OUR STORY

I sometimes feel like I didn’t choose hospitality—hospitality chose me. It pinned me down, handed me an apron, and never really let go.

At just two years old, my family packed up and moved to Miami after my great-grandfather purchased a hotel on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. While other toddlers were learning shapes and colors, I was apparently being marinated in check-ins, check-outs, and the steady hum of air conditioners battling the Florida heat. The hotel stayed in our family for years, until it was sold and we migrated back north to Philadelphia—bringing with us a deeply ingrained work ethic and, most likely, some sand we never fully shook out.

Hospitality didn’t loosen its grip on our family, especially not on my mother, Asna. Fifty-two years ago, she took a leap of faith and opened a small cheese shop called Curds & Whey—at a time when female entrepreneurs were few and far between. It was a risk, but her goal was simple and powerful: to show her children that with hard work, determination, and heart, anything was possible.

What began as a modest shop quickly grew. We moved into larger spaces, expanded our menu, and evolved with our community—without ever straying from the values that defined us from the very beginning. To this day, our salads, dressings, meats, prepared foods, and many of our baked goods are still made in-house using the freshest ingredients we can source. Quality, integrity, and care are at the center of everything we do.

Eventually, the baton was passed to me. When my mother was 95 years old, she finally stepped away from the business—proof that Curds & Whey was never just a job to her, but a lifelong commitment. Today, I carry that legacy forward alongside our Executive Chef, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and a team who shares our passion for thoughtful, honest food.

So here we are—still in hospitality, still telling this story, and still believing that food is about more than just eating. It’s about showing up, every single day, for our customers and our community.

Come dine in our café or take something home. We hope you enjoy our food as much as we enjoy making and serving it.

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~Davida