Cura’s Café Kara opens in new St. Clair Health center

Tara Fitzpatrick

St. Clair Health’s biggest expansion project in 70 years is a state-of-the-art, six story center that houses comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic outpatient services in Pittsburgh. Cura’s team there catered the kickoff event for the center and will feed visitors and staff at the new café, just as state-of-the-art as the rest of the facility, which is still in its opening phases.

A breakfast and lunch spot, Café Kara begins with made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, smoothies, locally roasted coffee and a selection of both housemade and locally made pastries. On the lunch menu, build-your-own is the catchphrase, with an action deli offering hot sandwiches, housemade soup, flatbreads, paninis and meal-worthy salads.

Cura’s new Café Kara features outdoor seating, perfect for a warm Pittsburgh summer.

After a soft opening for a small number of guests in the middle of May, Café Kara has done just over $1,200 a day in sales, “and the building isn’t yet fully open,” says Emily Guidash, Cura GM at St. Clair Hospital. “The final operating rooms and units open next week, so we anticipate an increase in foot traffic.”

When the new health center opened, St. Clair’s Cura foodservice team served celebratory parfaits, a taste of what’s to come at Café Kara.

Executive Chef Ryan Lucci and the culinary team have developed some rotating weekly specials that will round out the always-available deli items, including roasted salmon salad, roasted chicken and brie panini, chicken fajita salad, roasted red pepper hummus flatbread, shrimp and spinach flatbread and asparagus-leek strata. And soon, chef-inspired action stations will begin on a regular basis at the café.

Cura’s BeWell menu items will be incorporated throughout the week, Guidash adds, “which offers recipes that help our guests achieve their personal health, wellness goals and specific dietary needs.”