A good and heart-healthy time was had with family and friends at Port Neches’ resident Paleo place on Thursday.

The Port Neches Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting for Gather: Paleo Cafe & Market. Owners and sisters Chrystal Lundy, Jodi Hebert and Jessi Hebert were on hand to welcome both new patrons and old favorites as people came through the door.

January 26 will mark the cafe’s one-year anniversary.

“We’ve been open almost a year,” Chrystal said. “We wanted to do the ribbon cutting closer to the holidays. It’s a good way to let the community know we’re here.”

Port Neches Chamber Executive Director Debbie Plaia said she was happy that everybody had time for the cutting in the first place.

“We’ve been working on getting a ribbon cutting with them for a while, now,” Plaia said. “They’ve just been so busy because their business has been so successful.

“That’s a good thing, though — when you’re too busy for (certain) things.”

A Paleo diet consists of foods early man is thought to have eaten, such as fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood. Excluded from the menu are such comparatively new diet staples as dairy and grains.

When asked why they chose to base their restaurant on the Paleo diet, Jodi answered, “Because it’s the best way.”

“Paleo works for every type of person,” Jodi said. “It bridges the gap between all the diets. It’s nutrient dense and respectful of the animals of the earth.”

“The idea is that happy and healthy animals mean a better quality meat,” Chrystal said. “The animals aren’t raised shoulder to shoulder in cages.”

In discussing certain health benefits of a Paleo diet, Jodi brought up a caveat about gluten.

“In this part of the world, you can’t properly digest it,” Jodi said of gluten. “The way it’s processed here, it’s hard to digest.”

Jodi had recently returned from a trip to Chile, and so had expressed a different way of seeing how another culture prepped and ate their food.

“I was definitely inspired when I was there,” Jodi said of her recent trip to Chile. “The people grow their own food there. I saw gauchos eating local sheep they raised.”

And in growing and raising food cleanly, the sisters get their food fresh and locally whenever possible.

“We source from Donna’s Farm in Fannett. Our meats are family-grown,” Chrystal said. “We get some of our goods from a family farm in Kansas and from Yonder Way Farm in Fayetteville.

“We try to source everything from family-oriented businesses.”

Both sisters remarked that they use the cleanest ingredients in their foods.

“And we make everything from scratch,” Jodi said. “We don’t buy anything from a box.”

In addition to serving fresh foods, Gather also offers bath products, ready-to-take-home foods and a full coffee line with the health-conscious in mind.

“They have healthy fats in them,” Jodi said of their iced bulletproof coffees, which sported such unique names as Feral Child.

Plaia said that Gather’s grilled chicken salad is the dish she loves the most at the cafe, as well as their chicken stew and chocolate chili.

Port Neches Chamber President and Police Chief Paul Lemoine said his favorite dish is the balsamic pulled pork sweet potato.

“It’s the way it’s found in nature,” Lemoine said of Gather’s seasonal menu in general. “No chemicals, no preservatives.”

Gather: Paleo Cafe & Market is open Tuesday to Friday. Their cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and their market from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The cafe is open Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the market from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m. It is at 1811 Magnolia Ave.