Souley Vegan

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Souley Vegan
Vegan soul food
Dress codeCasual
Other locations4
Websitesouleyvegan.com

Souley Vegan is a

vegan soul food restaurant group based in Oakland, California in the United States. Their only remaining location closed in October 2023, although the owner intends to reopen elsewhere.[1] Their flagship restaurant was in Oakland. The restaurant group is owned by chef-founder Tamearra Dyson. They had additional locations, which have since closed, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco
.

History

Tamearra Dyson opened Souley Vegan in Oakland in 2009.[2][3] Dyson, a single mother attending nursing school while working in healthcare, has been vegan since she was seventeen. She began cooking vegan food for the general public at a local farmers market in 2006. In 2009, she quit her healthcare job and opened Souley Vegan in West Oakland.[4] She completely funded the opening herself without investors. To this day, Souley Vegan remains solely funded by the business itself, no investors.[3] Dyson's made her mission to educate the Black community on how to eat healthfully. Initially, Souley Vegan's guests were 95% white. As of 2020, 60% of her customers are Black.[4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area in early 2020, which called for the closure of in-house dining for restaurants across the region, Souley Vegan saw a 70% decline in business.[3]

In July 2020, Dyson announced that she would open three take out and delivery restaurants in California, specifically in

West Hollywood, San Francisco, and a second Oakland location.[5] The San Francisco and East Hollywood locations opened in August 2020, and a second Oakland location opened in September 2020.[3] The following year, in September 2021, Dyson shared that she would open a sister restaurant, The Back Porch, behind her flagship Souley Vegan in Oakland. The Back Porch serves cocktails and upscale vegan Cajun food.[6]

The Back Porch never opened, and the Oakland location closed in October 2023. [1]

Architecture and design

The flagship Souley Vegan, at 301 Broadway in

Italianate style.[7]

Cuisine

Souley Vegan specializes in

collard greens.[4]

Souley Vegan makes all their own vegan sauces, proteins and cheeses. All of their food is natural, with no additives. Produce is sourced from local, Black-owned farm Acta Non Verba Farms.[4]

Reception

In 2021,

Check, Please! Bay Area.[2][9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b >"After 14 Years, Oakland's Souley Vegan Closes Permanently". SF Eater. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "How Oakland's Souley Vegan Became a Soul Food Empire". VegNews. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Phillips, Justin (8 August 2020). "Oakland staple Souley Vegan is doing a big expansion across California — in ghost kitchens". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Petre, Holly (28 August 2020). "Tamearra Dyson's Souley Vegan makes healthful food friendly, familiar and affordable". Restaurant Hospitality. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b Axworthy, Nicole (21 July 2020). "Oakland's Iconic Black-Owned Souley Vegan to Open Three New Locations". VegNews. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  6. ^ La Ninfa, Erin (2 September 2021). "Owner of Souley Vegan to Open Upscale Vegan Cajun Restaurant in Oakland". VegOut. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  7. ^ Jones, Carolyn (1 April 2014). "Oakland location makes history, along with dinner". SFGATE. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  8. ^ Beck, Laura (28 April 2011). "Souley Vegan's Toasty Crispy". Eater SF. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Check, Please! Bay Area reviews: Z & Y Restaurant, Pausa, Souley Vegan". KQED. Retrieved 25 December 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Souley_Vegan&oldid=1190320006"