Buying your favorite products at the grocery store, whether it be a snack, prepared meal, or ingredient you use to make other dishes, is exciting and personally, causes great joy. Little did you know some of your favorite grocery store brands have actually opened up restaurants across the U.S., serving as places for further happiness from food.
Sure, you can still just buy these items at the grocery store, but the restaurants offer twists on their foods, as well as additional items you can’t find at the grocery store. Read on to see which of your favorite products have joined the restaurant biz, and if they just happen to be near you.
Eataly’s Nutella Bar – New York
Photo courtesy of @michelleonbell on Instagram
Your favorite hazelnut-chocolate spread has just outdone themselves. This Nutella bar in New York is where all of your dreams are sure to come true. You’ll be able to try the spread in creative ways that you might never have tried before, like spread on a waffle, loaded in a crepe, stuffed into freshly baked pastries or a donut, or sandwiched between two hazelnut cookies. You can also get Nutella in your morning coffee. The entire game has changed.
Amy’s Drive Thru – California
Photo courtesy of @erinschrode on Instagram
I’m sure all of you college kids have enjoyed one of Amy’s frozen meals once or twice during the years, whether you were too lazy to cook or just couldn’t get enough of that mac and cheese. Now, you can get still get Amy’s in a jiffy from their drive-thru, which serves up handcrafted foods made with fresh, organic, and sustainable ingredients.
They specialize in burgers, burritos, salads, soups, pizzas, and your beloved mac and cheese. Amy’s also offers gluten-free bread, crust, and pasta, vegan cheese, and veggie burgers to please everyone, no matter their diet.
Magnum NYC – New York
Photo courtesy of @frogggaaa on Instagram
Personally, I believe Magnum bars are the greatest ice cream bars ever invented. They’re made with soft, velvety ice cream and luxurious Belgian chocolate, and the best part about them is that they don’t completely fall apart after you take just one bite.
But how would you like to create your own version of one? Enter the Magnum NYC Store, that lets your imagination fly with over 200,000 possibilities of your very own Magnum bar creation. Decorate your favorite chocolate covered ice cream bar with toppings like Himalayan sea salt, nuts, chocolate chips, rose petals, berries, and even gold flakes. Complete it with a drizzle of more chocolate and voila, you’ve made a masterpiece.
Chobani SoHo Café – New York
Photo courtesy of @kaleoooo on Instagram
The Chobani Café in SoHo is a Mediterranean-inspired café that makes your favorite grocery store Greek yogurt into delicious sweet and savory creations and simit sandwiches. These creations are made by mixing in fresh, natural ingredients to their authentic strained Greek yogurt.
Some popular parfaits are fig + walnut, peanut butter + jelly, and the classic fruit + granola. Also try their savory combinations of cucumber + olive oil, hummus + za’atar (a spice blend), or mango and avocado for a light lunch during a busy day.
Something you won’t find in the yogurt aisle of your grocery store is the SoHo café’s simit sandwiches. Simit is a circular bread with a whole cut in the middle, encrusted with sesame or poppy seeds. Here, they fill them with Greek yogurt, or labne, and other offerings such as smoked salmon, seasonal preserves, or tomatoes and olive tapenade. Move over bagel sandwiches, there’s a new kid in town.
Nestlé Toll House Café – Locations Worldwide
Photo courtesy of @nestlecafe_ottawa on Instagram
The Nestlé Café has actually been around for quite a while, and has 145 locations across the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East. Instead of picking up a package of cookie dough, head to one of these cafés to get freshly baked cookies, or a cookie cake, ice cream cookie sandwich, cookie cups, or cookies on a stick. Did I mention they also offer a variety of cookies? Besides that, they also sell smoothies and hearty, savory items like wraps, paninis, and flatbreads. It’s breakfast, lunch, and dessert, all in one location.
#SpoonTip: For a sweet summer treat, order Nestlé’s Cookie Creamer. It’s layered with Nestlé Toll House cookies and premium ice cream, then topped with whipped cream. Why didn’t we think of this genius creation first?
Barilla Restaurants – New York
Photo courtesy of @likeitsyourlastnyc on Instagram
If you’re like me, you’ve grown up eating Barilla pasta from the grocery store. My favorite has always been the farfalle or “bow-tie” pasta as my family and I like to call it. There’s just something about that shape that makes spaghetti taste way better. At Barilla Restaurants, they’re offering farfalle and a ton of other classic Italian-inspired pasta dishes, including lasagna, tortellini alfredo, penne primavera, and some lesser-known dishes that are hard to spell and pronounce.
Besides pasta, the restaurants are also whipping up pizzas, paninis, soups, and salads. Save room for their delicious traditional Italian desserts like tiramisù, panacotta, and ricotta cheese filled cannolis. Delizioso!