The Cantine Organic Cafe + Market
Donation protected
Dear Friends,
The Cantine officially has a brick and mortar right here in Encinitas, California! The location is about as charming as it gets. I can not wait to host you all, sharing my love of all things delicious and beautiful. My intention is to complement our growing and thriving foodie community offering organic, sustainable, nourishing cuisine to grab + go or sit + chill on the adorable side patio
I want to make your life a little easier offering the kind of food you would prepare for yourself or your family in a convenient way.
I am asking for the help of my friends, family and community to raise the money needed to get The Cantine up and going!
THE PROMISE
My promise to you, is to continue this work, serving the community locally sourced, sustainable food that is as delicious as it is nourishing. I promise to share the joy AND recipes! I promise to cook with love. I promise to be true to my community by being creative and honoring the vibe of my town that I am so in love with. I promise to open doors for others, by creating jobs and opportunities. I promise to work hard and smart, always doing my best. I promise to grow this business, finding opportunity and being courageous. I promise all I do will be underpinned with a desire to serve in the best way possible. I promise to play good music and I promise to be grateful.
VISION
This is a seasonal cafe.
Summertime will have longer hours with a menu that will quench your post-beach parch. Stop at The Cantine on your way to the beach, fill up your cooler with delicious, nourishing grab and go, water, drinks and snacks.
Or stay at the beach for golden hour sunset and hit The Cantine on your way back and pick up dinner.
We will have Salty Dogs (aka organic grass fed hot dogs!) topped with ferments, organic vegan chili made with soaked beans slowly simmered, we will have organic milk shakes and ice-cream, kefir sodas and so much more!
When tides change and visitors return home, Tumbleweed Tuesday comes blowing in our most holy of seasons, Local’s Summer! Kids will be back in school, but the vibes will still be pumping. That means we need to be gentle with ourselves. Keep those flip flops out and walk them on down to the Cantine, pick up some soup and other domestic provisions making lunch packing and dinner prep just a little less painful and perhaps even enjoyable.
I plan to offer a very convenient + organic "grab and go" breakfast and school lunches as per the overwhelming demand. Imagine you come in for breakfast that is ready to go, you can also grab a lunch or snack pack that is the quality of what you would prepare at home. While you are there, why not pick up a soup and bread for dinner to have on hand.
I would not forget about all of my yoga friends and have something special for you too. Gabriel surfs with some of you and has filled me in on the needs of this community as well.... I am looking into the beanbags!
Can you say golden milk... shakes!!!
The Cantine will not just be a cafe, but also a market curated with items to get you by for a day or two with out having to go to the major grocery store.
As many of you know, Marko and I are the founders of Bside Arts productions. All art, for kids, by kids including music, video, bands, photography, visual arts and all the other untapped mediums that have yet to be discovered. So far we have put on Lemonade and Hot Chocolate. We plan to do much, much more with this at The Cantine as well. So get your little rockers, poets and artists ready for so much fun!!
IMPORTANT TO KNOW:
We will carry products that align with our values, always seeking locally made and grown.
We are green to keep our beautiful seas blue and clean.
Our carbon foot print will be light.
We have an unwavering commitment to preparing the foods we all love, using ingredients that will nourish us to the bone.
I have been listening to all of you. From asking for more prepared foods and cooking classes, to needing a place where we can come together as a community, as well as a place for visitors to really get the feeling of the true spirit of our beloved town.
I want people to leave The Cantine feeling nourished and loved - welcomed and appreciated. I want everyone to feel like their money was well spent. I want you to taste the love in the food.
Italy has alway inspired me, especially Florence. A place where the best dishes are shared by beggars and bankers alike, under the category of piatti poveri, poor person food or how I like to call - peasant food fit for royalty. At The Cantine anyone can be a buongustaio - a food lover who enjoys fine things!
SALTY CV
This is for those of you interested in my professional biography.
