Martinsburg restaurant owner uses daughter's experience to help others

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Eating healthy always has been a priority for Mugs & Muffins Farm-to-Table Kitchen and Espresso Bar co-owner Heather Karopchinsky and her family.

But that became even more important after her 7-year-old daughter, Olivia, was diagnosed with Lyme disease last summer.

“We’d been fighting with inflammation in her joints for over a year, with swelling predominantly in her knees, along with random days when she was too tired to do anything,” Karopchinksy said.

The family took a holistic medical approach to her illness that included an even closer look at the food they were eating, she said.

“Food is a major part of healing her body. So our entire family adopted a way of eating between paleo, keto and full-blown autoimmune protocol,” she said.

It was a positive experience that included eating delicious food, although it sometimes was difficult to dine out, Karopchinsky said.

That was the springboard for Olivia’s Menu, which debuted earlier this year at the downtown eatery and since has developed a loyal following.

It includes offerings for patrons with special dietary needs or those just interested in eating healthy, Karopchinsky said.

“With Olivia’s Menu, we can serve our favorite recipes that are grain-, dairy-, sugar-, and nightshade-free,” she said. “It complements our already amazing breakfast and lunch menu that is all made from scratch.”

Bread that is free of grain, gluten and dairy is a staple for sandwiches, and but that only is the beginning of what is available, she said.

Other special menu items include:

• A meatloaf burger topped with beet barbecue and wrapped in house-smoked bacon.

• Wild-caught salmon filet including capers and coconut Hollandaise sauce served over riced cauliflower.

• A sweet potato omelet that includes other vegetables such as avocado, mushrooms and onions, as well as bacon.

• Eggs Florentine with two eggs, sauteed tatsoi and coconut Hollandaise sauce served over a grain-free English muffin.

Customers also may choose from other standard menu items, including shop favorites such as avocado egg salad and buffalo chicken salad sandwiches.

“We are farm-to-table, and we shop so that about 90% of our products come from Berkeley County (W.Va.) and surrounding areas,” Karopchinsky said. “We use a local butcher, and our greens are grown less than 5 miles from here hydroponically so that we can have it 365 days a year.”

Lorin Schwarz, her mother and business partner, is proud of the work that goes into making everything when it is ordered.

“We don’t even cut vegetables in the morning, but instead do that for each order,” she said. “We want everything to be as fresh as you would get at home. And we’ve pretty much invented our own recipes, so everything is pretty much original here.”

Mugs & Muffins, which is at 220 N. Queen St. in Martinsburg, will celebrate its third anniversary in June.