Forêt FLG is a lauded, French-inspired café in Downtown Flagstaff that recently earned executive chef and co-owner Sam Greenhalgh a 2024 James Beard Award nomination for best chef in the Southwest. They may have opened in 2021, but the story that brought Sam and his family to northern Arizona, and ultimately to open the restaurant, starts more than 30 years earlier.
Natasha Greenhalgh—Sam’s mother—grew up in California, where her father owned restaurants. As a young adult, she began working in them, serving in a variety of roles including server, host, and bookkeeper. Once she started her family, the restaurant business took a backseat, as did California. When her oldest child, Jake, was 2, the family relocated to Gilbert. After putting down roots, the Greenhalgh family would welcome another son and a daughter, Sam and Billy, soon after, and Natasha would get into real estate.
Clearly restaurants run in the family blood, however, because from a young age, Sam was obsessed with the Food Network—especially loving Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten. Sam continually told his mother that he would be a chef when he grew up. By the time high school came around, he was doing double duty attending traditional classes as well as a culinary program through the East Valley Institute of Technology, where he was classically trained in French cuisine. Beyond that, Sam got a job as soon as he was old enough at the casual fine dining hotspot of the time, Noca.
At Noca, Sam feels he learned how to avoid bad habits that sometimes get in the way of young chefs, and loved mentoring under chef Adam Brown. He would move on from Noca to Clever Koi, eventually earning a role as executive chef and opening a location in Gilbert, funny enough after he relocated to Arcadia. He would also hone his skills at FnB, Tratto, and North, before reaching a crossroads. By this time, Sam had been working 80-hour weeks for years, and while he loved cooking, he was ready for some balance.
So, in 2018, he changed the course of his entire life by up and moving to Flagstaff, as much to escape the harsh summers in Phoenix as to be close to hiking trails, outdoors, and greenery in every direction. In Flagstaff, he took a position at Brix, a popular eatery known for its locally sourced ingredients and seasonally changing menu. Sam eventually transitioned to bar manager to better understand the front of the house and business of running a restaurant so he could prepare for one day owning his own concept.
In 2021, while still in the heat of the pandemic, Sam started thinking about relocating yet again, but fate stepped in. A friend reached out to him with information on a real estate listing in the area—a one-time coffee shop—that would be the perfect place for his first restaurant. Intrigued, Sam called his mother with the details. Soon, she was en route up north to check it out, assuming she would be up and back home in Phoenix in short order. Except she fell in love with Flagstaff as fast as Sam did, so she decided to move up north as well and enter into business with her son.
By August 2021, Forêt FLG was born. Ever the family affair, even the name was thanks to a family friend, Mona, who came up with it as it translates to forest in French. Sam initially planned to do more of a dinner spot, but given the space was a coffee shop prior it just made sense to pivot to a French-inspired café focused on breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Fortunately he inherited a massive barista station, gorgeous pastry cases, and a small-but-mighty kitchen.
The menu at Forêt can be described as thoughtful takes on classic brunch dishes highlighting fresh and quality ingredients. You may have come to expect dishes like an egg and cheese croissant, granola with oats, or a croque madame on breakfast menus, but Forêt manages to elevate the typical fare. Take the breakfast burrito. Eggs and peppers are to be expected, but the addition of pork cheek brings flavor and character. The lunch menu starts at 11am, and while small, it brings a few heavy hitters to the table. The smash burger and porchetta sandwich show the versatility of the kitchen at this lowkey eatery.
The concept truly brought Sam back to his roots, and the overwhelmingly positive response has certainly backed that up. When visiting, expect clean, gorgeous flavors and simplicity, but of course a few guilty pleasures on the menu as well. And the coffee program? It is among the best in the state, thanks to the third family member on the team.
As Sam and Natasha started preparing the restaurant for its opening, Sam’s sister Billy—a master-level barista who worked for years at LGO in Arcadia—took an interest as well. A month after opening, Billy was up in Flagstaff as well and leading the program to its current glory.
That just leaves Jake then, right? He went the computer software route, so works with far different ‘bytes,’ but—of course—he developed the brand’s website!
written by: alison bailin batz | photographed by: luke irvin
Forêt | 2 S Beaver St #170, Flagstaff, AZ 86001