Edible Food Find: Dragonfly Café

Photos by Linda Campos

Sherri and Elizabeth Sarrouf left Europe in awe.

Little did they know the lasting impact of that special 2017 family vacation spent traveling through London, Paris and parts of Spain would be the opening of a café back in Lowell. Sure, they loved the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and all the tourist attractions. What Sherri, and especially her daughter, Elizabeth, appreciated more: how easy it was for both of them, who have celiac disease, to find top-tier meals. “It was the first time I could say that I was able to go out and within 10 minutes, find a 100% gluten-free place,” says Elizabeth, who also has a dairy allergy. “What a freeing feeling to be, like, ‘Oh, I can eat. This is wonderful.’”

Fast forward eight years and the Sarrouf family feels just as good, if not better, about their own contribution to the Merrimack Valley’s food scene. Dragonfly Café in downtown Lowell celebrated its second year on January 3, and the Sarroufs take immense pride in offering high-quality, delicious meals for all, whether a customer is restriction-free or is vegan, has celiac disease, a gluten tolerance, or on the keto or paleo diets.

Allergy-free Stephen Sarrouf remembers the challenges his sister and mother faced when going out to eat. “It’s difficult to sit there and watch somebody eat an unseasoned chicken breast and baked potato while I have this extravagant meal in front of me,” he says. The Sarroufs ensured Dragonfly’s menu wouldn’t let that happen to their customers.

Located just off the Lowell Connector near the commuter rail station, Dragonfly Café serves all-natural, locally sourced breakfast and lunch seven days per week, and is open for dinner and bar service Wednesday–Friday. The business, which employs about 20, also offers a catering service and private event café space rentals, in addition to hosting weekly events like trivia and paint nights, music and educational seminars.

Sherri, who also owns SLS Fitness in Lowell, runs Dragonfly with her children, Stephen and Elizabeth. Stephen, a co-owner with his mother, runs the show day-to-day; Elizabeth is the marketing and events manager and splits her time between Dragonfly and SLS Fitness. Camille, their father and Sherri’s husband, doesn’t work at the café, but as of October, there’s a special menu item paying homage to his mother, Joyce, who Stephen and Elizabeth call Sitti (Lebanese for grandmother).

Sitti’s Tabbouleh replaces the classic bulgur wheat with a quinoa base to make it gluten free, and since appearing on the menu it’s quickly become one of Dragonfly’s most popular items. Joyce “Sitti” Sarrouf herself briefed the culinary staff on how to make it.

Dragonfly Café uses Baldor as its distributor, which allows it to access local products like salad greens from Little Leaf Farms and coffee from Fazenda Coffee Roasters. The bar features products from Everett’s Short Path Distillery. Now in a groove with an eye on potential expansion, though no specific plans yet, they want to partner directly with even more local providers.

“We want to help the local farmers, and they’re less apt to mess around with the food and it’s right from the farm to the table,” Sherri says. “We grew so fast. Now let’s start working with more local people.”

No microwave. No Fryalator. No seed oils. Just, as Sherri says, “healthy superfoods” to feed the Lowell community and beyond. Dragonfly means transformation, and that’s just what the Sarrouf family’s doing in their hometown.

“I’m super proud because I know what it feels like to be on the other side of the counter and being so worried,” Elizabeth says. “Being able to give the experience to someone else, to tell them they’re safe here, is really special to me because I couldn’t have pictured that when I was younger.”

165 Thorndike St, Lowell
dragonflycafe.org

This story appeared in the Spring 2025 issue.