January 9, 2020

Opened by Josh Smith in March 2024, Neon Greens isn’t your typical café or bistro. It takes the idea of farm-to-table a step beyond with an additional, next-door component: a hydroponic vertical farm. Inside the farm and its attached “Harvest Capsule,” staff tend to crops like oakleaf, mizuna, sweet crisp, kale and more. Seeds are carefully sown before being placed in the plant nursery to grow; next, they’re plugged into a lush, living wall of lettuce, where water gently trickles down, nourishing the roots.

To keep up with demand, Smith and the team seed and harvest every day. “We harvest tomorrow’s lettuce today,” Smith adds. “And unlike traditional farming, we use the same 120-gallon reservoir of water. The irrigation system brings the water down, then it goes back into our reservoir, where we recycle, re-oxygenate and re-treat it.” In this way, the farm is able to produce the equivalent of three acres of greens while using 85% less water and no pesticides.

Smith is transparent about his methods. “One part that’s less sustainable is the fact that we use LED lights,” he says. “But when you consider an emissions offset, we go beyond breaking even with just the water usage factor

.” According  to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, most of America’s lettuce travels from the desert valleys of Southern California and Arizona from mid-November to early April, then shifts to Central California. At Neon Greens, the freshest produce is grown year-round, sharing a wall with the restaurant that will ultimately serve it.

Behind the scenes at Neon Greens

Once the greens are harvested, they make their way to the restaurant side on a conveyor belt that floats above guests’ heads. “The DNA of the concept is about getting people in touch with the food they’re eating and the folks who are growing it,” Smith explains. “The space itself puts a focus on the greens. The conveyor belt is a means to solving the problem of getting the greens to the kitchen, but it's also a storytelling element – it connects the dots.”

Smith comes from a design background and has worked in theater, television and film, so education by way of storytelling has always been important to him. Along with the open-air kitchen and conveyor belt, this idea extends to the farm itself, where guests can book a tour to further understand the process.

Neon Greens also offers classes in hydroponics, and over the past year, the restaurant has partnered with local chefs to host multi-course dinners using its greens – an experience Smith says will only continue to blossom. In fact, part of Neon Greens’ foundation is its dedication to the local foodscape – its collaborative salads, for instance, have been a hit from the beginning. Rotating with the seasons, the menu features a collaboration salad each quarter, most recently from Loryn Nalic of Balkan Treat Box and Telva at the Ridge and Qui Tran of Nudo House and Mai Lee, among others.

Fostering this sense of community is as central to Smith as Neon Greens’ commitment to educational storytelling and sustainability. He’s always looking to add dishes that fit his, and The Grove’s, inclusive spirit. For instance, he’s developing a Rainbow Wrap for spring, whose proceeds will go to local LGBTQ+ advocacy groups like PROMO Missouri. And Smith’s ambitions don’t stop there: He’s working to establish a network of like-minded organizations to amplify and sustain this mission even further. “As a queer-owned company with a ton of queer employees, this has to exist,” Smith says. “It’s important to have opportunities to donate and make a difference beyond Pride month in June.”

True to its mission, Neon Greens hosted a queer food fair, bringing together local restaurants to raise funds for SQSH, St. Louis' grassroots queer support and healing collective. Looking ahead, Smith plans to expand educational outreach by inviting local schools for field trips to the restaurant and farm, offering students a closer look at sustainable urban farming.

As always, Smith is focused on figuring out what diners want – even as colder weather sets in. This winter, his menu features two new warm grain bowls and a seasonal salad. Neon Greens’ offerings also include a Tom Kha Gai-inspired Green Soup and a fan favorite: the irresistibly chewy cheese bread. “More than anything, I feel like we have a lot of people who are just fanatical about our product. And they’re happy to evangelize to others the power of fresh salads,” Smith laughs. “Everyone who works here is passionate about what they do – it’s contagious.

Part of our training is spending a whole day going salad by salad and talking about the big picture: ‘What is the idea behind this salad?’ Because for us to have a conversation about anything, we have to have the information so we can make good decisions. Building connections over food is important because you can express ideas and share your family history and culture. But beyond that, food nourishes people. So being able to create an artistic endeavor that is culturally significant, and also nourish people at the same time, is such a unique thing to be able to do.”

Neon Greens’ future looks as bright as its name: Additional locations, boxes of signature, giftable cookies, more collaborations and chef dinners are all in the works thanks to Smith’s ability to translate his dreams into reality. In fact, this growth has already begun with Offshoot, Neon Greens’ mobile delivery service, in which customers can order food to be picked up on the same day, within the Cortex Innovation District in the Central West End. “You don’t have to deal with a third-party delivery service,” Smith says. “It makes it easier; the prices are store prices. We try to make everything as accessible as possible – informationally from the venue, with gluten-free options, we answer emails about allergies. … Offshoot is just another example of that.”

And as with all things, Smith believes intentionality is key to growing at a sustainable speed. “We have a very stellar management team, and we make most of our decisions together,” he says. “A lot of our conversations are looking three to six months down the road: ‘Is this something we want to implement? Will we be able to execute it? How do we get there?’ All of these questions. So intentionality? One hundred percent.”

Neon Greens, 4176 Manchester Ave., The Grove, St. Louis, 314-899-0400, neongreens.com

By Emily Standlee

Associate Editor

Associate Editor

• Author email

Follow Emily Standlee