PETERSBURG, Va. — Petersburg residents have a new option to experience vegan and plant-based meals.
NuVegan Cafe Petersburg is hosting pop-up events this month outside of their new location at 950 S. Sycamore Street from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
The eatery offers soul food alternatives like plant-based pork chops, chicken drummies, shrimp, and crab cakes.
The meat alternatives are in addition to collard greens, sweet potatoes, okra and more.
The restaurant was started by Anthony Guthrie, the former general manager of NuVegan Cafe Richmond, and Vonettia Calloway, organizer for The Black Vegan Experience.
The Progress-Index was first to report about Petersburg’s first, 100-percent vegan cuisine that is woman, minority, and veteran-owned.
“The community has expressed time and time again how Petersburg needs an all vegan restaurant,” Guthrie explained. “We reach the appetite of our ancestors and the appetite of what we grew up in this area.”
Artist Whitney-E. Moates Lewis, who is a veteran, painted a large mural outside of the restaurant with the words “Feed Your Soul, Change the World” emblazoned for drivers and pedestrians to view.
Calloway said their menu offers an opportunity for customers to experience foods they may have never tried before.
“Like myself, I was allergic to shellfish growing up. Now I can have my plant-based food and I'm good. It’s amazing,” she said.
The pop-ups allow the co-owners to raise funds in order to complete renovations inside the restaurant. They expect to seat customers inside during cold temperatures in December.
They aspire to become a community-hub and allow non-profits and other groups to use their space once it’s complete.
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