All Organic Eats at the House of Leaf & Bean

Tell us where the idea for an all-natural organic café came from?

I had a shift in my diet and also a shift in my lifestyle. After a couple of years I realizedI felt better, and others were saying I looked better. The three things that I had been doing consistently were: eating clean and organic food, exercising regularly and meditating. The intent of The House of Leaf & Bean is to promote this type of lifestyle and it offers two out of three of these things.

So you kind of went through this long journey, on a daily basis, how do you hope to affect people that come in?

I created this open house for the community, to let the community know that there are alternative options out there. When you drive down the beach what do you see? All those fast-food places, junk food places. We still have options here, healthier options. I’m not asking the community to eat like me every day, every meal, but let's start somewhere! One meal a day, one healthy meal a day and we can change the world.

I created this platform so the community can come here as a gathering place to work, to study and to make friends. We also have the healthy drinks and food that they can choose to have. We created this meditation room for the purpose of relieving stress, to relax, be in the moment and be present. We cannot have an exercise venue for people but we offer two elements of the lifestyle I mentioned that will help your health condition with regular exercise, healthy diet and regular de-stress. So you can go to [the nearby] Planet Fitness and exercise, then come here and relax.

What do you hope for the future of The House of Leaf & Bean?

I just want people to come in and enjoy the space and experience it and feel at home. This is what I want to see and I want to have a House of Leaf N Bean at every corner of our community. So we can make healthy food more affordable.  

Were you motivated by your own health journey to make the leap from accountant to owning a cafe?

Yes, it’s a passion. In the two year process a lot of people, especially those close to me, gave me a lot of warnings, like "this is tough: and I heard it but I filtered it out because the passion inside me is so strong. Then when I opened the cafe I realized why everyone had warned me, it became very real. I have this giant baby and I feel like a new mother to a baby that I have no experience with and I’m learning every day by doing.

I already determined that I need to finish this journey to help the people that are suffering. We are getting sicker and sicker because of the food we eat and consume every day. We are what we eat; the food that we put into our bodies is impacting our lives and our health.

Do you find being the owner of The House of Leaf & Bean is much more fulfilling than your job as an accountant?

Yes, of course. This was my choice. I feel as though I’ve finished my duty and I am more free and I can do something that’s greater than myself. I’m doing this 24/7. I have a higher purpose and am more inspired because I can see the future that I am taking people to if I succeed. If I fail, at least I tried. That’s how I feel every day. Of course, sometimes I feel lonely because it is a lonely journey. We are all human, right? Sometimes I think I feel lonely because I have to make decisions every day and say "this could be right or wrong" and when I make decisions I don’t know if the decision will take me to total failure or success.

Try housemade tofu and other organic dishes at House of Leaf & Bean, 14474 Beach Boulevard.