Riverwalk restaurant reopens with expanded hours, new options for breakfast on the go
Jonas van Cleef had his attention split as he sat in the Blend Riverwalk dining room.
The co-owner of the newly-reopened Rock Hill restaurant watched intently as his staff handled a rush featuring mothers on an afternoon stroll with their infants and others just looking for something healthy for lunch.
Van Cleef also had his eyes, and his heart, set on a TV screen mounted in the corner near the front door.
A live broadcast showed Tuesday afternoon’s match between Romania and the Netherlands in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship. Van Cleef, who is Dutch, pumped his fist in jubilation after the Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo seemed to score a goal to take a 2-0 lead in the 63rd minute. That joy quickly turned to a sigh of slight dejection after Gakpo was ruled offside.
As the restaurant returned to a peaceful calm, van Cleef went back to handling his own laundry list of work, including scheduling a professional photographer to take photos of the food.
Van Cleef co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Emily. The couple also own of Bloomin’ Blinds, a window blinds and shutters company based in Rock Hill.
Taking on another business, especially in a completely different field, may be daunting for some. But it’s not something that worries van Cleef too much.
“It feels good,” he said. “Being a small business owner in Rock Hill already, I had some experience. Some people are just too nervous about the unknown. My wife and I, we just take those risks, and we’ve experienced it with the other business we have, so we were confident in ourselves.”
The van Cleefs first interacted with Blend as customers. Each of the family’s four children play soccer — three at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill and one for Charlotte Soccer Academy. They saw the restaurant as a great healthy option for before, between or after soccer practices or matches, and it quickly became a family favorite.
“When we got the Facebook notification that they closed, we were devastated,” van Cleef said. “It was the only place that all four of my kids would agree to go to without fighting. They loved it so much, and my wife and I loved it.”
About a week later, the van Cleefs got in touch with previous owner Pete Demas through a mutual contact and worked out a verbal agreement to buy Blend.
The restaurant opened with a soft launch on June 24 before fully reopening the following day.
The menu
Blend focuses on healthy food, serving salads, power bowls, wraps and sandwiches. Customers can either make their own or choose from a selection of signature entrees with a variety of soups and sides.
The restaurant also sells smoothies and acai bowls.
The van Cleefs didn’t want to change a lot of what was already on the menu after they bought it. Blend was already popular among Riverwalk residents and beyond.
Jonas said the biggest hassle was replacing the 70% to 80% of the previous workforce who did not return and training the incoming employees. However, there were a few additions that the new owners saw as areas for growth.
One of those changes was expanding the business hours, as Blend is now open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. Previously, the restaurant was open 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the weekend.
This change also comes with the addition of a breakfast menu, where customers can create their own egg bowl, burrito, breakfast sandwich or yogurt parfait with coffee locally sourced by White Blossom Coffee out of Fort Lawn.
“When I was asking people about what is the thing they would change with Blend, they said the hours as like an early option,” Jonas said. “In Riverwalk, there’s no early option available. For the morning walkers or the people who are going in to work, before they get into that Charlotte traffic, it’s a great spot for people to stop out and get breakfast.”
There is also now a kids’ menu, inspired by the van Cleefs’ 6-year-old’s regular order of a Nutella banana when they were customers.
Jonas said there is a lot more in store for Blend in the future, too. He is currently working on a website and mobile app to allow for online ordering at the restaurant. There are also plans for creating a catering menu for local businesses and area schools and events.
“(We want to give people that mobility because) it’s always on the go, everyone is on the go,” Jonas said. “We want to be able to be a fast service but super healthy option that also tastes amazing. That last piece, I think, is unique.
“The food, the smoothies, the acai, it really tastes amazing. With people being so busy, we give them these options, and then we’re here for them. Once they try it, they’ll be patrons forever.”
Blend is available on mobile order through apps like DoorDash and Grubhub.
Blend Riverwalk
Address: 652 Herrons Ferry Road Suite 113, Rock Hill, SC 29730
Cuisine: American, acai, sandwiches, smoothies, salads
Hours: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day
Instagram: @blendriverwalk
