The Sweet Beginning

Location: 840 N. Fifth Ave., Sequim; inside Medical Services Building

Phone: 582-4175

Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday

When you’re served your soup, salad or sandwich at a tiny cafe tucked inside the foyer of Olympic Medical Center’s Medical Services Building, you’ll get a side of love for free.

Owner Kathryn Kitts bills The Sweet Beginning as “a little cafe with a lotta of love” and her philosophy about cooking and eating is they both should be a nurturing experience.

“When you step into something that you know is your passion, everything flows and opens up and you’re able to be creative and commune with food — you and the food become one,” the 59-year-old Kitts said.

Open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, the cafe’s menu is limited but awash in flavor because Kitts handpicks her produce and other ingredients.

“Everything is made-to-order from scratch with tremendous care and love,” Kitts said. “I use a minimum of 90 percent organic products and I do all the shopping myself because I’m really particular. I want to see the produce before I bring it in. I also serve fair trade and organic Caffe Umbria coffee, organic teas and elixirs.”

Kitts said she is organic, right down to the flour and sugar she bakes her cookies, pastries and desserts with daily. Since the age of 22 she’s owned and operated three cafes and opened in Sequim in July 2011, having graduated from a prestigious culinary arts school in Milwaukee, Wis., as a young woman. She’s also had a long career in catering — call for information at 582-4175.

Whether it’s serving a breakfast scone or full dinners, Kitts said, “It’s all about coming from the heart. I’ve been blessed enough to do this my whole life and success for me is being able to do what I love and love what I do, connecting with people.”

That’s evident as she greets a late day customer with “Hi, sweetie” and congenially chats with others before they take their leave. The petite cafe has five bistro tables, one inside, and comfortable bench seating with built-in side tables.

“I feel like I’m an intuitive cook because I often don’t know what I’ll serve, so I’ll ask myself what’s needed for the day. I’ve had the same basic menu for 38 years and I play with it from there,” Kitts explained.

Kitts gives due credit to her staff of six, saying, “I cannot do this alone. It takes many hands to prepare and serve our amazing customers each day and how grateful I am to have and have had the right persons to work alongside me all these many years because we always have the opportunity to learn from each other whether it be a short time or much longer.”

If you’re looking for fare that’s fresh and not fried, try the soup of the day, one of four salads or sandwiches, including dilled chicken, meatloaf, turkey, egg salad, white albacore tuna and vegetables with cream cheese. Sandwich/soup or sandwich/salad combos are available. Start off the day with a homemade selection of pastries including scones, bear claws and sticky buns, with or without gluten, paired with hot or iced coffee drinks, including espressos, Americanos, cappuccinos, lattes or mochas — or choose from three different cocoas. Customers may request healthy smoothies with their own choice of ingredients.

Many of Kitts’ customers are patients biding their time in the Medical Services Building or its employees and others are Sequim folks who just know good food when they taste it.

“OMC has been very wonderful — not only are its employees great customers, but I’ve become friends with a lot of staff. It gets crazy busy!” Kitts laughed.

As if she’s not busy enough, Kitts is looking for a venue to teach culinary arts and is writing a cookbook she plans to complete in 2016. The focus is on her culinary journey and about “consciously cooking with love.”

The cookbook “is about my philosophy about food, energy and thoughts while cooking and creating sacred space, harmonious space and loving space while cooking. The ambiance resides in the food — but most importantly it’s love.”

To get some of that lovin’, stop by 840 N. Fifth Ave. or for an order to go, call 582-4175.