Local restaurant helps make counting calories easier

"Most people have no idea [what they're eating]," co-owner Anthony Pigliacampo said.

Pigliacampo and Rob McColgan opened the first Modmarket in Boulder in September of 2009. Their Glendale store opened in January.

It doesn't look that much different from any quick salad, sandwich and pizza joint. The difference is when you make your selection. You not only see how your choice will affect your diet, but you get a receipt that will show exactly what you've eaten.

"It makes a difference," said Brandi Sampaia. "If you know what you're eating now, [it] kind of gives you a better idea of how to gauge your day."

Amber Hyatt stopped by to have a salad with her 8-year-old son Gabe. She said the calorie count doesn't impact her decision-making. She just likes the food.

"It's mostly about taste for us," she said. "We just like to eat healthy if we can and they have a lot of great choices for tasty salad."

"I don't think it necessarily affects people's initial purchase decision," Pigliacampo said, "but having the information there makes them more informed consumer, leads to other healthier choices or just more conscious choices."

Modmarket serves food from scratch, made right in their kitchen.

Registered dietitian Mary Lee Chin said restaurant chains with 20 or more eateries are required to tell consumers what's in their food. But she said studies have shown even when we know what's in our food, we still tend to choose what we like and not what's good for us.

"What we know is that when the calorie counts are next to the menu item, people are becoming more aware of it," she said. "But they're not translating it into choosing those options. I think it's still encouraging because people are becoming much more aware of it. The next step is having that information and then using it to make the good choices."

That's all Modmarket folks say they're aiming for.

Pigliacampo said he and McColgan own the only two restaurants in Colorado with the nutrition break down on the receipt.

Neither one, by the way, have a restaurant background. Pigliacampo is a former engineer; the other one has background in finance.