New store gets your body and house in tip-top shape
Carera Organix sells natural skin care, hair care, cleaning products
Spring is a time of new beginnings. So, why not give key parts of your lifestyle a fresh restart?
Whether you’re looking to upgrade your personal care routine or give your home a good spring cleaning, a forthcoming downtown Nazareth shop will offer a wide array of healthful, handcrafted products to get the job done.
Carera Organix, opening Thursday at 131 S. Main St., will offer its own lines of skin care, hair care and home products featuring all-natural, vegan and organic ingredients.
Amie Eckert, of Lower Mount Bethel Township, began selling the smallbatched items online and at local festivals like VegFest in Bethlehem two years ago.
When the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation or postponement of countless events last year, Eckert switched gears and decided to open a brick-and-mortar store.
The business arose out of Eckert’s desire to provide “cleaner products,” including shampoo, facial cleanser and other personal care items, for her and her family.
“Having two young children, I especially wanted something cleaner for them,” Eckert said. “After reading the fine print on many mainstream products claiming to be clean, I realized that they actually were not at all. There are tons of chemicals, toxins and other ingredients in them that I can’t even pronounce.
So, I decided to make my own truthful products.”
Items, which Eckert labels “nearly completely organic,” include bath and body products such as vegan bath bombs, acai sage body lotion, acne and
blemish serum, nutritive and antioxidant face masks and aluminum-free, all-natural deodorant.
There are also other personal care products such as apple cider vinegar hair rinse, natural mint mouthwash, make-up remover and cuticle rescue, as well as dozens of bar soap varieties, including lemon herb, brown sugar oatmeal and charcoal peppermint, the latter of which helps to remove skin impurities, absorb unwanted oil, eliminate blackheads and stimulate blood
flow.
“The activated charcoal helps rid the body of toxins, dirt and any other nasty stuff that accumulates in your skin throughout the day,” Eckert said.
Other examples of natural ingredients include organic aloe vera juice, coconut oil, shea butter and sunflower oil in a “Super Silk+” shaving butter; and Himalayan sea salt, grapeseed oil, beeswax and mango butter in a “Relax” salt scrub.
Most products are unisex, but some are geared toward men, including beard oil and beard balm (coming soon). There are also items for babies and children such as kids shampoos and a “Booty Rescue” soothing diaper and skin balm, and pets such as bug and tick and pet deodorizer sprays.
For people looking to get their house in order, Carera Organix also offers natural dish soaps, foaming hand soaps, multi-purpose cleaner, concentrated laundry soap and sanitizing sprays. Soy candles, available in 12- and 24-ounce reusable jars, include more than two dozen scented varieties, including “Colorado Breeze” and “Tahitian Sands.”
Carera Organix will be open Monday through Saturday in Nazareth. Info: 484-291-1011; careraorganix.com.
Foodie finds
For Retail Watchers with a sweet tooth, Cakes on Main, offering gourmet cupcakes, custom cakes and seasonal desserts, opened Friday at 929 Main St. in Northampton.
The business is operated by Star Gaetaniello, a Northampton resident with more than 20 years of professional baking experience under her apron.
Gaetaniello got her start in the baking industry at age 19, working as a cake decorator at the Giant grocery store in Nazareth. She broadened her experience with baking cakes at a handful of other area businesses, including the former Matilda’s in Emmaus, a local Weis grocery store and, for the last 15 years, The Bakery Nook in North Whitehall Township.
Opening her own bakery was a longtime dream for Gaetaniello, and she found the Main Street location, a few doors down from Mario’s Pizza ,tobe a great fit. She and her husband, Tom, closed on the two-story property, which has residential tenants on the second floor, last fall.
Cakes on Main offers a variety of
ready-made cakes (4-, 6- and 8-inch), cupcakes and seasonal desserts like pumpkin roll, along with custom orders that must be placed at least a week in advance.