I consider myself an entrepreneur. This is an interesting profession. Unlike other professions that offer graduate and phd work, an entrepreneur’s finishing school is on the streets collecting life experience. While at times, leaving us battered and marred, we find ourselves rising like a phoenix victorious and strong with all we needed to learn. We carry the scars, leaving us stronger than ever before and salt on our skin, reminding us of the journey.
THE JOURNEY
My journey began, with selling painted rocks on Ursuline in Saint Clair Shores MI in 1983ish, at 7 years of age. Although it was short lived due to neighbors calling, making my parents aware of my creative genius, it was certainly a gateway to many more ideas to come!
I began a catering business out of Grosse Pointe Michigan in 2001. After my partner left for school in Montreal, I continued on under another moniker with a new partner doing large events and festivals, including The Detroit Taste Fest and Arts Beats and Eats - all while personal chef-ing and serving other private gigs. That came to a screeching halt with the news of a little angel on the way to join our family. With the arrival of Gabriel, I had a new muse on the scene. My focus was now centered on children’s foods and health. With Waldorf training under my belt, I began a home nursery as a satellite to the Oakland Steiner Waldorf School. I found myself making daily menus and integrating cooking as an integral part of our day. When the babes were ready to begin school, including my son, I wondered what would be next. I did not have to wait for long as the school was in need of a lunch program and I was their gal. I started a “farm to school” inspired lunch program and ran the kitchen for many years. We then made the big move across the country to our current home in North County San Diego. After a couple of odd jobs and some really odd jobs, I picked up my wooden spoon, strapped on my apron and stoked up the kitchen fires once again, starting a farm to school lunch program at the Waldorf School in North County. The program was very successful, leading to many other opportunities, including cooking classes, private chef-ing jobs and catering. I also started a Black Market Cantine, serving organic soups to friends in my community. This too became a success blowing me out of my little home kitchen. I decided it was time to come out, go big and open a brick and mortar. Not less than a couple of months, the spot I have been crushing and obsessing on became available… and here I am!
Your support means everything to me. I thank you and kiss and hug you just thinking about all the possibilities!!
Click here to listen
COOKING WITH LOVE PODCAST
The Cantine officially has a brick and mortar right here in Encinitas, California! The location is about as charming as it gets. I can not wait to host you all, sharing my love of all things delicious and beautiful. My intention is to complement our growing and thriving foodie community offering organic, sustainable, nourishing cuisine to grab + go or sit + chill on the adorable side patio
I want to make your life a little easier offering the kind of food you would prepare for yourself or your family in a convenient way.
I am asking for the help of my friends, family and community to raise the money needed to get The Cantine up and going!
THE PROMISE
My promise to you, is to continue this work, serving the community locally sourced, sustainable food that is as delicious as it is nourishing. I promise to share the joy AND recipes! I promise to cook with love. I promise to be true to my community by being creative and honoring the vibe of my town that I am so in love with. I promise to open doors for others, by creating jobs and opportunities. I promise to work hard and smart, always doing my best. I promise to grow this business, finding opportunity and being courageous. I promise all I do will be underpinned with a desire to serve in the best way possible. I promise to play good music and I promise to be grateful.
VISION
This is a seasonal cafe.
Summertime will have longer hours with a menu that will quench your post-beach parch. Stop at The Cantine on your way to the beach, fill up your cooler with delicious, nourishing grab and go, water, drinks and snacks.
Or stay at the beach for golden hour sunset and hit The Cantine on your way back and pick up dinner.
We will have Salty Dogs (aka organic grass fed hot dogs!) topped with ferments, organic vegan chili made with soaked beans slowly simmered, we will have organic milk shakes and ice-cream, kefir sodas and so much more!
When tides change and visitors return home, Tumbleweed Tuesday comes blowing in our most holy of seasons, Local’s Summer! Kids will be back in school, but the vibes will still be pumping. That means we need to be gentle with ourselves. Keep those flip flops out and walk them on down to the Cantine, pick up some soup and other domestic provisions making lunch packing and dinner prep just a little less painful and perhaps even enjoyable.
