Suggestions on being a vegan-friendly restaurant

I thought a bit about the title of this post. I kept going back to wanting to take the word vegan out of it. Most of my suggestions would make any restaurant more guest-friendly. As I am vegan and hope to have more friendly dining experiences at non-vegan restaurants, I finally decided to keep the title as it is.

We have our favorite restaurants and still find ourselves going to new places (new for us) as we find out about a place through friends or online.

If you own a restaurant, manage a restaurant, or have any interest in making a particular restaurant more friendly to potential diners, you might find this list helpful. These are obviously only my opinions, and they are based on how I want to feel when dining out.

If you don't care about vegan cuisine or about having a great place for vegan customers, or if your restaurant is already filled every day and night and you are already as profitable as you want to be, then there is no need to read this.

Here we go!

First, and this one is so important, please, please, please have your entire staff trained on the menu. If someone serving me food doesn't know what is in the food, I become concerned. If it is impossible for your entire staff to know if a dish is vegan or not, then I suggest an ingredients book that they can look at to see if a particular dish is vegan. This is also very helpful with allergies and folks who eat gluten-free. My dining experience becomes so much better when I can trust the server, and a server trained around all of the menu items is one I can trust.

Cream is not vegan. Nor is half-n-half. Training all staff on what is vegan is incredibly helpful. Even better is marking any items that are vegan or that can be prepared vegan. So helpful.

Keep your bathrooms clean. Seriously.

If at all possible, post your menu online. If you have an incredibly popular vegan dish on the menu, let people know that.

Back to training. I am quite comfortable being vegan. I don't talk about it all of the time. I mention it in a restaurant because I want to ensure I can get my dish prepared vegan. I'm not interested in if the server had been vegan, if the server loves cheese, or if the server can't imagine being vegan. This is my dining experience, not theirs.

Unfortunately many vegans have had so much bad luck with ordering vegan, being very clear, and then getting a dish with dairy or some meat stock in it. The result is that they tell the serve they are allergic to dairy, or meat, or whatever. I'd love a restaurant that because of a well-trained staff this was not necessary.

I am vegan. This simply means that I do not eat animal flesh or any by-product of an animal. Including honey. I do not have a restrictive diet. If asked by a server if I have any food restrictions I will typically say that I do not want any crappy food, that I prefer fresh, creative dishes. That's my only restriction. Of course for those folks who have a real allergy (Mike is allergic to almonds) then this is where one would inform the server of the allergy.

Kindness rules. Unkind people should not be hosts or servers. Period.

There you have it. I guarantee that if your restaurant considers what I have just written here, you will not only increase your customer base but you will inevitably delight those same people.

Thanks for reading!

Interview with Stephanie Redcross of Vegan Mainstream!

Colorado Springs is the next stop for Stephanie Redcross and Vegan Mainstream for their Vegan Professional Boot Camp! I am so excited that Stephanie is bringing her magic to Colorado and giving the opportunity for vegan and vegan friendly business folk to learn so much about business, marketing and many other items that can help in being successful.

I had the awesome opportunity to speak with Stephanie and ask her a few questions. Before I get to that, please check out her site with all of the information you need about the upcoming boot camp in Colorado Springs on May31st: http://veganprofessionalbootcamps.com/project/colorado-springs-co/

This boot camp is listed as an action-packed learning symposium for existing and aspiring vegan professionals! I love that. Looking over the list of presenters I see names of people I know will be able to give attendees so much information and insight on so many levels.

Lastly, before we get to the interview, I have been in the position in my life where I really wanted to attend something that would support my goals and found myself not being able to afford it. If you are a blog reader of ours, find yourself really wanting to go to this boot camp knowing that this could benefit you and those you help in the future but it's not in your budget right now, and agree with our principles of making the world a better place for all living beings and being a voice for all of the voiceless, then send me a private email to vegandude@msn.com I will pick one scholarship of those that connect with me.

Now to my conversation with Stephanie! Stephanie is the managing director of Vegan Mainstream. Vegan Mainstream provides marketing solutions to vegan and vegetarian businesses, as well as to those interested in incorporating more mindful practices and products into their brand. I haven't met her in person but I grinned the entire time speaking with her. Her kindness overflows and her knowledge of marketing and business came across to me immediately.

Where do you see the biggest challenges in regards to vegan/vegan friendly businesses and their use of social media?

Two fold: one is reaching deep into the vegan community but also being open enough to pull in folks who are in a transition stage. We feel comfortable talking with vegans, but not so much those who are not there yet. How do I maintain my ethics and at same time create community/space that feels welcoming.

 

What was the most surprising thing you learned from an attendee at one of your boot camps?

From Dill Ward in Portland, OR : We forget to invest in ourselves as an asset in our business. We see ourselves as the free employee. See yourself as something valuable: pay, training, well being.

I have read all about your boot camps and think they would be wonderful for the non-vegan business who wants to do business with more vegans. What is one suggestion you would make to such a person?

Spend some time in the community. Go to meet ups. Go to your local veg fest. Understand the language and priorities. Don’t go by what you think the need is or by a stereotype.

Do you believe vegan businesses can wear their activism on their sleeve?

No. They have to be very careful. I believe there should be a separation between your business and your personal activism; you want your business to be on its own. If it’s separate, you can make a clear decision about donating or something like that. You don’t want to make decisions that are more for a non-profit when you are a for profit business. Make a very successful business then you can make all sorts of decisions to support your activism. Freedom of time gives you the chance to do more.

In all of your travels, what city surprised you the most with vegan food options or the best vegan food you have had?

DC was surprising to me. I grew up in Philly so have been many times as a child. What impressed me the most last year was so many vegan/veg options at places that were not classified as veg or vegan. Healthy stores had vegan options unlike other cities. Lots of options on menus.  Every place we were we were able to find vegan options. Multiple options. Flavorful dishes and dishes you would get really excited about.

For your Professional Vegan Boot camps, are they focused on the same learning topics or to you change them based on the geographical location?

We change them and always have local speakers. This helps us to have different topics and we can talk about local support.

Who tops the list of people that inspire you and why?

Seth Godin. Love his stuff. I love it because he’s not a typical author/marketing geek. He has charted out his own path in life and he is not a typical guy. I am very trail blazing, if you can believe it you can do it. I like how he cares about people. I like people who care about people, customers they serve in their business.  And he’s funny. He has a “get it done” attitude.

Thanks for reading!