WEST SPRINGFIELD –When Cathie A. Cappa began her business in 2004, she sold baked goods from a card table on the side of the road in the eastern Hampden County town of Wales.
But when the card table blew away, it was time to base the business in something permanent: a farmstand.
For four years she sold baked goods, vegetables, coffee and eggs under the name Auntie Cathie's Bakery and Roadside Stand. Her niece, Alida Bernhart, of Tolland, suggested the name.
Cappa built a kitchen in the barn on her property rather than bake in the kitchen of her 1733 colonial home.
In 2008 she bought a restaurant in Springfield, 3 Cafe, leaving "Auntie Cathie's" behind. For a while.
After a brief stint sharing space with another restaurant in Longmeadow, Cappa established Auntie Cathie's Kitchen in 2013 at 217 Elm St. "It's just like my bakery (in Wales) but bigger - mix-matched furniture and local art hanging on the walls," she said.
Customers have followed Cappa from the farm stand, and many have been requesting gluten-free options.
A gluten-free diet excludes the protein gluten, which is found in grains such as wheat, barley, rye and a cross between wheat and rye called triticale. Gluten causes inflammation in the small intestines of people with celiac disease; some people who do not have that condition also prefer a gluten-free diet.
Auntie Cathie's has distinguished itself as a quaint vintage cafe and dedicated gluten-free bakery serving breakfast and lunch using local, fresh ingredients.
"I had a small farm, and I know how hard it is," Cappa said. "I love eating fresh, and it's great to support people who work really hard to produce really good food."
Though the menu is largely gluten-free, the various homemade-from-scratch foods served here appeal to a wide variety of diets.
"It's nice to have a place that caters" to gluten-free diets, said customer Beverly Bloomberg, of Longmeadow. "That's getting to be a big deal."
The kitchen is a dedicated gluten-free bakery, and all menu items can be prepared gluten free.
And, people who do not follow a gluten-free diet enjoy Auntie Cathie's food, too.
Breakfast at Auntie Cathie's is served all day and includes slow-cooked oatmeal, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, eggs and omelets. Lunch, served after 11 a.m., features deli-style sandwiches, vegetarian wraps, burgers, quesadillas, salads and soups.
A recent "sugarhouse special" combined grilled turkey, wilted spinach, Swiss cheese and roasted local apples with maple mayonnaise on a choice of regular or gluten-free bread.
Jose Torres, of Springfield, and Jessica Holguin, of Enfield, Connecticut, recently ate at Auntie Cathie's for the first time, after hearing about its good food. "It's amazing," he said.
Vegan choices are available, too. "We have a lot of different of options here for people," said Cappa, who has worked in restaurants in Boston and Connecticut and is chef and baker at her own business.
Cappa is not only about bringing people into her business; she is community minded and has been helping raise funds for the CHD Cancer House of Hope that enhances the lives of people with cancer and those who care about them by providing emotional, educational, social and spiritual support. It is one of 70 Center for Human Development programs.
A survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the 54-year-old Cappa considers Cancer House of Hope "a great cause."
Though she did not receive services there, she appreciates the work done there. Her mother, Josie Cappa, of South Windsor, Connecticut, knits hats and neck warmers for clients at the Cancer House of Hope.
In December Auntie Cathie's did a brownie benefit for Cancer House of Hope, donating all proceeds from brownie sales, totaling $500. In February, a raspberry-vanilla sugar cookie benefit netted $1,000 for the charity.
April will feature lemon cookies, the sale of which again will benefit Cancer House of Hope.
"It's good to do things for people," Cappa said. "I'm just helping. I really like doing it."
She sees the good in people and describes her customers as "great."
At Auntie Cathie's Kitchen they feel relaxed and at home. "I feel like the place itself just has a good vibe," she said.
Auntie Cathie's Kitchen is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit the website, auntiecathies.com. For take out and bakery orders, call (413) 788-0022.