Soulber Kitchen & Market Expands from Bowl Delivery Business to Full Service Café in Bethel

That’s one THICCC avo toast!

Sara Oberhammer recalls the day she got her driver’s license at 16. The first thing she did was cruise around her hometown of Bethel to apply to jobs in the hospitality industry. She even quit high school softball so she could waitress.

In February of 2024, just a mere three-minute walk away from where she got her foot in door at Greenwood’s Grille & Ale House, Oberhammer, who’s mostly been a bartender later in her restaurant career, now has a spot of her very own. And it has nothing to do with mixing cocktails, pouring drafts, or serving pub food.

Hey! We featured Sara three years ago in our “It’s a Woman’s World” column. Give that a read also!

Sara’s idea for her newly opened cafe is inspired by her love of California—woods and greens, bright, airy, tiles, and cedarwood accents.

In her current chapter, Oberhammer, at her namesake business, Soulber Kitchen + Market, is serving brightly colored, fresh, healthy salads, rice bowls, wraps, juices, smoothies, coffees, and more, with a smile, of course.

If you know Sara from places like Cask Republic in Stamford, Bodega Taco Bar, and most recently, The Blind Rhino (her spicy mango margarita creation still crushes it on both Rhino menus), and Rowayton Seafood, her new Bethel business might seem like a far cry from all of her previous stops, but if you dig a little deeper, it’s not, and it almost never happened.

Left - California Cobb - romaine, cucumber, tomato, coconut “bacon,” radish, corn, chickpeas, red onion, sunflower seeds, cashew ranch, add on - chicken

Right - Baja Grain Bowl - cilantro lime rice, bean and corn salsa, cucumber, grape tomatoes, radish, feta, pickled red onion, cilantro, vegan cilantro lime crema, add on - sirloin steak

Middle - Hi, Hailey!

Lil’ grab + go section for you, too!

“I fell in love with this industry immediately,” Oberhammer says. “I love serving people and I love food. I always thought I wanted to own my own restaurant, and then I got into my later 20s, then I thought that maybe I didn’t even want to do this anymore. I just didn’t know what else to do. It takes a certain kind of person to want to do this. You have to be crazy and I am.”

Oberhammer, who has a degree in nutrition from San Diego State University, cites health and nutrition as her “north star,” and always wanted to figure out how to combine her love of the restaurant industry and her passion for nutrition into something. She was getting to the point of done working late in restaurants, but didn’t want to work in a hospital or get into the clinical nutrition field. Her feeling was that if she continued moving in that direction with the mindset of doing something else, that something would happen.

While still bartending, Oberhammer studied and passed exams to be a certified health coach and a personal trainer to supplement her college degree.

“I don’t know how I did it,” she says. “Studying, closing the bar, driving back to Bethel, training my first client at 5:45 in the morning. During this time, a lot of people told me they have trouble staying consistent and eating healthy, so they asked if I could cook for them. I was working at Rowayton Seafood at the time and did meal prep for one of the owners and I would post photos of those meals. Even more people asked about it after that. I had a ‘holy shit’ moment of ‘this is how I could make this work.’ I kept following what felt good and it kinda just happened. It was weirdly organic.”

Soulber, as a brand, officially started in January 2020 out of Oberhammer’s house after she got a prep table and some coolers. Doing meal prep for people she knows, then by word of mouth, caused her blooming business to double many times over.

With her home under construction coinciding with the beginning of the pandemic, Oberhammer used her friend, Jasson Arias’ restaurant, Bottega Italian Kitchen + Bar, as a commercial kitchen to keep up with Soulber’s increasing customer base.

Sushi Wrap (romaine, rice, edamame, carrots, cucumber, nori, scallions, sesame seeds, spicy cashew mayo) + Citrus Sunshine (orange, grapefruit, ginger, turmeric)

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But she’d eventually spring for a space of her own.

“I live close by (14 Depot Place) and I walk my dog by here a lot,” she says. “I saw the space had a hood already, which was great. One day I called a realtor to inquire and they already knew my last name from being a townie! I was so nervous that I didn’t really sleep for three nights. I knew this was a big step for me.”

At Soulber, Sara is partnering with local purveyors like Cloudy Lane Bakery, Beau Noir MicroBakery, Symbiosis Microgreens, and others.

That big step paid off for Oberhammer, as she officially took Soulber from a meal prep delivery business, to keeping that part and adding a cafe where you can walk in, order takeout, or grab your bowl and dine in.

Before she took over the ENTIRE space, Soulber wasn’t set up to make food to order, and they didn’t offer toasts or wraps, so it has grown menu wise, too.

“All bowls are available as a wrap and we have a whole coffee and juice bar,” Oberhammer says. “All syrups are homemade. There’s something for everyone. You can get something different every time and not be bored of it. I’ve gotten lots of support from the town being that I’m a local. Hearing the positive feedback makes me feel good and I’m glad people are excited. It makes me so happy!”

And while the bowls and wraps are mostly all vegan at their core, if you did want to add meat, chicken or steak, you absolutely can do that. Aside from the thick sourdough from Beau Noir MicroBakery, Soulber’s menu is gluten-free as well. Even the cookies you see at the register, that come from Cloudy Lane Bakery, are gluten-free, dairy free, and free of refined sugar.

“We take pride in making good, fresh salads, and homemade dressings,” Oberhammer says. “Anyone that has any restrictions or intolerances, just let us know. Ingredients can be easily removed, so if you can’t have something, it’s easily customizable. I feel like we do a good job with that.”

14 Depot Place, Bethel
203.456.3342, livesoulber.com