We had the good fortune of connecting with Abby, Madi, and Lacey Rifkin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abby, Madi, and Lacey, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Starting Coastal Foodie started as an idea we kept saying to each other before we all left for college. We all are foodies and ever since we were little we would love ordering whatever we could on the menu just to see the presentation and how it tasted. It progressed to us following multiple travel Instagram accounts that had food highlights. This brought us to specifically going to places that were hyped up on social media for either amazing presentation of the food or amazing taste of the food. When we finally decided we wanted to use this passion of ours for food and sharing recommendations with our friends, we decided to create and Instagram account dedicated to our finds. What made our account even more unique was we went to different colleges at first that ranged from West Coast all the way to East Coast. This made foodie adventures that much more fun and we ended up growing our platform to the point now where we get invited into restaurants to promote their food in exchange for a meal and instagram post.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We all are in our last year of college, but at very different places in our lives. Madi is currently working tirelessly on a idea that started out in middle school and has now grown into a company called Mount that works on launching scooters at Airbnb properties. Although she works hard and still has college classes, she still always has time for foodie adventures. Abby is studying advertising at Boston University and has a job offer at an ad company come graduation in May 2021 and is excited to see where that takes her. She still has a lot of free time while still being in school, but still loves exploring Boston to find new food. Lacey is also in her last semester at school and has been working hard on starting her own podcast. She also has her own passion for helping out animals in need and has been a foster for many homeless dogs. She, like Madi and Abby, still loves exploring places for new food finds. Our story is based on our sister bond and love for food and this is what keeps our drive going and makes us connected whether we live in the same city or different city.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Madi and Abby have both been in Boston for the past four years so we will just use Boston for this foodie adventure. Starting off, we would recommend going to breakfast at the Breakfast Club in Allston. Although not in the greatest area, it is a hidden gem and must for an authentic breakfast. For lunch, you may be too full for a full meal so we suggest something on the lighter side with Sweet Green. This is a place you can frequent for lunch or dinner and is a staple in our weekly meals. It is a fast-food take on salads, but picture the freshest ingredients where you can make whatever salad your heart desires. Lastly, for dinner, we would recommend a well-known restaurant among people who live in Boston. It is called Yvonnes and it has such a fun atmosphere while also serving amazing food. I won’t give away too many surprises, but you will love the entrance of the restaurant. Highly recommend ordering the Baked Alaska if you have room for dessert.

For Denver, it is hard to create a day of food finds because so many places are amazing. On that note, we wanted to highlight one amazing place in particular. Having only opened just recently, we quickly became obsessed. Located in the Lower Highlands, a fun and trendy area of Denver that is a must visit, is a healthy fast-casual breakfast and lunch eatery called The Green Collective. Serving a range of different smoothie bowls, salads, toasts, adaptogenic lattes, coffee and tea, the food is not only pleasing to the eye and amazing for a cute food Insta post but also delicious! One of our favorite dishes was what they call a “toast flight”. This gives you the option to pick 3 toasts and get 3 half pieces. We chose the Colorado Lox toast, the Avocado toast, and the Whipped Goat toast. All three were so amazing. This is just one of the many amazing eateries in Denver and we highly recommend as a must go when visiting Denver!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our love for food and eventually bringing it all the way to the point we are at now with our Instagram account is in all thanks to our Grandma, named Rella Rifkin, and our mom, named Kirsten Rifkin. First off, our grandma grew up loving food and cooking. She even had her own cook shop when she was younger. Although we were not alive to see it thrive, we grew up cooking with her and learning specifically how to make Jewish food, which was amazing. This was where our passion started. It then continued on watching our mom become an amazing chef herself and love food just as much as us. Having to cook meals for us each night after school, she began experimenting and became an amazing chef that only strengthened our love for amazing food.

Instagram: instagram.com/coastal_foodie

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.