Much loved food kiosk at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens receives an award

FORT BRAGG, CA., 8/20/25 — Just off the lawn at the entrance to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Rhody’s Garden Cafe serves as the gardens’ food kiosk, offering a quiet, open-air spot beside the nursery where visitors can linger at small tables before or after exploring the gardens. The cafe serves soups, salads and sandwiches, including panini stacked with fresh vegetables, many sourced from the gardens themselves and supplemented by local farms. With its relaxed, garden-side setting, Rhody’s is a beloved stop for visitors, especially those with dietary restrictions, as the cafe always has gluten-free and vegan options. 

Now it has a new distinction. Rhody’s Garden Cafe has been named an official Blue Zone, part of an international initiative inspired by regions of the world where people live the longest and healthiest lives. The Blue Zones Project aims to bring those principles, such as eating well, staying active and cultivating purpose, into communities across North America, and organizers of the Blue Zones Project hope to extend the designation to all of Mendocino County. 

In 2004, author and longevity researcher Dan Buettner teamed up with National Geographic and the National Institute on Aging to identify and study areas of the world where people live the longest and remain healthy well into old age. The team identified five pockets, dubbed “blue zones,” where people often live to triple digits and stay physically and mentally fit. 

In studying these zones around the world, Buettner and his team identified nine key traits they shared, including environments that encourage natural movement and residents who eat healthfully and have a sense of purpose. With that knowledge, the Blue Zones Project works to bring those traits to communities across North America by partnering with stores, work sites and schools. 

“By improving where we live, work, learn, and play, we make it easier to get up and move, eat healthy, make new friends, and find a clear reason for being,” reads a statement on the Blue Zone Project website.  

There’s also a documentary on Netflix about the journey Buettner took, called “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.”  

Last month, members of the Mendocino County Blue Zones Project, the local chapter of the larger mission, along with board members, employees and volunteers of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Rhody’s Garden Cafe in celebration of the Blue Zone designation.  

Michelle Duarte, senior event and office specialist at Sharecare, a partner with the Blue Zones Project, said the cafe embodies many Blue Zone principles. It uses food from its onsite garden whenever possible and sources from local farms when additional ingredients are needed. The onsite garden also provides food for the local food bank, according to the kitchen manager at Rhody’s. 

Activities at the gardens, such as walking, yoga and meditation groups, also align with Blue Zone practices. 

“They went through the validation process, but that’s really just getting the documentation to give them the recognition that they’re already doing the work. Having healthy options, like vegetarian or vegan options, not having salt shakers on the table, something as simple as that,” she said.  

She said staff, which are made up of volunteers and paid employees, have been trained in Blue Zone principles. She said the kitchen manager, Lynn Derrick, who goes by Queenie and once owned the now closed and locally famous Queenie’s Roadhouse Cafe, embodies a sense of purpose, one of the nine common traits the project seeks to promote. 

“She’s the best. She makes Thanksgiving dinner for people who can’t afford a meal, and it’s delicious and made with love. She brings that dedication to the kitchen,” said Duarte. 

Duarte said that the goal of the Mendocino County project, which started in 2021, is to have the whole county become a Blue Zone by 2026. 

Other coastal Blue Zones recognized in the project include all of the schools in Fort Bragg, Harvest Market, Cafe One and more.  

“They [Fort Bragg School District] have a wellness policy, and they have a great food program for their students. And also, they take really great care of their staff, and so they’re not only Blue Zone-approved schools, they’re Blue Zone-approved work sites,” Duarte said.  

At Harvest Market, another approved Blue Zone, she said simple changes make a big difference, such as keeping the express lane free of candy and placing sugary cereals on the top shelf, out of children’s direct line of sight. “Most people don’t buy candy if they don’t buy it at the checkout,” she said, adding that the cereal placement helps families make healthier choices. 

Around the county, there are dozens of schools, restaurants and work sites that are approved Blue Zones, such as Oco Time in Ukiah, Brickhouse Coffee in Willits, Mendocino College in Ukiah, Blosser Lane Elementary School in Willits and more. A complete list of approved locations is available on the Mendocino County Blue Zones website. 

Duarte said there will be more celebrations in the coming months as local businesses and organizations join the movement. 

Back at Rhody’s, the recognition feels like an affirmation of what the cafe offered long before the Blue Zone approval. At the ribbon-cutting, guests, including children, dug into vegan sandwiches layered with smooth hummus, pickled onion, avocado, sprouts and cucumber. The food was fresh and colorful, reflecting the project’s emphasis on healthy eating. As Duarte said, it is “more than just a cafe, it’s an experience.”