1. Cocoplum Living • May 2016 May 2016 • Cocoplum Living12 13
Ray & Shannon
Tell Us The Story Behind GrownHow They’re Preparing Real Food, Cooked Slow, For Fast People!
Written By: Carina Zatarain
When ten time NBA All-
Star Ray Allen joined
the Miami Heat in 2012,
he and his family were embraced
by the city of Miami and the Tahiti
Beach community. “We love the
culture of Miami. The Heat family
welcomed us with open arms, the
Tahiti Beach community welcomed
us, we immediately felt like we were
home,” his wife Shannon beamed as
she related about the location of their
new restaurant Grown. So it’s no
surprise Ray and Shannon found the
corner of Ludlam Rd. and South Dixie
Highway as the perfect place to turn
their innovative, healthy fast-food
restaurant concept into a reality.
As a professional athlete, Ray was
no stranger to staying in shape and
eating healthy. Shannon prepared
Ray’s pre-game meal each game and
was always conscious about how food
could affect the body’s performance.
But the battle to redefine the Allen
family’s eating habits began when
their son, Walker, was diagnosed
with Type 1 Diabetes at 17 months.
“From the moment Walker wakes
up to the moment he goes to sleep
at night, we monitor everything he
eats,” explains Shannon. The daily
routine includes testing Walker’s
blood sugar with finger pricks 10
times a day, counting the amount
of carbohydrates he consumes, and
mathematically working out how
much insulin to inject. In fact, the
Allen’s’ revolutionary fast food

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concept was inspired six years ago
by a frustrating night out on the
road struggling to find a healthy
meal for Walker.
When Shannon was pregnant with
her fourth child, she and her kids
were out driving when Walker
suddenly felt hungry. Hungry, for a
child with diabetes means dropping
blood sugars, which translates to, he
needs food now. But the food that a
diabetic puts into their body can have
dramatic effects. A soda and french
fries could be dangerous, as they
shoot blood sugar levels up too high,
too quickly. As Shannon relates, she
was desperately driving around and
could not find a healthy, quick option
to regulate Walker’s blood sugar.
Ultimately, Shannon had to call in
a favor from a chef friend to make
gluten-free panko chicken tenders
and unsweetened ice tea for them. to
I was so frustrated that I just couldn’t
get something delicious and nutrient
dense at a drive-thru,” she shared, in a hurry. “We’re a real family that’s
always out on the road,” Shannon
says, “That’s why this concept makes
so much sense for us, because we
need it.” This venture is not for the
exclusives—it’s for the soccer mom,
the hardworking parents grabbing a
quick dinner, for everyone young and
old.
Ray inspired many of his teammates
to cut out junk food when he played
for the Miami Heat. Shannon stated,
“The really amazing thing about
Lebron, D-Wade, and his Miami
Heat teammates is that they had a
lot of love and respect for Ray. They
really learned from each other.”
Ray added, “That’s what makes a
championship team. You have to build
a great individual and good-quality
people that love to be around each
other. That is what we have done
here. Shannon, myself, Glen and
Jen, and Chef Todd are the core of
this team.” The Grown unit consists
“
After six years of development, their dream to bring
organic, local, and nutritious ingredients through
a drive-thru has become a reality with Grown.
Fast food provides a real service to busy people.
The convenience, affordability, and consistency
allow you to trust and rely on its services. A
typical family should not have to lower their food
standards because they are out on the road. The
Allen’s call their concept, “real food, cooked slow,
for fast people.” It highlights their central idea to
initiate a convenient food destination for families,
dieters, and anyone looking for cheap, healthy food
“I remember sitting
on the shower floor
crying because I
was so frustrated.”It
was at that moment
where she called Ray
and determined,“If
somebody doesn’t
reinvent fast food,
we’ve got to do it.
“

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www.pegolamps.com
Inside the restaurant are iPad stations to place orders if the lines
are long and an iPad bar with educational games for kids. Online
ordering will be available so that people may order ahead of
time. In the near future, they aspire to link Bluetooth technology
to an app so the drive thru can recognize a person’s phone and
have their order synchronized. “We really believe that you have
to be creative and willing to evolve,” Shannon says. Though the
concept can be readily expanded, they wish to make sure the
quality of the product stays premium before expanding.
The restaurant opened for its soft launch in late March and has
been slammed since opening day. Open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
during its soft opening period, it’s typical to find Shannon racing
through the restaurant making sure customers are well-attended,
while Ray preps sandwiches and calls out customers’ names
to pick up their orders. Ray details his first week in a recent
Instagram post, “It has been a crazy week. @grownmiami has
been open for a week and I have learned a lot. I made a lot of
sandwiches, wraps, omelets, smoothies, you name it. And I've
swept and mopped a lot of floors. It has been awesome! I want to
thank each and everyone that has come to Grown to taste our food.