I plan to offer a very convenient + organic "grab and go" breakfast and school lunches as per the overwhelming demand. Imagine you come in for breakfast that is ready to go, you can also grab a lunch or snack pack that is the quality of what you would prepare at home. While you are there, why not pick up a soup and bread for dinner to have on hand.
I would not forget about all of my yoga friends and have something special for you too. Gabriel surfs with some of you and has filled me in on the needs of this community as well.... I am looking into the beanbags!
Can you say golden milk... shakes!!!
The Cantine will not just be a cafe, but also a market curated with items to get you by for a day or two with out having to go to the major grocery store.
As many of you know, Marko and I are the founders of Bside Arts productions. All art, for kids, by kids including music, video, bands, photography, visual arts and all the other untapped mediums that have yet to be discovered. So far we have put on Lemonade and Hot Chocolate. We plan to do much, much more with this at The Cantine as well. So get your little rockers, poets and artists ready for so much fun!!
IMPORTANT TO KNOW:
We will carry products that align with our values, always seeking locally made and grown.
We are green to keep our beautiful seas blue and clean.
Our carbon foot print will be light.
We have an unwavering commitment to preparing the foods we all love, using ingredients that will nourish us to the bone.
I have been listening to all of you. From asking for more prepared foods and cooking classes, to needing a place where we can come together as a community, as well as a place for visitors to really get the feeling of the true spirit of our beloved town.
I want people to leave The Cantine feeling nourished and loved - welcomed and appreciated. I want everyone to feel like their money was well spent. I want you to taste the love in the food.
Italy has alway inspired me, especially Florence. A place where the best dishes are shared by beggars and bankers alike, under the category of piatti poveri, poor person food or how I like to call - peasant food fit for royalty. At The Cantine anyone can be a buongustaio - a food lover who enjoys fine things!
SALTY CV
This is for those of you interested in my professional biography.
I consider myself an entrepreneur. This is an interesting profession. Unlike other professions that offer graduate and phd work, an entrepreneur’s finishing school is on the streets collecting life experience. While at times, leaving us battered and marred, we find ourselves rising like a phoenix victorious and strong with all we needed to learn. We carry the scars, leaving us stronger than ever before and salt on our skin, reminding us of the journey.
THE JOURNEY
My journey began, with selling painted rocks on Ursuline in Saint Clair Shores MI in 1983ish, at 7 years of age. Although it was short lived due to neighbors calling, making my parents aware of my creative genius, it was certainly a gateway to many more ideas to come!
I began a catering business out of Grosse Pointe Michigan in 2001. After my partner left for school in Montreal, I continued on under another moniker with a new partner doing large events and festivals, including The Detroit Taste Fest and Arts Beats and Eats - all while personal chef-ing and serving other private gigs. That came to a screeching halt with the news of a little angel on the way to join our family. With the arrival of Gabriel, I had a new muse on the scene. My focus was now centered on children’s foods and health. With Waldorf training under my belt, I began a home nursery as a satellite to the Oakland Steiner Waldorf School. I found myself making daily menus and integrating cooking as an integral part of our day. When the babes were ready to begin school, including my son, I wondered what would be next. I did not have to wait for long as the school was in need of a lunch program and I was their gal. I started a “farm to school” inspired lunch program and ran the kitchen for many years. We then made the big move across the country to our current home in North County San Diego. After a couple of odd jobs and some really odd jobs, I picked up my wooden spoon, strapped on my apron and stoked up the kitchen fires once again, starting a farm to school lunch program at the Waldorf School in North County. The program was very successful, leading to many other opportunities, including cooking classes, private chef-ing jobs and catering. I also started a Black Market Cantine, serving organic soups to friends in my community. This too became a success blowing me out of my little home kitchen. I decided it was time to come out, go big and open a brick and mortar. Not less than a couple of months, the spot I have been crushing and obsessing on became available… and here I am!
Your support means everything to me. I thank you and kiss and hug you just thinking about all the possibilities!!
Click here to listen
COOKING WITH LOVE PODCAST
Organizer
Karyn Kraus Smith
Organizer
Encinitas, CA