The Student News Site of San Francisco State University

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The Student News Site of San Francisco State University

Golden Gate Xpress

The Student News Site of San Francisco State University

Golden Gate Xpress

You are what you eat

Veronica+runs+the+morning+and+noon+shift+of+Cleanbites.+Photo+by+Jordi+Molina
Veronica runs the morning and noon shift of Cleanbites. Photo by Jordi Molina

Students coming and going from the Mashouf Wellness Center can now stop by the newest eatery to hit campus.

Clean Bites officially opened up shop on April 5 and has been serving healthy meals to SF State students ever since. Branded as a juice bar but offering food as well, Clean Bites focuses primarily on serving food that is healthy, fun and
delicious. They offer bowls, wraps, smoothies and juices that all have their own particular health benefits.

The juice bar was brought to life by Bay Area native Ghezal Raouf, who also runs a mobile food truck called the Kabob Trolley.

“Recently due to health issues, I had been educating myself on eating clean and changing my lifestyle around to eating clean,” said Raouf. “As someone with Hashimoto’s disease, none of the doctor recommended medications
were helping. It wasn’t until I started eating clean and incorporating antiinflammatory, probiotic foods that my energy level was lifted.”

Veronica a worker at cleanbites helps out a customer in the morning. Photo by Jordi Molina/Golden Gate Xpress

Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid.

Raouf started the Kabob Trolley in 2012 when she was just 24 years old. The Concord native said the thought of opening a shop on campus never really crossed her mind until The University Corporation sent out a mass email
alerting campus vendors that a vacancy needed to be filled.

“I heard about the opportunity from Ucorp on campus through an email blast [because] Kabob Trolley is a monthly food truck vendor on campus,” said Raouf.

A number of other vendors also received the same email, and they all jumped into a bidding war for the space along with Raouf. It took nearly a year before the University Corporation decided that Clean Bites stood out from the rest of the competition and ultimately would fill the vacancy.

“They just have a unique concept, something that we don’t currently offer on campus in terms of the menu, and their approach to making food, beverages and things of that nature,” said retail service manager Andrew Lok. “It just had
a nice fit to the overall feel of the Mashouf Wellness Center.”

Clean Bites is open seven days a week. The juice bar offers a 30-day challenge where anyone who has at least one item a day for 30 days will receive $30 back to spend at Clean Bites.

“It’s fun, it’s healthy, and you’re near the gym,” said barista Veronica Canaveira.

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You are what you eat