A new grab-and-go Micro Meadows store has sprouted in Wildwood.
The store, which offers a variety of microgreens salads to go, officially opened at 2422 Taylor Road in early May.
Spouses and owners Matt and Christine Loveland of Wildwood held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Micro Meadows shop on Thursday, May 19.
The Lovelands grow the signature microgreens for their salads.
“We have a production center for growing microgreens,” Matt said. “We do a salad mix of eight different microgreens. They are broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, arugula, cabbage, speckled pea, sunflower and dark purple basil.
“A microgreen is a growth stage between a sprout and a baby green. Microgreens taste like the adult plant but in a bigger, bolder way.”
Christine said microgreens, which many consider a superfood, are four to 40 times more nutrient-dense than the adult plant, which is what makes their salads a healthy lunch or dinner choice.
“Our most popular salad is the signature summer, which was actually our first salad we came up with,” Christine said. “It has fresh strawberries, blueberries, feta cheese, maple glazed pecans and maple balsamic dressing.”
The store currently carries four other salads: the blue cranberry salad, a fiesta verde salad, a grape goat salad and the fire Thai, which contains red bell peppers, shaved carrots, roasted peanuts and Micro Meadows fire Thai peanut dressing.
“Our salads are $14 apiece,” Matt said. “It is a large and hearty salad, so one salad is a very hearty meal for one. If you’re going to use it as a side salad, you can usually make four to five side salads out of one of our regular salads.
The Lovelands also sell their homemade salad dressings.
“We started making a line of dressings that are all ultra-premium dressings, made with only the finest quality good kalamata extra virgin olive oil,” Matt said.
Christine said the maple balsamic is one of their top selling dressings, but they also sell honey apple vinaigrette, honey Dijon, sweet Italian and a serrano chili and honey balsamic dressings. The dressings are sold in 12-ounce bottles for $12.
Micro Meadows carries products from other local businesses.
“We wanted to start representing, with our store, a lot of these local producers that we’ve come to know and love,” Matt said. “I’ve got beef, pork, lamb and eggs from a company called Farrar Out farms. They’re a sustainable ranch in Perryville.”
The store carries a wide variety of other products made in Missouri, ranging from jams to teas to baked goods, Matt said.
The Lovelands’ microgreens are grown at a 2,000-squre-foot production center housed inside a church classroom in Chesterfield, which is indoors and away from bugs and pesticides.
While to-go salads, dressings and other products make up most of their business, the 1,500-square-foot shop in Wildwood offers some seating for dining there. It has a counter where five people may sit and enjoy a salad. Outside there are three tables that may seat eight people, Matt said.
Christine said she and Matt also sell their products at local farmers markets, including The Meadows at Lake St. Louis, Wildwood Farmers Market and Boulevard Market as well as online at micro-meadows.com.
Matt’s goal is to make Micro Meadows a staple of the region.
“I would love to see it build into a grab-and-go franchise, kind of a regional franchise,” Matt said.
“I really think our next location is going to be either in St. Charles County because we have a pretty big presence out there with the farmer’s market.”
He Micro Meadows currently has a staff of eight and that they are looking for more employees, specifically those interested in working with the microgreens at the production facility.
The main product that Micro Meadows sells is its salads, which all contain the signature salad mix.
Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.