A Bunch of Scientists Are Slinging Healthy Craft Drinks & Shakshuka

Everyone is greeted at SciEats the same awesome way. Suite organizer Taher Sathaliya hands you samples of some of the drinks they make from scratch in the suite’s kitchen. The day I’m there, there’s a caramelized lemonade, mango lassi (a yogurt-based drink popular in India), and a mixed berry smoothie. They’re all surprisingly vibrant, with no added sugar, given as a way to both welcome guests and give them an idea early on that healthy food can taste good too. 

I call it a suite because it’s not just a restaurant, although it looks like one from the street. And I call him organizer because there is no traditional owner. SciEats is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization cooperatively run by a board of directors with three (very ambitious) goals.

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The first is to run a community-based restaurant with the idea that if one has regular access to nutritious food that’s also affordable, humans will simply be healthier. Most of the team behind SciEats are working scientists (thus the name), and Sathaliya says in his research regarding cancer and immune systems, he realized the importance of the relationship between food and health. He gives an example: When we take our cars in for maintenance or fill them with gas, we make sure we use the recommended fluids as per the manufacturer’s recommendation. If we don’t, the engine could seize.

“But when it comes to our body, we think we can put in anything and it will just work,” he says. “We know it doesn’t work like that… But if we use it right, there’s so many things we can prevent.” 

SciEats’ second goal is providing a third space for the surrounding community. You don’t have to buy anything to come in and work, drink tea, or just hang out. Equity is a cornerstone of SciEats, which offers a pay-it-forward-type model rather than pay-what-you-can, meaning people who purchase meals at full price subsidize free meals for those who need them. That’s intentional, Sathaliya says, after researching similar concepts that closed.

“Consumers in today’s time have no idea what to pay,” he explains. “If you don’t give any price point, they’re confused.” 

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Still, SciEats’ menu feels relatively underpriced for the market—veggie or beef burgers are $9, weekend breakfast shakshuka is $8, and the lunch special the day I came was a combo plate with your choice of meat with lentils, roti (Indian flatbread), dessert, and a drink for $7. It’s a deal no matter how you slice it, but Sathaliya hopes that one day, the nonprofit will reach more self-sufficiency through the pay-it-forward program over the traditional majority nonprofit funding of grants and donations.

The menu leans heavily Indian while they get the concept up and running—it only opened four months ago—but Sathaliya says they plan to incorporate more global dishes to reflect the surrounding area, especially the Somali refugee community. That’s one of the reasons they ended up opening on the edge of San Diego and La Mesa. It’s near the students at SDSU, the refugee and lower-income neighborhoods of south and eastern San Diego city, and some higher-income zip codes in Rolando and parts of La Mesa. 

“We thought this would be a good spot to bring in people from the different socio-economic classes [and] they [can] share the same meal,” he explains. 

The third goal is to provide volunteer opportunities and on-the-job training. Right now, they have four volunteers, and Sathaliya invites anyone interested in volunteering, or even learning more about their organization, to reach out. They’re also actively looking for opportunities to partner with local schools and other organizations to host classes, community events, after school programs—anything to tap into the community and spread the word. On Saturday, October 4, the eatery will host Chai Connections, a free get-together with tea, snacks, and a social element to get to know neighbors and the team. 

And at the end of the day, weaving that social fabric is what it’s all about, says Sathaliya. “If we are building a society, the community coming together, helping each other, is the most important thing. This is a community space. This is your space. Let’s build it together.”

SciEats Nonprofit Eatery is located at 6729 El Cajon Blvd. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and is closed Mondays. Brunch is available on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• Since 2019, people have fled to Flap Your Jacks in North Park to make their own pancakes and top them with outrageous toppings way beyond your basic blueberries or bananas (think caramelized bacon bits and dulce de leche drizzle). But Sunday is your last day to build a stack of Snickers-topped, syrup-saturated flapjacks before they close their doors for good.
• Yes, I will be getting a scoop of salted maple and banana bread ice cream from Stella Jean’s this weekend. Literally no one can stop me. While I’m in the University Heights neighborhood, I’ll also be sure to stop by Red House Pizza just down the street, which announced it’ll close this Sunday after over a decade of slinging ‘zas. Also on that stretch of Park Blvd, Khachapuri is still under construction, so be on the lookout for new things popping up over there in the next couple of months.
• Speaking of other delicious new things I’m dying to try, AleSmith Brewing Co. released a canned espresso martini. First it launched a cider, now this—be still, my heart.
• TIL (today I learned) that for the past 14 years, USD has used a composting machine (hilariously named Angus) in its dining halls to turn food waste into compost. In a county where nearly 300,000 people experience hunger every year, that’s just the sort of initiative I like to hear about.

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