RICHMOND, Ind. – Roots Bistro is beginning the year with a new menu, continuing its mission to make locally sourced, minimally processed food more accessible to the community.

The farm-to-table restaurant opened to the public in January 2025 and is built around principles of regenerative agriculture. Jason Livingston, operations manager of the Richmond location, said the restaurant’s roots are closely tied to his family’s farming history.

Livingston’s family farmed conventionally for years before transitioning to regenerative practices. That shift eventually led to providing food directly to their local community in Union County, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the family prepared carryout meals using food grown on their farm.

“That kind of all-around about led us here,” Livingston said.

Roots Bistro’s kitchen focuses on meals made without seed oil, corn syrup, preservatives, or GMOs. Livingston said the goal is to offer food that is quick, affordable, and transparent.

“What we’re trying to accomplish is giving people a place that they can get food, relatively fast, for a good price, that they would feel happy cooking for themselves and never wonder what’s in it,” Livingston said.

Livingston said his family originally grew most of the food that inspired Roots Bistro, producing a wide range of vegetables using natural, non-till methods without pesticides or herbicides. The farm also raised its own cattle, chickens, and pigs.

At the time, the challenge wasn’t growing the food but finding a market for it. That led the team to open a restaurant so they could supply themselves directly. Over the years, they have moved away from farming their own products, but the focus on local sourcing remains as much as possible. Livingston noted the current food system doesn’t always make that easy.

Opening the restaurant has been a learning experience, Livingston said, particularly when it comes to understanding how different people define healthy eating. That insight helped drive the creation of Roots’ new menu. He added that the restaurant is still refining its approach, describing the first year as a period of experimentation as the team learns what works best for both customers and the business.

“What we’ve learned is because of the way that humans in America have been eating for the past five decades or so, your body has been so inundated with factory chemicals and seed oils that everyone’s deficiencies are a little bit different,” he said. “Just because something works for me doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you.”

That philosophy led to the introduction of what Roots calls its “N equals one” menu, which allows customers to customize meals based on their individual needs.

“There’s this huge debate over what the optimal human diet is, I don’t think there is one. Start with real ingredients, start with whole foods, food that is as close to nature as you can get it, then you build your own experience from there.”

Roots serves a variety of salads, soups, rice bowls, sandwiches, and organic drinks. The updated menu also includes clearer labeling of ingredients, including sauces, to help customers with food allergies make informed choices.

Looking ahead, Livingston said the restaurant hopes to spark a local “real food” movement and become a hub where people feel comfortable talking about food, health, and where their meals come from.

 “We’re just tired of processed, ultra processed junk in food,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to worry about what you’re putting in your body because you need to eat something quick.”