It has been an honor serving you all. I look forward to seeing many
of you come and try our delicious food.” Grown is planning on a
grand opening with a full drive thru in the late spring.
The Grown team and support from the community has really
fueled their work. Shannon shares, “The city of Miami is full
of great people that welcomed us into their family. Even in our
neighborhood of Tahiti Beach, the people have been so warm,
loving and caring.” Essentially, Grown prides itself on the
foundation of family, nourishment, and the numerous other
families like the Allen’s looking for healthy food fast. In a recent
Instagram post, Shannon expressed her gratitude with Grown’s
recent success, “…Grown is six years in the making. During that
time I've heard hundreds of ‘NO's' and ‘it's impossible,’ ‘you're
crazy’ and the everyday favorite ‘Americans don't care about
delicious, organic ingredients made fresh – they just want big
portions of fried food.’ Drown out the noise, listen to the voice in
your own head and the pang in your heart that compels you to go
for it! I thank GOD for the faith, love & support of my husband
and partner @trayfour, our children's love & support, our family
& friends, our #grownteam for dedicating themselves to our
shared mission, our community for rallying around us and our
investors for taking the leap with us!” With motivation from the
community, the incredible people that have rallied around them,
and the Allen’s unwavering passion, Grown is equipped with
everything necessary for a championship team.
It’s an honor to feature Ray and Shannon’s new restaurant
Grown, in this issue of Cocoplum Living. Stop by to say hi to
your neighbors while you enjoy some “real food, cooked slow
for fast people.” Who knows? You might even be served by
Ray Allen himself!
of close friends, private investors, and reliable nutritional
experts, including Chef Todd Kiley, the man who made
Shannon the organic chicken tenders for Walker six years ago.
Chef Todd, formerly of Rainforest Café and Legendary
Restaurant Group, relocated to Miami to become Grown’s
executive chef. This will be his 25th restaurant from sawdust to
open. Working towards getting Grown’s Organic Certification
is his main ambition. Everything coming through the door,
including salt, pepper, and meats, must be 100% organic. They
are all working diligently to become one of the few in the
nation with an Organic Certification.
Grown is a game changer for fast food, which is why Ray believes
that Miami is the right starting point for the company. Ray
expresses, “This Miami community is a fast-paced community.
People here have an active lifestyle, and they want to eat good
food.” He envisions the fast food eatery to become a quick
breakfast spot for someone to eat on their way to work and finish
the meal by the time they get downtown.
The weather also allows Grown to have an “urban farm” on its
rooftop. Local farmers will be growing greens, vegetables, and
herbs, taking advantage of Miami’s 10-month growing season.
What’s more, the restaurant is building a dumbwaiter system
that transports fresh food from the roof right to the kitchen.
“Once the rooftop garden is up and running, you will be able to
see someone coming in with a tray of arugula that we grew on
the roof,” Shannon divulged. You will also find a column of fresh
herbs in the middle of the restaurant, giving Grown a natural,
earthy environment paired with the open kitchen, rustic wood
finishes, and white and blue hues. The former Miami Heat player
says, “When you walk into our restaurant, you get a feeling like
you’re in your own kitchen. You get a healthy home-cooked meal,
and it makes you feel good that you didn’t have to compromise
your eating standards just because you stepped outside of your
house to eat.” The Allen’s want to make Grown an approachable
place for everyone.
Grown offers juices, salads, smoothies, wraps, and sandwiches.
Their signature is how the menu allows you to create your own
flavor with an array of international sides and sauces to pair with
the food. Meals range from $4-$18 offering breakfast, lunch, and
dinner. Breakfast includes an omelet station, steel-cut oatmeal,
baked goods and fresh cut fruit. Lunch and dinner serves soups,
salads, wraps, sandwiches, and family-style meals to go, such as
an organic free-range rotisserie chicken with two seasonal sides
and four drinks. It’s the kind of meal Shannon needed that night
years ago, and the sort of collective change that Ray wishes to
achieve moving forward. “We believe food should be delicious,
organic and inspiring. It’s not made, it’s not manufactured, it’s
grown,” their website proudly illustrates. Everything on the menu
can be made gluten-free, vegan-friendly, paleo-friendly, or in
child’s portion.
GROWN
8211 S Dixie Hwy
Miami, FL 33143
(305) 663-4769
www.Grown.org