The theme should be do good while eating well at Dandelion Eatery! Dandelion is a casual dining establishment located in downtown Hendersonville serving a healthy selection of comfort food, salads, sandwiches, and soups every week for lunch Monday through Friday.
Diners can find yummy and healthy lunch fare made and served by participants of the Safelight organization, a non-profit job training program to support individuals in crisis. The organization provides both short and long-term solutions with one of those being employment at Dandelion. So far, over 140 people have gone through the program and over 120 have been hired in a range of businesses. The décor and the name are no coincidence since dandelions are a weed that grow stronger if you get it to grow somewhere else – analogous to the participants who come through the program.
The menu changes frequently but there are staple wraps, sandwiches, and salads like the grilled mango and strawberry salad. The tomato pie, with its flaky crust and acidic pop, has a cult following. Other rotating favorites include shrimp and grits and pimento cheese and bacon sandwich.
Dandelion Eatery is located on 127 Fifth Avenue West and open weekdays for breakfast and lunch. On-street parking is available, or you can park in the nearby paid Dogwood Parking Lot at N. Church St and 4th Avenue West.