The Cardinal
The Doylestown Cardinal
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www.DoylestownCardinal.com
Serving Doylestown and Beyond
November 2021 • 1 Doylestown
doylestowncardinal.com I NOVEMBER 2021
Placing the Spotlight GOBBLE, GOBBLE, IT’S TURKEY DAY! On Makers Off Main Why We Eat What We Eat On Thanksgiving
By John Lund and Susan Smith • @DoylestownBoroBuzz The Cardinal Contributing Writers
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oylestown Borough, named the best small town for culture in America (USA Today, 2019), is known for its commitment to the arts. This month we visited a small business that also has an enduring commitment to the arts. Makers Off Main is located at 38 E State Street, just a few steps away from the historic County Theater, in the heart of Doylestown borough. We sat down with co-owners Caitlin Hernandez and Wendy Stone to learn about their business. About the Owners Caitlin lives in Doylestown with her husband, two children, and two dogs (Sully and Boo). She first dipped her toes into crafting when her grandmother taught her to crochet at the age of seven. In 2019, she created a product called “Doodle Jawnz” with her husband, making washable coloring dolls for kids and adults alike. She has a passion for learning, music, feminism, and all things Disney. Continued on page 12
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Caitlin Hernandez and Wendy Stone
hen Americans sit down with their families for Thanksgiving dinner, most of them will probably gorge themselves on the same traditional Thanksgiving menu, with turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie taking up the most real estate on the plates. How did these dishes become the national “what you eat on Thanksgiving” options, though?
Why Do We Eat Turkey On Thanksgiving? It’s not necessarily because the pilgrims did it. Turkey may not have been on the menu at the 1621 celebration by the Pilgrims of Plymouth that is considered the first Thanksgiving (though some historians and fans of Virginia’s Berkeley Plantation might quibble with the “first” part). There were definitely wild Continued on page 7 turkeys in the Plymouth area, though,
Happy Thanksgiving . . .“Please Pass the Lasagna” By Kimberly Cambra Special to The Cardinal
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raditions, culture and family beautifully intersect on several corners of this industrious woman’s life, and with the approach of the holidays; she is wildly passionate about the season of celebrations that occur between October to January (her birthday falls around Halloween). As the mother to two very active school age boys, she is involved in cub scouts, 4 wheeling, BMX motorsport and grass stains much to her delight. Professionally, her role as a business owner/operator is a responsibility lovingly shared with her mother Frances and brother Vincent as proprietors of Altomonte’s Italian Markets (Doylestown and Warminster). So what does it look like when your career and personal life demand excellence in all of these arenas? It looks like a five foot two inch, beautiful fiery ItalianAmerican who happens to be an executive and mother better known as Maria Nappi. Day in and day out, there is literally a FULL plate with Nappi between running her stores, staffing, navigating food costs, keeping the shelves stocked, and there’s also her need to parent and spouse. Know she’s gritty, hardworking, grounded and her self-care approach includes mindfulness and has mastered transcendental meditation. This year, the business celebrates its 50th anniversary.
It opened in 1971 in Germantown as a corner store called Mike’s Meats. Maria’s father, Michael Grispino, grew up in Altomonte, Italy, as a third generation butcher. Eventually, the business grew, and her family relocated to Bucks County in 1982, and the new store was proudly named Altomonte’s. One of the many facets of her two stores is the highly regarded reputation of their exceptional catering operation, which customers have come to know and love about Altomonte’s. Their holiday catering menus, especially for Thanksgiving, is a completely prepared meal they champion and often sell out. Maria, along with her mother and brother, oversee and ensure the quality of their food from the store to customers’ table; flavorful, delicious and made from scratch. That’s right, scratch, just like Nonna makes! There are no short cuts in the Altomonte’s kitchens. Through her father’s legacy as a butcher, the business has cultivated relationships with all their vendors, especially for their turkeys. Altomonte’s Thanksgiving meals can provide busy couple a delicious dinner for 2 for $59.99. The dinner includes: 1.5 pounds of all white meat, roasted and sliced in-house, topped with gravy, 1.5 pounds of real mashed potatoes, 0.75 pounds of candied mashed sweet potatoes, 1 pound of Italian herb stuffing, 0.75 pounds of green beans with almond breadcrumbs and caramelized shallots, half a pint of orange cranberry relish, an extra half pint of gravy on the side, Continued on page 14
Maria Nappi with her mother Frances Grispino