Fresh One Kitchen: Vibrant Colors & Value Ring True

The adage often rings true … “good, fast, cheap, pick any two.”

Fresh One Kitchen, located just outside I-285 on Roswell Road, may just have all three. Although it’s not a dress-up, date night spot, the healthy, flavorful, vegetable-forward “create your own” bowl menu is nothing if not bountiful and umami satisfying — prepared without a lot of unhealthy salt and fats. Although not certified as kosher, Fresh One uses no meat or poultry products in the vegetable array, though meats are offered as an option, as is tofu.

Nigerian-born owner Odidi Odidi, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1994, explained it this way, “When I was thinking about Fresh One Kitchen, I wanted to create food that is clean, flavorful and help promote wellbeing. We’re a fresh take on healthy and delicious. We offer mouth-watering steamed and roasted veggies and perfectly seasoned proteins. Build a healthy bowl the way you want it. We sourced locally when possible. We believe great food does great things for the mind, body, and spirit. A shift toward a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle has begun.”

On the night this writer met Odidi, he had returned from Temple Sinai where he has previously catered b’nai mitzvot and served staff and teachers.

One of the reasons Fresh One succeeds is Odidi’s “hands on” approach — working, watching, and controlling quality. In addition to 22 employees, he works 70 to 80 hours a week in operations, administration, and marketing. There’s one other location near Kennesaw State University. Odidi has big plans. “Our growth path has been more organic, first within the Atlanta Metro and suburbs, with plans to open the concept up for partnership and franchising with the goal of saturating the market. I think in the next five years we can grow the brand to 15 to 20 locations.”

Fresh One relies on seasonings and selected spices to enhance flavor. There is an art to having so many different vegetables, each “just right,” not over cooked, and at the right temperature.

The cafeteria-style line begins with salads, Spring Mix, Kale Rainbow Mix, and romaine lettuce, with options to add saffron rice, black (Forbidden) rice, white rice and sweet potato noodles. Then they’re roasted potatoes, black and garbanzo beans. Other vegetables include steamed broccoli, roasted carrots, cucumber tomato mix, Brussels sprouts, spicy slaw, sweet potatoes, sesame green beans, sweet corn, and glazed mushrooms.

Odidi added, “Since we are a fast casual concept, we continuously prepare in small batches to keep food fresh and flavorful, making it easy to serve 30-plus items all at once.”

Bowls start at $10; and the staff is very happy to serve generous portions.

Odidi takes pride in maintaining restaurant-quality offerings by using key techniques beyond following recipes. Spices are cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, clove, and coriander for both sweet and savory depth. For health-conscious cooking, they focus on turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and garlic, which pack antioxidant benefits. For desserts, they collaborate with Sweet Streets that include salted caramel cookies, gluten-free chocolate brownies, three-layer salted caramel cake, four-layer carrot cake, six-layer chocolate cake, Basque Manifesto, white chocolate blueberry, and white chocolate raspberry treats. They also team with Vegan in Paradise for vegan-friendly desserts, including bread, cakes, cookies, and cinnamon rolls. Fresh One serves no alcohol.

Odidi has been in the hospitality industry for his entire adult life. His previous role prior to opening Fresh One was director of operations at The Juicy Crab.

He concluded, “I have always enjoyed making an impact and the food industry gives me that opportunity: to serve and make that difference in the lives of many.”

Note Odidi Odidi (first and last name) means “strength and leadership.”

Busy times are 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Grab and go or sit down work well. Fresh One offers 32 indoor seats and 12 outdoor, and easy free parking out front. Follow them on Instagram (@freshonekitchen) and TikTok (@freshone.kitchen).

Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, please visit Freshonekitchen.com.