Business Culture Prospers For Yogurt Lady

Lorraine Marchetti became known as "the yogurt lady" back when she was running Boulevard's, her restaurant on Cypress Street in Tampa.

Customers came to the small eatery for the South Beach Diet menu items and cartons of Marchetti's homemade yogurt. The creamy yogurt tasted indulgent, especially topped off with a dollop of honey, and was packed with calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and digestion-friendly probiotics.

Marchetti and her lifelong friend and business partner, Nieves Gonzalez, sold the restaurant in 2002, but the yogurt lady never stopped making yogurt. She had a loyal following who craved her mango, guava, blueberry and strawberry flavors, made with real fruit, and the low-sugar versions for diabetics.

After years of whipping up special orders, Marchetti has gone beyond being an underground sensation. Her dream of creating a company - Lorraine's Yogurt - is off the ground with a 3,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on Cypress Street. Three workers keep the facility going; as president she is one of them.

On Labor Day weekend, the first retail cartons of Lorraine's Yogurt went on sale at Nature's Harvest, a health food store on MacDill Avenue. Lorraine's Yogurt also is available at Abby's Health and Nutrition, Village Health Market and Nutrition S'Mart in Tampa.

"It is?!" says Art Keeble, executive director of the Hillsborough Arts Council, when informed the yogurt is now in stores. Keeble was introduced to Marchetti's yogurt when he frequented Boulevard's and stocked up on two quarts at a time. He was such a fan, he became one of 45 investors in Marchetti's company.

Marchetti says that what she knows about yogurt comes from raising her children. She uses the same recipe she used when she made yogurt for her now-grown daughters in the 1970s and '80s. It soothed sore tummies, neutralized the side-effects of antibiotics and gave them a boost of bone-building calcium.

The health benefits of yogurt have been noted for decades; it's known as a super-food for its nutrients and for strains of "good bacteria" that help the digestive tract.

Among Marchetti's testimonial letters are anecdotal accounts from people praising her yogurt for combating health problems. Keeble says it stopped his acid reflux; Kristie Brunk, who works for a Tampa bank, says it helped clear up mouth ulcers after a bout of strep throat; the executive director of a Tampa retirement home praises the yogurt for nourishing residents with swallowing problems.

Largo physician John Young, who runs Fundamental Health Center in Largo, recommends it to diabetic patients for mixing with a high-protein powder, and as a smoothie for delivering flaxseed to his young patients with a rare skin disorder.

"Someone told me about this lady who makes a natural yogurt with low sugar and high protein," Young says about finding the yogurt lady. "A lot of yogurt doesn't have much protein; hers does. ... The other thing is it tastes good."

Lorraine's Yogurt is made with whole milk from nearby dairies - Marchetti says it's hard to make good yogurt without whole milk - plus nonfat dried milk, sugar and fruit. A 4-ounce serving contains 120 calories, 3 grams of fat and 4 grams of protein.