Jasmine Kitchen has a plan to open this month and serve good food with a mission

The light that floods through the front windows of Jasmine Kitchen is both symbolic and metaphoric. Even in the depths of darkness, there is light.

The new restaurant inside the old house at 503 Augusta Rd., offers opportunity to sup, as well as opportunity to heal. Jasmine Kitchen will be the social enterprise piece of Jasmine Road, a Greenville-based non-profit that focuses on helping survivors of sex trafficking.

While original plans for the restaurant called for opening in the fall, now the restaurant is slated to open in January.

The restaurant will seat 48 people inside the home-turned café, and 24 people on an outdoor deck area.

Jasmine Road, which began in 2016, has been cited for its innovative approach that relies on strategic community partnerships to heal women mentally, emotionally and physically. The group is the first in the state to offer a residential program for victims of sex trafficking.

Jasmine Kitchen will generate a steady stream of funds for the non-profit and offers job training for Jasmine Road members.

Plans for the restaurant include a paid apprenticeship program that will allow the women to experience different facets of the business, as well as to explore and hone their own interests. Its something most victims of sex trafficking never can do, said Beth Messick, executive director of Jasmine Road.

“That goes with the theme and working with the women and uncovering their gifts and revealing their creativity, Messick said. “There is healing in creativity.”

But the restaurant is also about really good food. And that element is getting a boost thanks to the hiring of executive chef Nicci Hughes.

Hughes, 31, has worked as a professional chef for seven years, most recently as executive chef at Oak & Honey.

"This is something I’ve always wanted to do, to give back to the community and give support to people," Hughes said of her decision to join the Jasmine team. "Not only do we make good food but we make good spirits."

Jasmine Kitchen will serve lunch six days a week. The menu will be a rotating selection of salads, sandwiches and soups, Hughes promised.

The restaurant’s counter service model will allow guests to order and pay for their food before sitting down.

Food will mostly be prepared in advance, prepped fresh each morning, allowing for quick turnaround, even during busy times, said Kathryn Norwood, Jasmine Road board chair, who has led the push behind the cafe.

The goal will be to offer quick service, but not rushed service.

The menu will rotate daily, offering four to five soups, salads and sandwiches. Diners will be able to mix and match to create their own lunch. Hughes plans to take inspiration from different cultures and cuisines to create a menu the is fresh, healthy and offers something for everyone.

Expect items like roasted vegetable salads, pasta salads and grain salads, along with creative soups and stews and bisques, and everything from a roast turkey and cheese sandwich to a roasted vegetable and mozzarella with pesto.

Thanks to being in an old home, Jasmine is set up as a collection of small, intimate dining spaces. Each of the four rooms has its own feel, lending an element of coziness.

That coziness carries over into the silverware, which is purposefully a collection of various patterns and styles. It's as if to say, what is perfect anyway? 

“It’s an exciting opportunity," Hughes said pausing, "to be part of something bigger than myself.”