Lidenwold resident Brennah Lambert said inclusivity was the goal when she decided to start her own mobile vegan meal prep service, LesbiVeggies, three years ago.
The company’s moniker pays homage to Lambert’s identity as a gay business owner. On Feb. 12, she plans to open her first brick-and-mortar location on West Merchant Street in Audobon.
“Representation, inclusivity is super important for me,” Lambert, 23, told NJ Advance Media.
“I think within the vegan community…there’s not a lot of inclusivity…So I’m kind of looking to include as many people as I can in this environment, and kind of just introduce them to something that (may be) foreign to them.”
She called the restaurant’s concept a “genuine expression of who I am.”
The recent Rutgers University-Camden graduate, who started cooking vegan meals a few years ago as a way to improve her diet, said the menu at her new cafe will be plant-based and gluten free, combining elements of healthy eating with a mix of a few common guilty pleasures, like vegan birria tacos, pancakes, and her signature LesbiVeggie rissoto.
“What I like to do is bridge the gap between super clean and healthy — people expect salads and what not — and vegan junk food. I’m kind of like right in the middle,” Lambert said.
In other words, you won’t believe it’s vegan, she said.
“My goal is to have this not be a ‘vegan café’, but more so a place where you come in, and you love the food, and it just so happens to be vegan.”
Vegans don’t eat meat or any products that come from animals, like eggs, milk, and honey. Estimates say about 3% of Americans follow a vegan diet.
In late January, Lambert was still putting the final touches on her new space. It’s a culmination of years of hard work, she said. After years of running the business out of her grandmother’s kitchen, while attending school full-time, Lambert raised enough money through her meal prep service to open her location.
To do so, she said she nearly doubled her production, going from an average of about 15 meals sold a week to over 30.
“I’ve been living kind of like I’m fake broke for the past year, because I knew that this was something that I wanted to do and obviously it’s going to take some savings,” Lambert said. “The meal prep service has definitely been successful, it’s taken me a long way, especially not having a lot of overhead, initially…with rent, wages and things like that.”
While many businesses have closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, said she had a few breaks go her way. Part of the process was turning what used to be an office space, into the dining area and kitchen; repainting the walls and replacing the flooring.
Shaylyn Money, a Camden County resident, said she’s excited for a new vegan dining option in the area, saying it’s hard to find a vegan spot that delivers a variety of food choices. And, she said she likes the eatery’s vibe.
“It’s nice to walk into a place knowing that you’re 100% accepted and safe there,” said Money, who identified as pansexual. “This restaurant opening is going to create a sense of community that is going to make people from all different walks of life feel welcome.”
Patrons dining at LesbiVeggies will be greeted by two large paintings depicting African-American women.
“Decorating this place, how I feel like represents me, is super important,” Lambert said.
“This is like a creative process. Like, this is fun for me. It’s not like I feel like I have to do this. It’s kind of exciting.”
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Tennyson Donyèa may be reached at tcoleman@njadvancemedia.com.
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