The large Krave logo greets guests on the wall inside.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
EAST LONGMEADOW — A new restaurant in East Longmeadow is handing the creativity over to the customer, allowing customers to satisfy their cravings with their own personal creations.
Krave, located at 59 Maple St., opened its doors on March 17 and brings a wide variety of options, allowing customers to create their own paninis, fresh bowls and healthy salads from the restaurant’s offered ingredients.
Customers can also choose from a large menu of Krave’s own signature creations, such as the Baja bowl with roasted corn, black beans, roasted peppers, avocado smash, shredded cheese and crispy onions, or the teriyaki panini with sautéed mushrooms, cucumbers, roasted peppers, a shredded cheese blend, garlic mayo and teriyaki sauce.
Owner Joe Berardi, born and raised in East Longmeadow, grew up in the restaurant industry, with his family owning Milano’s Ristorante in Chicopee since 1987. Berardi said his goal was always to have something where people could create their own meals.
“It was never gonna be a good time to leave the family business but an opportunity came up,” Berardi said. “This location came up and I just seized the moment. I kind of had a moment of truth, you know, where if I didn’t do it now, it would never happen.”
He said the name Krave came from a little help from his kids and the idea of “what are you craving?”
“I thought like, putting my name on there would have been a cliche,” Berardi said. “I wanted to have something that didn’t have a personal attachment, you know, it was just more catchy.”
He noted that the first couple months aren’t an accurate judge of how a business will succeed because everybody just wants to try it, but what stood out to him the most is that half of the customers he’s seen so far are already repeat customers. He said the response from East Longmeadow and towns like Wilbraham, Hampden and Longmeadow has “been a blessing.”
“People have the same response like, ‘wow, this is exactly what the town needed, this is what we wanted, it’s so different but so inviting,’” Berardi said. “It’s approachable because I do have the signature paninis, I have the signature bowls, but people love going and picking what they want, creating their own meal.”
Krave is a place that invites all ages to try something new and Berardi said he studied all kinds of ways to ensure there is something for everyone.
“If they came 10 times to my restaurant, the same ingredients could have something completely different every single time,” Berardi said. “Everything’s neutral, but at the end, there’s different sauces and dressings. There’s just something for everybody.”
He said the most important part is always the customers and that he has been blessed with a great staff.
“You’re only as good as your weakest link in this industry,” Berardi said. “If you have people that don’t want to be there, it sets a bad tone for the restaurant. I try to make it where it’s a very inviting, very fun environment. You don’t want people coming to work where they’re miserable.”
Krave is open Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
