh it was so good! The tomatoes and arugula were sooooooo fresh! Wireless is free, as is reserving the community room. The patio is cute. The inside is lovely -- high ceilings and brick walls, totally different than Soba's (which used to be in this location. I would feel very comfortable coming to this cafe to work for a whole afternoon. Common Roots is one of those places that makes me feel happy to live in Minnesota.
At first I was not impressed with Common Roots, but their service and menu have both become more vegan-friendly in the last few months. First and foremost, they use fresh, local, organic produce which makes their food taste better, period. The flavors burst, because they're natural and earthy.
Their tempeh sandwich with vegan rosemary bread is light, fresh and delicious; they also seem to have a new, interesting vegan dessert every day (one day it's a chocolate tort, the next it's apple or raspberry with perfectly flaky crusts), in addition to more standard offerings like vegan cookies and cupcakes. They usually have at least one or two vegan cold pasta salads, and a couple of vegan soups. Common Roots is also famous for their home-made bagels and wonderful hummus (try their beet hummus, which is also great!). The bagels do contain honey, so they're not technically vegan, though the honey is "humanely extracted" for people on the fence.
I am impressed with their social dedication---they compost everything, use recycled products and biodegradable utensils and plastics. They also host various social events and speakers, as well as "meet your farmer" sessions. Finally, they also have a few local beers on tap, with an outside garden area open during the summer; their happy hour is a pleasant respite after a long day at the office. If they added two or three more vegan entrees to the menu, they'd warrant an extra star for their rating.