When social enterprise Our Thyme Cafe (98 Portland Street) closed its doors in early 2016, downtown Dartmouth lost a lot of great things. One of them being a place to grab fresh, homey, made-with-love lunches. But earlier this month. husband and wife duo Caroline and Fouad Jarmash swooped in to the Our Thyme space to save the midday meal with Cafe 98.
“We both came from the corporate world and we were kind of tired of it. And both of our families come from a rich history with food,” says Fouad. Inspired by their children and a focus on fresh, non-processed foods at home, the pair had been considering opened their own restaurant for a few years, but the Our Thyme timing was what nudged them to go for it.
“Their misfortune became our opportunity," says Fouad. "We knew we didn’t need to change too much.” For now, Cafe 98 serves up hot drinks, sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads and a hot lunch option weekdays from 7:30am to 4pm, but the owners say though hours may extend as the business settles in.