It is a welcoming site to see new businesses opening during the COVID -19 pandemic. With so many businesses affected by the lockdown and some closing their doors indefinitely, seeing the grand opening of new establishments gives all of us hope for the future.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael and Jason Allamon to talk about the grand opening of Freshii in Hillcrest.
CAR: Tell us about you guys, your individual stories and the story of how you met and how long you’ve been together.
FRESHII: We are known as “Sparkles and The Chef” as many of our friends like to call us!
MICHAEL ALLAMON (THE CHEF): I was orphaned at birth. My mother was German and my father Native American and African American; they could not take the pressure of having a multi-race child in America of the 1960s so I was taken by my mother’s family and raised in the very small municipality of Wierschem, Germany (population of 326 today). I have been privileged to travel extensively throughout my entire career and experienced many different cultures throughout the entire world. I feel humbled and enlightened at the same time.
I am a Swiss-trained candy maker and pastry chef and have been in the industry for more than 20 years, a graduate of Cesar Ritz Colleges in Luzern Switzerland and Florida International University in Miami with degrees in Pastry and Hotel & Restaurant Management. Prior to this career, I was in U.S. Army Intelligence for many years. I joined the Army at 17 after being abandoned by my family when I came out to them at 15. I have no regrets and have lived my life on my own terms. I believe that the entire purpose of life is “to learn to live happy, work hard and help those you meet in life who are in need of help.”
My amazing husband Jason Allaman (aka Sparkles) is from Erie, Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Mercyhurst College with a degree in Hotel Restaurant Institutional Management.
We met many years ago and lived in Wilton Manors, Florida, where Jason (Sparkles) managed a bar and restaurant and I was the proprietor of a bakery and candy store. I also specialized in buildouts of restaurants focusing on startups. Recently, I did a build out and startup for Chef Santiago Campa and Wendy Bartels for one of his new Donut Bar locations in Pacific Beach. That was an exciting experience and I made new friends with an amazing brand.
Jason and I dated for a while in Florida and four years ago, after “that” election, we felt it was time to leave Florida. We decided to take a chance and make a big move across country to San Diego. We were fortunate to have friends here with a bakery business (Babycakes); Christopher Stavros and Pastry Chef Rafael Del Rio were in need of a manager to help with operations while they focused on a new buildout and a change in their business model. Jason, with his background in fine dining with Ritz Carlton, decided to join Hornblower Cruises as an event manager — he truly provides an amazing experience for his guests (totally a Julie McCoy). We married last July with a fantastic ceremony complete with fireworks on the bay aboard the Admiral Hornblower and, of course, Babycakes made our delicious cake and we were joined by our friends and family from all over the world. We absolutely love living here and being part of a wonderful community filled with nice, caring people.
CAR: What motivated you guys to open Freshii?
THE CHEF: I was fortunate to have been responsible for the buildout of the new Donut Bar in Pacific Beach and became acquainted with Freshii because it was next door. It was perfect for me because having grown up on farmland, I have been eating healthy, fresh food all my life and at my age, long-term proper healthy eating is paying off. We eat very healthy. For Jason, it also was a perfect fit with his extensive FOH experience. So, when this exciting opportunity presented to become co-owners of the Freshii Hillcrest location, it was an easy decision for us. The time had come to jump in, take the risk and become a part of a wonderful, healthy franchise doing something we both love and take great pride in. We have no fear of hard work, team building and putting down roots in a great community. Hillcrest, we are home!
Because of all the COVID sanitation requirements, it takes a little longer for us to prepare orders. We have taken the opportunity to redesign our entrance and Sparkles turned the main dining room into a living wall orchid garden room, where guests can wait socially distanced and relax and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere while we prepare Freshii food for them. We have installed red (stop) and green (go) lights at our entrance for better social distancing.
CAR: What can customers discover from Freshii?
SPARKLES and THE CHEF: Our menu is nutrition-led and constantly evolving. In fact, every 90 days, we roll out a new item that incorporates the latest health and food trends. Our lead nutritionist is forever testing and tasting ways to make these trends as nutrient-dense, accessible and crave-worthy as possible.
