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Business & Tech

Healthy Dining Coming to Laguna Niguel

Watch for a bistro-style cafe and an organic living eatery.

Some savory food news in this week's Laguna Niguel Biz Briefs should make residents excited.

If you are a vegetarian (and even if you aren't--but want to eat better), listen up. The old that was once next door to the has finally been leased.

Organic Fare

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Laguna Niguel is the next stop for some organic living cuisine. A new place called 118 Degrees Restaurant with a location already in Costa Mesa, takes up the space at 32341 Golden Lantern in mid-August. Another location in Anaheim is also planned for later this summer.

Chef/Owner Jenny Ross, plans on featuring Jenny Ross Living Foods, eco-delicious living cuisine that has earned her numerous accolades and awards within the raw foods industry. 

This location will feature seating for communal dining, a 12-seat patio, and focus on quick-serve and Grab n’ Go options.

“After building a strong clientele and reputation with our 118 Degrees concept over the last five years, we are now ready to expand to be more accessible to residents in North County and South County,” added Chef Jenny, whose original recipes and pioneering spirit has led to a full Jenny Ross Living Foods menu of raw delights, including salads, entrées and desserts, from living lasagna and portabella tacos, to kombucha martinis and chocolate truffles.

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“My goal has always been to empower the community by offering a fun and healthy alternative: fresh, organic living cuisine, in a comfortable atmosphere that is inviting and educational. I am confident that our new locations will provide an experience that is one to share with family and friends.”

Ross, a former model, began delicately preparing raw foods in her own kitchen and immediately resonated with the healing power and vitality she found in her own life.  Chef Jenny’s first restaurant, Taste of the Goddess, was opened at the beginning of the raw food rush in Los Angeles, and after serving up several of Hollywood’s celebrity clientele she felt like it was time to bring the show down to her hometown in Orange County.

The completion of 118 Degrees in 2007 was the fulfillment of the idea to create a destination spot for organic living cuisine that would empower and educate the community of Orange County with fresh food presented in an artful context, to be enjoyed with family and friends. Her goal was, and continues to be, to usher in the future of food and preventative health by offering a diverse menu full of nutrient-rich selections that are pleasing to the body and the mind.

Euro-Style Cafe

Another place to grab a healthy meal will be at next to on Alicia Parkway. 

Owner/Chef Paul Braunschweiler said construction is going well and he hopes to be open in a few weeks.

"This new contractor, Bill Lewis, from Royal Crown Construction is really putting it together like I  imagined it," he said. "I am hoping for the first week in August. I am excited to offer the Laguna Niguel community something new and we are going to work hard to make a difference for our customers."

As Patch previously reported in March, Braunschweiler, a former restaurateur in Omaha, Neb., who had a top-rated restaurant decided to embark on a new venture in Laguna Niguel. A few months ago, he signed the lease in the former 3,000-square-foot New Mandarin Garden space at 29971 Alicia Pkwy. The European cafe/ bistro will serve "healthy yet comfort cuisine."

Braunschweiler lived for about a year in Costa Mesa, worked in the L.A. area for a while at the Beverly Hilton, Verdi's in Santa Monica, and Adriano's on Beverly Glenn. He lived in Switzerland for 27 years, then worked on a Norwegian Cruise ship for four years, followed by some years in the Midwest. 

The restaurant is aptly named after his daughter, Leah Jean, 22, who is also in the food services business. She will return from Nebraska to help run the restaurant, Braunschweiler said. 

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