Zen Garden Market and Lotus Café
Entering Zen Garden Market and the Lotus Café is like entering a different world. As the name says, the Asian- inspired garden greets guests with a thousand and one shades of green in exotic forms and shapes. The garden was started as a plant nursery in 1996. Four years ago the owner, Joe McKenna, built an oasis for healthy eating, Lotus Café. Health-conscious people have been flocking to its indoor and outdoor beautifully designed seating areas. You will feel at home immediately.
The message of Lotus Café is a simple, but a very true quote by Hippocrates: “Let food be thy medicine!”
The menu offers a broad variety of items, all wholesome, made from scratch daily, and very tasty. The signature dishes are the Kale-Avocado Salad and the Curry, which is vegan.
Tofu, chicken, or fish can be added. A new menu is coming out in March. In addition to the all-time favorites, Lotus Cafe will offer fresh seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, caught by local fishermen. Keep an eye out for special events, such as their monthly dinner-and-a-movie night that features a foreign movie with subtitles in English, followed by a delicious dinner.
Lotus Café and Zen Garden Market are big draws for people who want to live healthy lives, and there is more.
The Zen Garden Market, located within the Café, offers dried herbs as well as organically grown fresh fruit and vegetables and a broad variety of organic products and super foods. And then there is the yoga studio. The Studio at Zen opened its doors last year. It offers many different yoga styles as well as Pilates and Meditation. Classes are taught seven days a week by passionate teachers. The mission is clearly stated: “We strive to provide our students with an environment of compassion and inclusion, a place where we learn and grow together in a peaceful serene setting.”
Patrons will find Zen Garden Market to be a one-stop-shop where you can get a good workout indulge at Lotus Café with a meal, freshly squeezed juice or smoothie from the juice bar, and stock up on fresh vegan foods. You can forget time ever existed while sitting in the beautiful garden.
And not to be forgotten, there is the newest addition “Wild Root” home and garden boutique! They offer heirloom and organic seeds, handcrafted gifts, potted succulents, terrariums, and other boutique items for your garden and home.
Check their homepage http://zengardenmarket.com/ for all the information including hours of operation.
Zen garden market and lotuS Café 707 R. Jackson Blvd., Panama City Beach, FL. Call (850)234-1651.
609 Camelia St. & Hutchison Blvd.