Plymouth - 16 December, 2005 -

He is a rail-thin man endowed with enormous energy, enthusiasm and a passion for a fast-serve business that requires 16-hour days and the marketing savvy to add products to a budding franchise concept. Green has introduced corporate catering services to his Plymouth and Philadelphia locations to build his bottom line. The catering gambit has started to pay off at both locations. At the food court in the Plymouth Meeting Mall, Green sells two to three catering jobs worth $500 to $600 each week. Merrill Lynch in Whitpain, Morgan Stanley in Conshohocken and Strawbridge's department store in Plymouth are among his corporate clients in the suburbs. Green invested nearly $600,000 to open the four locations, starting with the Philadelphia location in June 2004. "I have opened four locations within the last six months, which is a little psychotic," Green confessed. "But the real estate became available." A juice bar version of the Amazon Cafe was opened by Green in a North Brunswick, N.J.,-LA Fitness club in August 2004. The Plymouth location debuted on Oct. 19, 2004 in the former Adam's Cafe, which closed in March 2004. A second juice bar opened Dec. 28, 2004, in the LA Fitness club in the Andorra Shopping Center in Philadelphia. Healthy casual food is the drawing card at the Amazon Cafe with a variety of wraps, sandwiches, fresh-fruit smoothies, soups and salads featured on the menu. The 10 hot soups and 16 fresh-fruit smoothies served at the Amazon Cafe in the Plymouth Meeting Mall food court set the new eatery apart from its food court neighbors. A gallon of each soup is prepared by the Culinary Crossing of Harleysville. The flavors include New England clam chowder, broccoli cheddar, chicken vegetable, chicken with wild rice, vegetarian chili, Italian wedding, seafood gumbo, chicken noodle, vegetable barley and tomato cheddar. Rachel Hendricks, a former McDonald's manager from northern New Jersey, manages a staff of 12 workers in Plymouth. Green grew up in Maple Glen, graduated from Upper Dublin High School and earned a marketing degree at Temple University in 1997. Through high school and into his junior year in college he worked at "In the Bag" in Maple Glen as a delivery/prep worker, line chef and deli person. From 1996 to 2004, he worked at a video distribution house, IND of Heightstown, N.J., as operations manager. Starting two years ago, Green researched franchise opportunities including Saladworks, Amazon Cafe and Mailboxes Etc. From his experiences at "In the Bag," he knew that catering would become a big part of his Amazon Cafe. "A $200 to $300 receipt makes your day," he said.

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