Around a dozen cupcake flavors change every few days, with unique stuffed varieties including cookie dough, vanilla raspberry, tres leches, s’mores with marshmallow filling and strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberry filling.
The bakery is open Wednesday through Saturday. Info: 484-597-4582.
In downtown Allentown, another female entrepreneur is planning a delicious venture of her own.
Wafa Khoury, who has operated Bon Appetit Cafe on the ground floor of PPL Plaza at Ninth and Hamilton streets since 2012, anticipates opening a second breakfast and lunch restaurant, Wafa’s Kitchen, within the next couple of months on the ground floor of the Three City Center office building at 515 Hamilton St.
The 1,800-square-foot space previously housed Nosh @ Nana’s, another breakfast and lunch eatery that closed in December after five years of business due to the owner’s retirement.
Khoury’s namesake restaurant, with seating for about 30 customers, will offer a menu similar to that of Bon Appetit, with the addition of grilled items such as burgers and cheesesteaks, she said. There also will be egg dishes and hot entrees.
“I’m still going to have the healthy menu that I already have with salads, wraps and paninis,” Khoury said. “But on top of that, I’m going to have hamburgers and some Middle Eastern dishes like kafta and kabobs.”
Bon Appetit has been temporarily closed since March 2020 due to the many employees of neighboring businesses working from home amid the pandemic, Khoury said. It is expected to resume operations within the next few months.
Fashion finds
From food to fashion, a new sneaker shop is helping customers put their best foot forward in downtown Easton.
SNKR BOX, a boutique specializing in premium sneakers and streetwear, held a grand opening March 6 at 5 N. Bank St.
The renovated space previously housed Just Around the Corner gift shop, which in December closed its 15-yearold brick-and-mortar location and moved operations solely online.
SNKR BOX, which buys, sells and trades new and gently used sneakers, is co-owned by friends Migdalia Santiago and
Jose Pinargote.
The idea for the shop arose when Pinargote, who also co-owns three other Easton area businesses — Pints & Pies Neighborhood Pub in Wilson and Adobo Latin Kitchen and Elegance Barber Lounge in Palmer Township, was talking with Santiago’s 16-year-old son about his interest in sneakers and desire to one day operate his own store specializing in highly sought-after kicks.
“We were talking about it one day, and I said, ‘Well, let’s just build it!’ Pinargote said.
SNKR BOX carries hard-tofind, top-of-the-line sneakers from popular brands like Nike, Adidas, Jordan and Reebok.
A majority of the merchandise is new, with a small selection of “very gently used” sneakers also being available for purchase, Pinargote said.
The business also carries new streetwear and accessories, including sweatshirts, T-shirts, baseball hats and backpacks, from popular lines like Essentials, Supreme and Cactus Jack. Local styles such as ABE hooded sweatshirts designed by Made In Easton are also available. Info: 610-653-2735; snkrboxlv.com.
If casualwear won’t cut it for a wedding or other special occasion that you plan to attend in the coming months, take note of a formalwear
retailer that’s moving from its nearly 10-year-old location at 1931 W. Tilghman St. in Allentown’s West End Theatre District to The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in Upper Saucon Township.
Le Femme Boutique, which bills itself as the “only place to go” for formalwear, is hoping for an April 1 grand opening of its new, larger location at 2960 Center Valley Parkway, Suite 736 (next to Francesca’s), according to a news release.
“It is the perfect location that will allow us to add a photo area for a quinceanera rental and photo package and expand our tuxedo department,” owner Jane Heimbecker said.
The business’s forthcoming move is welcome news for The Promenade Shops, which lost several retailers over the past year, including Justice, The Children’s Place and New York & Company, due to bankruptcy filings or pandemic-related effects.
The center’s most recent loss, candy retailer Peeps & Co., occurred in January. Info: lefemmeboutique.com.
Retail Watch, appearing every weekend, keeps track of retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Contact Ryan Kneller at 610-820-6597 or retailwatch@mcall.com.