In February, Brennah Lambert, the 23-year-old owner of vegan meal-prep and catering service LesbiVeggies, will open a vegan café in Audubon, NJ. Lambert started LesbiVeggies three years ago after a family member looking to lose weight asked her to cook for them. The word about her cooking spread and soon more people were asking Lambert to prepare meals for them. Since then, LesbiVeggies has grown in popularity and paved the way for Lambert to open a brick-and-mortar café—which has been her dream. In an effort to help cover the costs of opening the location, Lambert launched a GoFundMe campaign and has thus far raised more than $1,800 of her $5,000 goal.
Promoting inclusivity
An important part of Lambert’s business is highlighting her queer and Black identity to promote inclusivity and so customers within those communities feel welcomed. And as a vegan, she feels a Black-owned vegan business can inspire the Black community to try vegan food. “In the Black community, I feel like a lot of people think that plant-based food is something you really have to shy away from,” Lambert told media outlet Courier Post. “So I think that me owning this business and me putting that out there is kind of like a stepping stone for the Black community to take, like, ‘okay now we can identify with this.’”
Expanding meal offerings
At the café, Lambert plans to offer new and classic vegan and gluten-free dishes, similar to the recipes she creates for her meal-delivery service, such as eggplant parmesan, cheesy black bean quesadillas, and lemon-pepper cauliflower wings. LesbiVeggies will continue to offer meal delivery services as the café opens for business. Once open, the café will offer takeout and indoor and outdoor dining (following COVID restrictions).
This post was originally published on VegNews.com.
