A Long-Quiet Corner Reawakens With a Health-Forward Café
At the corner of 24th and Walnut, the double-decker space that once housed Good Karma Café upstairs and Sotto downstairs is finally coming back to life.
Later this month it will reopen as Vita Sana, a health-focused café built around organic smoothies, cold-pressed juices and Mediterranean-leaning bowls.
Co-owner Britney Stein said the team is going “all in” on healthy, fast-casual food. “There is such a need for health foods generally,” she said, especially for people who want something quick on their way to work or after a run on the Schuylkill River Trail.
Customers will enter on the Walnut Street side, where the full café will operate on the former Good Karma level. Below, in the old Sotto dining room, Vita Sana has built out a large production kitchen that will fuel a catering operation aimed at offices, gyms and neighborhood events.
A Warm Interior With Measured Detail
If the space feels unusually polished for a brand-new café, that is because much of the design work was done for an earlier Italian restaurant concept, Di Passare, and then carried forward. West Hollywood firm Built Inc. created a lush, transportive interior whose finishes remain largely intact for Vita Sana: oak floors, green marble bar surfaces and layered botanical wallpapers in shades of sage, mustard and teal.
Renderings show brass pendant lights over oak tables, cane chairs and clay-toned floral banquettes, with warm art lighting throughout. Even the restrooms get a dramatic treatment with dark floral wallpaper, marble counters and brass fixtures.
Stein said the kitchen spans most of the lower level, giving the team space for refrigeration, prep and juice production on a scale designed for both daily service and high-volume orders.
Organic fruit, dairy-free cheese, kid-friendly bowls
Vita Sana’s menu leans heavily on organic produce and house blending. The açaí is organic, unsweetened and blended from raw berries in-house rather than scooped from pre-sweetened tubs, Stein said. Smoothies use organic fruits, no “fake sugars,” and can be boosted with vegan or whey protein. Coffee service features Joffrey’s espresso and cold brew alongside matcha and herbal teas from the Random Tea Room.
On the savory side, grain bowls, salads and wraps skew Mediterranean and coastal, with many items designed to be naturally gluten free. Cheeses and sauces are largely dairy free, including dairy-free feta and tzatziki made with brands such as Violife.
For the many young families in Fitler Square, there is a kids menu with smaller açaí bowls, a simple chicken-and-cheese wrap and a mini rice-and-chicken bowl built from the same ingredients as the main menu.
Built for gyms, offices and riverfront life
Although walk-in traffic is important, Stein expects Vita Sana’s growth to come from partnerships. The company’s website already highlights catering as one of its three pillars, alongside the everyday café menu and branded merchandise.
“We are super passionate about connecting with other small businesses,” she said, listing gyms, hotels, yoga studios and corporate offices as likely collaborators. The plan is to stock lobby fridges with bottled juices, cater wellness-themed events and sponsor neighborhood runs and yoga classes with smoothie and juice stations. The oversized kitchen downstairs was designed with that kind of volume in mind.
Located a short walk from the Walnut Street bridge and the Schuylkill River Trail, Vita Sana is positioned to catch commuters spilling off the path in the morning and residents heading home in the evening. The café intends to operate seven days a week and is aiming for a quiet soft opening before Christmas, pending final health inspections.
From the Community
Fitler Square neighbor Allison Stadd shares fresh takes on work, creativity, and connection in her weekly newsletter, The OffBeat. In her own words:
The OffBeat is a short, weekly Philly-born newsletter about how music can reshape the way we lead, create, and collaborate. I’m Allison Stadd, a Penn alum who played drums in Penn Jazz, a mom raising two boys in the city, and a longtime marketing leader. The OffBeat mixes lyrical wisdom with real-life leadership insights. If you like thoughtful reads that blend culture, work, and creativity, it’s a good one to have in your inbox.