They gave short notice because Greenlane suspected that if people knew any earlier that four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski was going to be operating the drive-thru window at the recently opened St. Petersburg healthy fast-food joint, the lines would be long.
Gronk dished out smoothies and salads from 12:30 to 2 p.m. today at Greenlane’s new location at 8001 Fourth St. N., signing autographs and taking selfies with all customers.
The Tampa-based chain specializes in salads and wraps for under $10. It opened its first location last year in South Tampa and recently opened a third St. Petersburg location.
Gronk is an investor, and he pulled up his sleeves today to take orders from the window. Greenlane keeps costs low by only offering drive-thru, delivery or pickup. Gronk and his brother Gordie did a similar turn in the drive-thru lane in May at the chain’s second Tampa location.
The tight end was the butt of many jokes at a live comedy roast of Tom Brady in May.
Comedian Jeff Ross kicked things off at the Kia Forum by saying, “Forum is how Rob Gronkowski counts to 5.″ And he continued several times in the show, telling the others, “Please explain that joke to Gronk.”
Gronkowski retired in June 2022 after helping Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the Super Bowl in 2021. He has stuck around in the Tampa Bay area and is an investor in Rocca, a critically acclaimed Italian restaurant near Armature Works in Tampa.
At Greenlane, the restaurant’s menu uses only healthy fats like olive oil. Salads and wraps come with chicken, steak, salmon or tofu as a protein. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.