Looking for a fresh, healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner option?  Look no further than The Works Bakery Café on 120 Main Street in Keene.  The Works recently expanded its menu and its hours.  It’s now open daily for dinner until 8:00 p.m.
 
Stop in and check out The Works’ bold new menu including an array of organic and gluten-free options, gourmet salads and veggie-based smoothies.  These new items complement their original large selection of delicious sandwiches, traditional bagels, local cage-free eggs and soups.

“We’re thrilled to offer this expanded menu to our community -- one that offers many more healthy, fresh choices than before,” said Richard French, President of The Works Bakery Café.  “We called in professional chefs to help us develop our new quinoa bowls and salads.  They’re packed with protein and are just delicious.”

Find a favorite at The Works, like their new Sesame Ginger Chicken Quinoa Bowl, a gluten-free blend of four organic ancient grains topped with antibiotic-free roast chicken, broccoli, Napa cabbage and a touch of pineapple mango salsa. Or choose the Indian Summer Quiona Bowl, a vegetarian option with roasted sweet potatoes, garbanzo beans, baby spinach and almonds. There are four other quinoa bowls to choose from -- so try them all. Looking for even more greens?  Try a Kale Chicken Caesar with baby kale, Parmesan cheese and house-made sourdough croutons.

“Our super-nutritious quinoa bowls and large new salads are perfect for lunch or dinner,” shared Richard.  “Also, our entire breakfast, soup and sandwich menu is available until 8:00 p.m. to eat at The Works or as take out.  We invite our community to stop in after work, or bring the whole family here for dinner.”

Beat the heat throughout the day with one of The Works’ new smoothies like Kale Krush and Strawberry Beet that include fresh ingredients such as baby kale, carrots, beets, strawberries, avocado, honey and wheat germ.  Enjoy your smoothie in The Works’ expanded outdoor patio space.

In addition to its new menu and hours, The Works also transformed its interior space to include bamboo flooring, reclaimed booths, energy star rated kitchen equipment and LED light fixtures.

“We picked Keene as the first location to roll out these changes,” said Richard.  “We started here because it’s where The Works is based and where my family lives.”
 
Richard French has a long history of food innovation.  He launched Bagel Works in Manchester, VT in 1988. That venture connected his passion for fresh, healthy and thoughtfully sourced foods with his commitment to social and environmental responsibility -- and he’s never looked back.

In 2010, Richard took The Works “clean” by sourcing chicken, ham, bacon, and turkey raised without antibiotics and hormones, fed a vegetarian diet, and only from farms with humanely-raised certifications.

This complemented his initial commitment to source ingredients as close to home as possible: hormone-free cream cheese from McGarry Dairy in Enosburg Falls, VT, free-range eggs from Nelly’s Free Range in Monroe, NH and organic yogurt from Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry, NH, smoked salmon from Spence & Company in Brockton, MA and local vegetables when available.

An old favorite from the first café, traditional New York-style boiled and baked bagels -- made with unbleached and unbromated flour -- can still be found at The Works, topped with any number of hormone-free cream cheeses.  All of The Works flavored cream cheeses are hand-whipped in house and blended with only fresh fruits and vegetables.

Richard’s commitment to sustainability and the environment doesn’t end with food.  There’s a mission behind the menu.  All eight locations recycle and compost. New cafes and renovations rely heavily on repurposed, up-cycled, and green products -- many made by local craftspeople -- and energy efficient equipment.

Let Richard know what you think about The “New” Works. Stop in this week and gain a new favorite!