We had a bookstore in Brooklyn in the early 2000s, and we opened a small cafe in the back that served some vegan dishes.
We later had a very successful small Vegan restaurant in Kansas City a few years ago; it was called Cafe Seed. It was the only 100% Vegan restaurant in the entire city at the time. We got rave reviews and were the first Restaurant featured on KCPT’s ‘Check Please.
We relocated to Chicago and planned on opening the same restaurant but we unfortunately entered a commercial lease with a corrupt property holdings company. They forged some work permits, failed to meet several dead-lines, their workers kept stealing our materials and equipment, and eventually during the build-out of the commercial kitchen the city placed a stop work order because of the forged construction permits that the company posted.
We just didn’t understand how shit was done in Chicago back then, and got burned at every turn. We know now though. LOL!
It was really a mess. All the money we shaved and earned from our previous restaurant went to lawyers, suing the property owners for breach of contract. After it was all over, we were freed from the 5 year lease, but our resources for securing another commercial space was exhausted.
We so some occasional catering and wholesaling while we save up to secure a new restaurant. We are working hard to get the restaurant opened here in Chicago, but it’s slow coming.
