featured chef: Niki Giles of Groovy Grover's

web : Groovy Grovers

Owner Niki Giles created Groovy Grover’s in downtown Johnson City as a way to bring healthy, accessible food to the community while honoring the legacy of her grandfather, Grover Giles, who taught her family to cook, garden and preserve food. 

For Niki, going local is just part of how she grew up.  “I support local because that’s how I was raised,” she said. “I remember going to the local butcher shop with Grover when I was little, which is now Timber. I remember going to the local produce stand on Broadway when I was little called the Garden Basket. I remember going to all kinds of farms to pick berries and apples, and taking our jugs to get spring water off the side of the mountain. We always had a garden, and we did a lot of canning for winter. When we went out to eat, it was always at some little Mom and Pop restaurant. Grover was self-employed, and had a big heart for the underdog.”

That local connection is reflected throughout the menu, including ingredients such as local honey, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and eggplant. Below, Niki shares her Vegetable Medley recipe below for a delicious way to use up a lot of fresh ingredients in the summer.

For consumers, choosing local means supporting the farmers and producers who help make our regional food system stronger. Groovy Grover’s shows how local purchasing can be more than a menu choice. It can be a business value, a community investment and a way to keep more of our food dollars close to home.