by Lee Stabert | photo by Lucas HardisonKatie Cavuto-Boyle’s Healthy Bites fills a void in Graduate Hospital
They say one of the keys to a successful business is seeing a need, and then filling it. That is Katie Cavuto Boyle’s plan. Her newly opened Healthy Bites To-Go Market/Café looks to bring wholesome, locally-sourced grab-and-go products to the Graduate Hospital neighborhood.
The area has some excellent spots for a casual dinner or snack, but they’re mostly bars specializing in ramped-up pub food. There is nowhere for eaters in this rapidly developing neighborhood to pick up a pint of local milk, a quick sandwich or lasagna to heat up at home.
Cavuto Boyle, a licensed dietician and chef, started Healthy Bites three years ago, offering meal delivery, catering and nutrition consulting. She has always had a passion for healthy eating, but has become increasingly interested in sustainability, with a large focus on local and organic products. She knew many of her neighbors were going through similar transformations.
“I’ve lived in this neighborhood for five years,” says Cavuto Boyle. “I’ve just been dying for something like this. I absolutely love this neighborhood, and we’re huge supporters of all the restaurants, but there’s nothing that you can just grab and go. And there are no little markets—it’s pretty difficult to grab something that’s healthy, local and sustainable.”
Healthy Bites offers variations on certain staples—soup, chicken, fish, frittatas and lasagna—that change daily. They also serve breakfast and sandwiches. Cavuto Boyle teaches cooking classes every other week, and if you have at least six people, you can get a private session. After the class, everyone sits down to a family-style meal with wine.
Since opening in mid-February, Cavuto Boyle has experienced a groundswell of support from the neighborhood. “We really want this to be a community experience,” she explains. “We’re getting to know everyone who walks in the door. This is just as much their market as it is ours. They let us know what they want to see on the shelves.”
Seventy-five percent of the products in Healthy Bites’ market are locally sourced. All the dairy, milk, cheese and produce come from Lancaster County (through Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op). They also carry local pastured eggs, poultry and bacon, Severino fresh pastas, Claudio’s cheese, Zahav hummus, Scoop ice creams and sorbets (made in Chester County), Otolith Sustainable Seafood, Wild Flour Bakery goods, Baker Street Bakery breads, BT Brownies, locally-sourced honey, One Village Coffee, and Burlap and Bean Coffee (a brand out of Newtown Square).
As the weather warms, Healthy Bites will add outdoor seating and install planter boxes out front for herbs. They will also serve as a pick-up spot for Lancaster Farm Fresh’s CSA.
“The great thing about having the market and the café is that we’re really not wasting anything,” says Cavuto Boyle. “We get beautiful produce, and all the scraps get made into stock—we’ve made veggie stock every single day. We’ll also be composting, and using the compost for the herb garden.”
2521 Christian St., 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. Mon. – Fri., 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sat., 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sun., 215-259-8646, healthybitesdelivery.com
