Nourish Cafe in Northampton is a draw for the health conscious

By Morgan Hughes

NORTHAMPTON — For the health-conscious, Nourish Wellness Cafe might just be a place to try.

Since moving from Thornes Marketplace to its new location on Bridge Street downtown last summer, owners Ashley and Ethan Niles have drastically expanded its menu to help fulfill their passion for healthy living.

The couple, who met in Vermont, chose Northampton to open their health and environmentally-conscious cafe because of the community.

“It’s a health-conscious community,” Ethan Niles said. “They care about healthy food, being local. It seemed like the perfect place.”

The cafe at 10 Bridge St. is surrounded by large windows looking out onto Bridge and Market streets. There are small antique-refurbished tables throughout the eatery and a bar at the front crafted by the owner of Sticks and Bricks, a woodworking and craft shop across the street.

The menu, which was once limited to smoothies, juices and teas at the juice bar in Thornes, now includes toasts, bite-sized snacks and “wellness bowls.”

The popular “wellness bowls” are jam-packed with nutrients that people need more of in their diet, according to Ashley Niles.

Bowls start with a base of either salad greens or brown rice, and include different organic, vegetarian ingredients like avocado, fermented vegetables, sprouts, pumpkin seeds and kale. Different dressings, from cashew-ginger to maple beet balsamic, are available with each bowl. Breakfast bowls feature ingredients like granola and fruit.

Ethan Niles expressed the couple’s dedication to keeping their ingredients healthy, organic and local, and their impact on the environment to a minimum. The menu is simple and doesn’t include any meat products so that it is clear where and how the ingredients are made. They purchase fair-trade coffee and other items.

“I believe that business are responsible for keeping their eco-footprint as little as possible,” he said. “We try to source our products intelligently, with the environment in mind.”

Ethan noted that while it is near impossible for restaurants to be completely waste-free, he and Ashley do their best to come as close as they can. They compost food and all of their to-go items, and recycle what they can.

“If you’re going to benefit a community, we have a responsibility to take care of what waste we produce,” he said. “If you don’t want to create waste, you have to have a lot of money. We do our best, but it’s still a struggle.”