Cincinnati’s Nearly V’Gan Welcomes Vegans and Meat-Eaters to Bond Over Jackfruit Tacos

It’s a dilemma vegans are all too conversant in: when consuming out with a bunch of mates, it may be tough to discover a restaurant that gives top quality plant-based dishes whereas additionally catering to non-vegans. 

Cincinnati, OH-based entrepreneurs Sean Reed and Jarvis Shaw are on a mission to vary this actuality and make the service trade extra inclusive of vegans. Final month, Reed and Shaw introduced their upcoming restaurant and lounge idea, Nearly V’Gan.

Set to open in Cincinnati early subsequent yr, Nearly V’Gan will deliver a plethora of vegan choices to the town’s central, downtown district. 

Nearly V’Gan

Reed himself understands first hand the issue of discovering satisfying, plant-based dishes whereas eating out within the metropolis. “My very own private expertise led me to wish to personal a spot the place folks might socialize and luxuriate in meals that suited all life and diets,” Reed stated in an announcement. “In every single place I went, the one factor I might eat was salad—and it received outdated quick.”

With Nearly V’Gan, Reed will guarantee plant-based eaters are by no means made to really feel like an afterthought as they scour menus trying to construct a whole meal out of sides and salads. 

Whereas the restaurant and lounge will serve meat, each dish can have a vegan counterpart. “Every part can have a vegan pairing [at Almost V’Gan],” ​​Reed stated. “So, for each merchandise that comprises meat, there will probably be an analogous meatless choice.” 

The menu at Nearly V’Gan

To assist deliver Nearly V’Gan to life, Reed and Shaw tapped movie star chef—and two-time Meals Community champion—Camerron Dangerfield to craft the vegan-friendly menu. Plant-based prospects can anticipate menu gadgets reminiscent of grilled watermelon salad, smoked jackfruit tacos, and grilled tofu sliders made with contemporary, domestically sourced elements each time doable. 

@cookingwithcam/Instagram

“[Dangerfield] was my first decide,” Desirae Shaw, venture and basic supervisor at Nearly V’Gan, tells VegNews. “He has curated many authentic tasks. He’s helped a number of eating places and lounges with their menus and kitchens. Together with his background, expertise, and accolades—in addition to [our personal friendship]—I belief him.”

By providing each meat-based dishes and a wide range of plant-based choices, Nearly V’Gan is creating an area for discussions about weight-reduction plan decisions amongst its diners. 

“Nearly V’Gan will foster conversations between vegan and non-vegan patrons as a result of the meals will probably be so scrumptious [that] it’s going to invite everybody to strive the vegan dishes, resulting in dialogue about them,” Jarvis Shaw tells VegNews. “The shock issue will make you speak about it.” 

“Our restaurant and lounge [will] bridge the hole between vegan and non-vegan folks so have been are one and open to attempting new issues,” Reed tells VegNews. 

And on the subject of drinks, vegans can have an abundance of choices at Nearly V’Gan. Cincinnati native Donnie Johnson will run the bar program and has already crafted quite a few vegan-friendly drinks—each alcoholic and alcohol-free—assured to appease diners.

Already, Cincinnati locals have embraced Nearly V’Gan for the vegan choices it’s bringing to the town’s downtown district. “Simply alone on social media, so many individuals have inboxed us saying, “Oh my God! [As vegans], we’ve restricted choices,” Desirae Shaw says. “That is going to be so fantastic.”

Set to open in March 2024, Nearly V’Gan is greater than a restaurant—it’s additionally a lounge. Geared towards folks ages 21 and up, the lounge space at Nearly V’Gan will provide bottle service, VIP areas, a patio, and ample music. 

Eating places amp up vegan choices

With its inclusive menu, Nearly V’Gan joins a legion of eating places which have amped up their menus to raised serve a wide range of diets. 

In accordance with the State of the Plant-Primarily based Foodservice report revealed by Plant Primarily based Meals Affiliation (PBFA) earlier this yr, practically half (48.4 p.c) of US eating places now provide plant-based choices; this represents a 62-percent development since 2012. 

For the report, PBFA analyzed information from operators throughout a number of meals service segments together with on-site, quick-service, quick informal, and fine-dining as an example how plant-based meals are being adopted throughout the meals service trade. 

Priscilla du Preez

And at Nearly V’Gan, plant-based meals aren’t simply an addendum, they’re an integral a part of the menu. “A number of the time, once you go to a restaurant and also you’re vegan, there isn’t a [dedicated] menu for you except you go to a strictly [plant-based] restaurant,” Desirae Shaw says. 

By providing a vegan menu replete with inclusive choices, Nearly V’Gan is poised to develop into a social hub. “What I like is that I can socialize with all of my mates [at Almost V’Gan],” Desirae Shaw says. “Nobody must be put ready the place they hardly have something to pick from due to [their dietary needs].”