We’re hard-pressed to think of another fast-casual spot that’s led by nutrition in the same way Freshii is, on our scale. Turmeric juices, Energii Bites and grain bowls only skim the surface.
We have seven different menu categories – bowls, burritos, salads, wraps, soups, smoothies and juices – and each one is full of innovation. We don’t say “Eat. Energize.” for nothing.
Matthew Corrin is the founder and CEO of Freshii. After opening his first location in 2005, his entrepreneurial spirit drove him to open the next 100 locations faster than Subway, Jimmy John’s, McDonald’s and Starbucks. Today, Freshii operates in over 300 locations across 85-plus cities in 20 countries.
Matthew is a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, Canada’s Top 40 under 40, Inc. Magazine’s Top 30 under 30, and Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals Restaurateur of the Year. In 2018, Freshii was awarded the No. 1 Top Brand by FastCasual Magazine and is continuing to redefine the fast-casual industry while attracting high-quality franchise partners worldwide.
All of our packaging is made from biodegradable corn and potato resin or is easily recyclable.
Even our efficient store designs use eco-friendly materials whenever possible.
“Eat. Energize.” is on the wall of every restaurant, alongside our mantra.
It’s this mantra that guides us, motivates us and pushes us together as a global team:
Let’s eat without regret. Let’s love kale. Let’s embrace quinoa.
Let’s try new things. Let’s try unlikely combos.
Let’s eat things that are good. Let’s eat things that make us feel good.
Let’s eat and sit. Let’s be good to the earth.
Let’s let the earth be good to us. Let’s eat. Energize.
“Let’s be good to the earth” is a key part of our mantra and a notion that we’re committed to across our entire network. We call it “Mission Green.”
CAR: What are your hours of operation? And can people pre-order for pick up or delivery?
SPARKLES and THE CHEF: We are currently open from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. seven days a week. We have a new Freshii app coming out in September and currently customers can call in orders at 858-564-3447 or order on GrubHub, Postmates, Uber Eats and Doordash.
CAR: How has the pandemic affected the launch of the business?
SPARKLES and THE CHEF: We are a mask-mandatory business and we exceed the CDC-recommended COVID Best Practices — we only allow one party in to order at a time.
We are in the process of helping to educate the public of the importance of eating very healthy especially during this COVID crisis. Times are difficult, however those of us who have been in this industry for a while know you have to be able to accept the challenge, adapt and change on a moment’s notice. We are excited for the future. Eat. Energize!
CAR: What would you like the community to know?
SPARKLES and THE CHEF: We have arrived and are happy to have a wonderful community to be a part of. We absolutely love Hillcrest and San Diego. We are actively working with the community and are planning to add a mural to the side of our building. We are HOME.
We are currently working with our neighbor The Merrow on opening an outdoor space for eating and drinking with some long-term plans for light entertainment, such as a movie night, as restrictions lift.
We are donating 25 meals three times a week to Scripps and UCSD Medical for ICU doctors and nurses in order to help them with proper nutrition for a healthy immune system.
We believe that when a community comes together to support each other, the community becomes stronger!
CAR: How can the community show support?
SPARKLES and THE CHEF: We have hired several full-time employees who also live here in the community. If we can help the community learn best practices of eating healthy, they will help themselves and help us to provide sustainable employment to more community members.
We would also like to thank 3 “key people” of the community. Thank you Big Mike for your continued support and dedication, you have been here for us and we really appreciate you. Thank you Eddie Rey, from the Equality Business Alliance for being a part of our ribbon cutting and your support, it is very important to us. Paris Quion, from InsideOut, you have been a great neighbor to our business. We love your energy and want to thank you for your support and for believing in us.
“No man is an island” — it is important to be involved in the community and support the leaders and members of our community.
CAR: Hopes for the future?
SPARKLES and THE CHEF: We are excited to help more people learn about the importance of proper nutrition, then we will have accomplished our mission. When life hands you lemons, Freshii makes “Charcoal Lemonade” cold-pressed juice.
We hope to be able to provide more jobs into the community.
Let’s eat. Let’s energize. Let’s try new things.
Much love,
“ Sparkles and The Chef “ (Jason and Michael Allamon)
Freshii Hillcrest
1255B University Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
858.564.3447
MON-Sun 11AM–8PM
