NORTHAMPTON — Wild Roots, the staple eatery known for its local and organic food, has added a Northampton location, replacing Tandem Bagel Company at Northampton Athletic Club.
The move to Northampton was “a total no-brainer,” said Luke Eriksen, who co-owns Wild Roots with his wife, Kelli Eriksen. “The vibe between the two businesses just makes perfect sense… We have vegan options, vegetarian options, gluten free wraps and bread.”
With over 20 sandwiches, many named after local areas like Sugarloaf, Bridge Street and Deerfield, along with smoothies, salads, drinks and other special menu items, Wild Roots has become a Greenfield and Sunderland favorite since its opening in 2017.
Back then, Luke Eriksen had no interest in the business. He was out fly fishing one day when his wife called to say, as he remembers it, “I’ve found this property, and I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet but it’s prime location in Sunderland.”
Kelli Eriksen and her mother, Sandi Waskewic, pursued the idea of creating a healthy eatery and built Wild Roots. “I thought that they were out of their minds,” Luke Eriksen recalled.
At the time, his energy was focused on becoming the third generation to run his family’s furniture manufacturing company called Manchester Wood, which made products for L.L. Bean and Orvis.
But soon after Wild Roots opened in 2017, Kelli was nine months pregnant, and Eriksen, with no food experience whatsoever, was forced to jump in and run the business without his wife. It didn’t take long for him to fall in love with the business.
“I come from manufacturing … and it’s funny because there’s a lot of similarities,” said Eriksen. “It’s all about process. It’s all about widgets and efficiencies, and so it was right in my wheelhouse.”
Now, Eriksen runs Wild Roots almost entirely on his own, even coming up with his own food specials, like a new hot dog special that will soon launch.
Kelli Eriksen, a hairstylist of around 20 years, runs her own salon, Willoughby Hair Salon. And her mother exited the business for retirement just months after opening.
“It just kind of organically trickled into my hands,” said Eriksen.
The Sunderland location was a success, and in 2021, Eriksen and his team launched the Greenfield location.
“It slows down in the winter, so it kind of opens up our brains of like, what else can we do… we’re very industrious folks, so if there’s downtime, we try to find ways to keep ourselves busy, for better or for worse,” said Eriksen.
He had been eyeing Northampton for a while, even coming close to striking a couple of Northampton deals during Wild Roots’ early years. Specifically, he had dreamt of opening a location on King Street. So, when Northampton Athletic Club owner Perry Messer sent him a letter asking for Wild Roots to fill the location, Eriksen said he was “thrilled to do it.”
Tandem Bagel, which opened a new location at Stop & Shop down the street, moved from NAC on March 31. That night, Eriksen and his team got to work fixing up the cafe.
“It was fast and furious man,” said Eriksen. “It’s like a hero’s journey to get there. You go through just darkness … but then you come through the other side and you’re like, ‘oh man, I’m so grateful,’ and you grow and you get better,” he said.
Wild Roots was up and running three weeks later, by the end of April.
“We tried to give it a homey feel… We want people to feel comfortable, feel at home, feel relaxed,” said Eriksen. “A lot of places can feel kind of sterile, corporate, like a machine line, and we really try to break that up with an element of home.”
He added that Messer has been supportive during the process of opening. “I think our food goes great with a gym, so I felt immediately more collaborative,” said Eriksen.
“And I really want people to know that… there’s a lot of cooking happening here,” he said. “We try to minimize microwave stuff and things of that nature… It’s simple good food.”
Wild Roots is open Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its Northampton location at 306 King St.