Tucked upstairs above its sister business, Serendipity Day Spa, is Nourish Cafe. For those strolling through downtown Sudbury in search of a nutritious meal, this cafe is the place to visit.
Nourish Cafe opened in November 2021, and quickly developed a loyal fanbase. Co-owner Brooke Peterson, who owns the cafe with her mother, Monique Lacasse, says that most of their customers are regulars.
“We get quite a few tourists too. They tend to find us on Google and will come in. When we get people in, they come back,” says Brooke.
Monique owns and operates Serendipity Day Spa, and had the idea to open a small cafe instead of continuing to bring in outside food and coffee for her spa customers. As Brooke puts it, “she wanted to open something little, and I took it over and made it not as little.”
Brooke is passionate about fitness and nutrition, and wanted to provide healthy alternatives for people to enjoy when they go out to eat.
“I found that a lot of places don’t have the option to alter your food, and some of them don’t have knowledge of what other people may require. I go over with our staff what keto is, gluten free, vegan. We have options like keto and gluten-free bread, and we have the option to add protein. So everyone can go out and have a good time, but not necessarily alter their nutrition needs and goals.”
While the menu remains nutritious and balanced, over time Brooke and Monique added more variety to cater to all customers. They now sell baked goods, for customers looking to satisfy their sweet tooth when they grab a coffee.
Generally though, the cafe believes that nutrition is important, and can be absolutely delicious. Monique does a lot of the cooking, and makes all the soups in-house. Nourish has a homemade soup on offer every day, which also means plenty of menu variety. They also offer sandwiches, smoothies, smoothie bowls, and shakes with protein powder and no refined sugars.
Customers enjoy the lunch combo, which consists of half a pressed sandwich and a small bowl of soup. Other popular menu features are the variety of grab and go items that the cafe offers.
Brooke emphasizes that the cafe is especially open to making alterations to suit customer’s dietary requirements. “We’re good with altering things. If someone comes in and wants a sandwich with less sauce, less cheese, no sauce, or on keto or gluten-free bread, we can meet everyone’s needs.”
Nourish carries dairy-free milk options, such as almond, coconut, and oat. They also offer a vegan sandwich option, which is their grilled veggie sandwich with the goat cheese substituted for beet hummus. All of their smoothies are dairy-free as well.
Favourite menu items of Brooke’s include their smoothie bowls, which contain freeze-dried fruits, regular fruit, quality granola, and more. Chia seeds and hemp hearts add plenty of protein to the meal, and the bowls are large enough portions to satiate big appetites.
“All our food comes in pretty big portions, so you get what you pay for,” Brooke says. “Our sandwiches are also super delicious, and our soup is really good. It changes all the time.”
Soups that Nourish have had on the menu include roasted vegetable, cream of mushroom, chicken noodle, and French onion with roast beef. But on top of these staples, the cafe has also served creative items like lasagna soup, turkey dinner soup with stuffing and gravy, and cheeseburger soup.
“They’re soups that you won’t find anywhere else. They’re homemade. We don’t use vegetable oil, we use good ingredients, like real butter,” says Brooke.
Total freedom with the menu is one of Brooke’s favourite things about running the cafe. She enjoys being able to change the food up and be creative, as well as having their staff weigh in and come up with different ideas. These creative menu decisions seem to have paid off, with customers often telling her that it’s the best sandwich or soup they’ve ever had.
Two of their most popular sandwiches are the spicy pickled pastrami and a chicken bacon gar-par (garlic parmesan). Brooke also designs a different menu for the seasons, so the cafe has summer, fall and winter menus. Their spin-dip chicken grilly is a popular menu item in the summer. The sandwich is stacked with chicken and cheese, drizzled with spinach and artichoke dip, and laid on a garlic butter-coated sourdough bread, before being pressed like a grilled cheese.
In addition to their everyday cafe offerings, Nourish does their best to accommodate special event requests when they come in. This includes making their space available for rental, and providing sandwiches for meetings and other workplace events.
Brooke says that her favourite part about running a small business is seeing the customers enjoy the food and atmosphere.
“We have one woman who comes in every day for the same sandwich. It’s cool to see people really enjoy what we’ve done.”
Visit Nourish Cafe at 146 Durham St or online here.