These days, most businesses fit into one of two
categories--
brick-and-mortar businesses and
online cyber shops. And from
the look of
Pure Fare's 21st Street location, the Rittenhouse
neighborhood is soon in for another sustainable cafe. But partners Kriti
and Kunal Sehgal and have something far more innovative in mind.
With PureFare.com, the Pure Fare team hopes to help customers monitor
their eating habits and keep track of local food. The My Fare program
would allow customers who live and work in the neighborhood to use a
swipe card, keeping track of meals at Pure Fare. PureFare.com then
offers detailed nutritional information for all purchases. Customers can
also enter food items from other places into this online food log,
helping Pure Fare's health nut customers have a more intuitive view to
encourage healthy eating.
"Our goal right now is to cater to the breakfast and lunch crowd," says
Pure Fare co-managing partner Kunal Sehgal. "It is a place where you can
come to get a sandwich or a cup of coffee but we also offer these other
features."
The owners say they have plans to make the building more sustainable as
well, using low-impact lighting and composting in the kitchen. But the
web tools are what set them apart. Sehgal says they even held up the
opening until early 2011 to make sure they got the
website just right.
"We are working on the design of the space but also making sure that
everything we do is supported by the website," says Sehgal. By very
effortlessly tracking what you are eating, we can track your (body mass index), health
metrics and we are able to engage the user in a way that has never been
done by a fast-casual brand."
Source: Kunal Sehgal, Pure Fare
Writer: John Steele