Two and a half years after joining Hula as a member, Clarina Cravins, 34, is running the restaurant at the Burlington coworking space. Preppi Market and Eatery officially opened the first week of April in the café space in the front building at 50 Lakeside Avenue.
Preppi’s lunch-only biz is fully open to the public, Cravins said — unlike the Spot at Hula, which occupied the space until March 13 and was initially billed as a “workplace cafeteria” for Hula members due to zoning limitations. The new café offers a by-the-pound salad bar and hot bar with items that rotate weekly; a grab-and-go case with prepared meals, wraps and charcuterie snack packs; and a “lunch plate of the day” for $15, which comes with a salad.
Hula is also now home to Cravins’ farm-to-fridge meal-prep and catering business, which she launched as Little Miss Taco from Bristol’s New Leaf Organics in March 2023 and rebranded to Preppi in September.
“Going into this, I wanted to run my business like a business, not like a restaurant,” Cravins said. “Working out of Hula really pushed me to be like, Well, what are business owners doing? And I fast-tracked that with something really tangible” — namely, the café.
The food her newly expanded team serves at Hula “brings the same vibes” as Preppi’s meal-prep menu, she said, drawing on her French Creole background and global influences for “real American food, which includes all cuisines.” Vegetarian dishes such as Bolognese with housemade seitan are always available, and they often outnumber meat options.
Preppi Market and Eatery is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Soon, the business will add a full bar, expand its market offerings and offer delivery via DoorDash.
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2025.
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