Local Nathan Wade began sprouting healthy living options for Austinites in 2023 when he opened Sprouts Alive on East 53rd Street. A year later, he has expanded the concept to offer housemade salads, cold-pressed juices and snacks from his harvests, with plans to add catering this year.

Looking back

The pandemic was a pivotal time in Wade’s life, which helped guide his path to urban gardening.

“After COVID[-19], I built my own dome home in Smithville, where I met a raw-food vegan,” Wade said. “My father was battling cancer at the time, and this man taught me the health benefits of eating and juicing sunflower sprouts and other microgreens. I moved my father to my property and we began juicing together.”

Wade said his father passed shortly after, but it was at this time he realized the importance of caring for one’s body before the onset of an illness.


“I continued to grow at my house for over a year for myself and my family,” Wade said.

Sprouts Alive began by providing locally grown, organic sprouts—such as sunflower, broccoli and radishes—as well as pea shoots and wheatgrass for Austin restaurants, including Bouldin Creek Cafe, New World Deli, Better Half and others.

In November 2022, Wade began planning Sprouts Alive and opened the following January.

Not long after opening, Wade said he wanted to offer something directly to the community as well. In November, he added a retail space to Sprouts Alive and started selling prepacked salads, cold-pressed juices and snacks—all made from the greens he grows on-site.


What’s special about it?

Sprouts Alive starts its harvests with U.S. Department of Agriculture organic seeds that are soaked in filtered spring water before germinating in organic soil until the seeds begin to sprout.

“We then allow them to grow in the dark until they have dropped the seed hulls and are hungry for light,” Wade said.

From there, they are moved into a humidity- and climate-controlled indoor space until they are ready to be delivered to the customer.


What’s on the menu?

A popular choice is the Living Lunch, which provides one of each of the menu offerings, including an Alive Salad—made with a combination of in-house sprouts and shoots, hummus with gluten-free seeded crackers, and cold-pressed juice.

“We are the only place in Austin where you can get these types of prepared items made with ingredients grown in-house,” Wade said. “By sprouting, we activate the living plant, delivering the highest quality nutrition available.”