Our History
From our founder, Meridith Coyle
ANEU represents “a new beginning beyond compare.”
My mom and dad, Irene and Richard Coyle, were in the restaurant industry well before I was born, and I was quickly brought into the fold. I was only 8 years old when I started working outside of their center city restaurant during the mummers parades making the non-alcoholic versions of strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas (which we sell at ANEU Kitchens to this day!) I worked the counter of their diner and had my own customers by the age of 9. My dad used to say I was the most accurate and best waitress he had. I loved the interaction with the fun dancing characters that came up to our storefront and the regulars that came in for breakfast on their way to their busy lives. I really grew love for the service industry in my blood and still have it to this day.
Many of you may remember the beginning of my story with the Farmer’s Market. And from the Farmer’s market, to Meridith’s. However, at the age of 22 I had left for graduate school determined for a degree in Psychology and Law. Then my dad became sick. I took a leave of absence to help with his adorable little shop in the Paoli shopping center; Fresh Ideas. My love for the service industry immediately set back in and I couldn’t imagine a life elsewhere. What was at the heart of my stand at the Farmer’s market and all that has followed since are the recipes my dad had at that store: recipes like the Richards Chicken (my dad loved to be the center of attention, lol), Orzo Salad and California Crunch - all dishes that are as popular today as they were in 1989.
When my father got sick, my passion for recipe development and clean eating emerged. I began to grow these skills and practiced them on my own in my little kitchen in Chesterbrook and began to bring those recipes to the Farmer’s Market. The mainline community supported this new-found passion and made me realize that I have something good to bring to the table. I now hold certifications in cooking for health, vegan cooking and integrative nutrition.
All of our recipes at Aneu fit into my beliefs on clean eating and living a long and healthy life. My clean-eating beliefs are now mainstream all these years later! But overall, the most important thing I’ve learned is that regardless of ingredients or technique, you must cook with love. Every recipe should have love in it. Sprinkle the dish with love and it will bring health and happiness to all those who get to enjoy it. The slow cooking of risotto can be seen as a burden or a meditation that betters you and those who eat it. I choose the latter.
My business blossomed from Farmer’s Market to Restaurant. From Restaurant to Catering. From Catering to Kitchen, and they’ve all built off one another in the most organic way. To provide for my family and do what I love. After so many chapters and changes throughout my life, my last and final rebrand was, quite literally, a new beginning beyond comparison: ANEU. I have changed names and locations, but my values have stayed the same -
to help my community enjoy comfort food made healthy.
Our Team
Nourishing wonderful people is only possible with an equally wonderful team. Our kitchens are powered by a talented cohort of culinary creators who are supported by staff who are equally brilliant in food procurement, preparation and presentation, as well as customer care.
All of us come to ANEU Kitchens with a belief that better health can be attained with better food, which should always be readily available and absolutely delicious. This is our “North Star,” which guides all that we do for our customers from the Main Line to points beyond. We honor and utilize the strengths of our entire team, to make this ideal possible.