Molly Keith & Melissa Nester

Molly Keith & Melissa Nester are the co-owners of Palette Food & Juice, a small restaurant with big goals, on changing and revolutionizing the sustainability practices in the restaurant industry.

Palette was conceptualized and is owned by friends Molly Keith and Melissa Nester. Molly has an extensive background in food, both in fine dining and fast food, and moved to LA and in with her friend Melissa several years ago. The two were always on the hunt for new places to eat but found the options of healthy food free of additives challenging, so they decided to build a place that they would want to eat daily with the goal of breaking the mold of convenience that most businesses feel they have to practice in order to control profits and costs. Palette supports local farmers and ranchers by paying them fair prices that they have set, creating sustainable relationships that operate one handshake at a time.

The restaurant focuses on providing very simple and affordable nourishing foods without the use of refined sugar and vegetable oils. The store's bowls and soups offer a bountiful variety of grains, beans, meats, raw, cooked, pickled and fermented vegetables that constantly change with what is harvested by the local farms.

The restaurant has built a dedicated following of locals, and wellness influencers flocking to their nutrient-rich food with zero additives. Along with their focus on simplicity in what they serve, sustainability is at the core of the restaurant's values. Palette is a low waste restaurant that is the only model of its kind in the USA. Palette produces less that one garbage bag of waste per day while the average restaurant produces close to a dumpster's worth of waste. They have an extensive composting program that has started to catch on with their Atwater neighbors, and their hope is that the standards they create may one day reverberate throughout the restaurant industry and small businesses nationwide.

I’m so excited for you to connect with Molly & Melissa, check out their work with Palette,, and follow along as they continue to awaken an existing or new consciousness to health, wellness, and a responsibility to the Earth.

I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself, what you do, and what you're working on.

Molly Keith and Melissa Nester co-owners of Palette.

How did you get started?

We were going out to restaurants here in LA looking for food that was clean, healthy and affordable which became a huge challenge. We found places we loved but they were very expensive and ended up sitting down for a two hour meal. Another problem we encountered was going out to eat with our friends, all of whom have different dietary restrictions. It was nearly impossible to find a place where everyone could go and enjoy together, so we decided to solve the problem and create a restaurant that we could eat with all of our friends.

What inspired the work that you're doing?

Palette is a place for everyone. No matter what kind of allergies or dietary restrictions you have there is something for everyone at Palette, so you will never have a friend that will be left out of lunch or dinner plans due to their diet.

What is your biggest passion? Do you feel like you're living your passion and purpose?

Our driving passion is service, and with Palette is just happens to be that we are living in service through food. We are offering the community healthy food and a space that has a low impact on the environment. Being in service is really just being conscious. We are conscious of the farms we work with, the food we put in our customer’s bodies, and conscious of how our food and business impact the environment.

What is your joy blueprint? What lights you up, brings you joy, and makes you feel the most alive?

Eating clean brings people life, and food can have strong healing qualities. From our bone broth to our dairy-free sauces and all of our food being served to customers only a day or so, or sometimes just hours after it’s picked. Everything that we serve is nourishing and therefore serving the body, which is so important especially now when people feel helpless about the current health epidemics. What you put in your body is the one thing you can control in the midst of these health scares and the chaos they bring.

We also find joy in simply being conscious. Being conscious of the environment, our food, our customers and our community are all connected. When you are consciously aware, you naturally care more and that care extends to everything around you, your neighbors, your community and the planet at large. We view living consciously and simply being aware of the world around you as living in service, which what it means to be alive.

How do you live intentionally? Are there tools/resources/practices that you rely on to help you stay mindful and grounded?

We live intentionally simply by making that effort to be conscious. When running a business, especially one like ours where the menu can change on a daily basis we need to make an extra effort to not get lost in the million things that we have to think about on a daily basis. Both of us use meditation as a tool to stay centered and aware.

What would your younger self think about what you're doing now?

She would say you are doing exactly what you should be doing, constantly growing and continuously learning.

Do you have a go-to mantra or affirmation?

I am …..and then fill in any positive adjective after that.

What is your biggest dream?

We love what we do so our dream is really to continue to be in service through what we do at Palette. Other than that we would like to expand to owning and operating our own farm that would feed the restaurant.

To learn more about Molly, Melissa and Palette visit their website https://palettefoodandjuice.com/ and on Instagram @palettefoodandjuice Facebook @palettefoodandjuice Yelp @Palettefoodandjuice and you can get Palette delivered via Caviar

Joy Corner is an interview-style blog series brought to you by Seek The Joy Podcast. Our mission continues to be a desire to share your stories, truths, joys and inspiration in your words. We invite you to join our corner, and share your joys, passions, and moments of inspiration as we continue to seek the joy, together. Join this series here

Molly Keith & Melissa Nester - Co-Owners, Palette