Vegan / Vegetarian restaurant in Stafford?

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
We need a vegetarian restaurant. A lot of veg*ns like to eat in places where there is no meat. To my knowledge, there is nowhere like that in the whole county - let alone the town...



Admin Edit: Moved all discussion of vegetarian/vegan restaurants to a new thread.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
We need a vegetarian restaurant. A lot of veg*ns like to eat in places where there is no meat. To my knowledge, there is nowhere like that in the whole county - let alone the town...

There's plenty of premises available to test out the theory.....

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tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Surely at least one of the lentil munchers has the funds to start a place? I'd never start a business that excludes* a huge chunk of its customer base from the offset, but that's because I don't see it as a venture that would work. You need to find a vegan that is willing to open a restaurant rather than try to convince other restaurants to go vegan, I can't see it happening otherwise. Good luck to anyone giving it a go though.


* Yes, exclude. When a group eat out you try to find somewhere that everyone will be able to eat something they like, a vegan restaurant may be an option on a rare occasion but most of the time someone will want meat. Saying they don't need meat is like saying vegans don't need not to eat meat, it is a personal choice.
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
Surely at least one of the lentil munchers has the funds to start a place? I'd never start a business that excludes* a huge chunk of its customer base from the offset, but that's because I don't see it as a venture that would work. You need to find a vegan that is willing to open a restaurant rather than try to convince other restaurants to go vegan, I can't see it happening otherwise. Good luck to anyone giving it a go though.


* Yes, exclude. When a group eat out you try to find somewhere that everyone will be able to eat something they like, a vegan restaurant may be an option on a rare occasion but most of the time someone will want meat. Saying they don't need meat is like saying vegans don't need not to eat meat, it is a personal choice.
The thing about a restaurant is you're just going there to eat one meal, are you seriously suggesting there are people out there who eat meat for every single meal of every single day and cannot live otherwise? Unfortunately, if I smell or see meat it makes me feel upset/and or sick. If an omnivore smells or sees vegetarian food it is unlikely to make them feel sick and I cannot imagine that it would make them feel upset.

You're right it is a personal choice, and I generally choose not to eat out in Stafford for this reason. I also order some of my groceries from online veg*n stores because I get more variety and I don't have to walk past the aisles full of the results of non-human animals being killed or otherwise cruelly taken advantage of.

I don't mind if people choose to eat that shit, I have many friends who eat meat and I'm not one to talk because until about 5-6 years ago I ate it myself, but I don't want it in my face (or the same room as me) - especially when I'm sat down to eat.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Having principles is fine, expecting others to adopt them is not. I regularly bemoan the cider situation in Stafford, but can't afford to open my own pub. Therefore I complain, I avoid places that sell crap and I support places that don't. Slowly it seems to be working, two pubs I used to like but stopped visiting have reversed their crap cider decisions and now sell something I like, even the hungry horse have got a bottle in. I've visited the railway more times in the past week than in the past 2 years!

Support the places you want to thrive, none can exist without our support. More importantly though tell a bad place why you aren't a customer, many fold without ever knowing why so give them a chance to change. Ultimately though none of us spend enough to keep a place going, so they have to act in common interest.
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
Support the places you want to thrive, none can exist without our support. More importantly though tell a bad place why you aren't a customer, many fold without ever knowing why so give them a chance to change. Ultimately though none of us spend enough to keep a place going, so they have to act in common interest.

THERE ARE NO PLACES. The nearest totally vegetarian takeaway that I know of is in Wolverhampton, the nearest restaurant is probably in Birmingham.

I personally know at least 4 other vegans in Stafford, as well as others in Staffordshire who may well make the journey because there's feck all in the rest of the county - that's not including the many vegetarians. In fact I know someone in North Staffordshire who is currently looking for such a place for a party. A lot of people actually prefer to eat vegetarian, and for those who are allergic/intolerant to eggs/dairy having a vegetarian restaurant that caters for vegans means that they are more likely to be able to answer any questions about the content of the food. Not to mention that vegetarianism and veganism are GROWING, so it is likely that there will be more customers in future and if there is somewhere for vegetarians to eat that is more suited to their concerns then that will promote the idea further, meaning that more people may become veg*n as a result and frequent the place more often.

Now feck off with your pathetic "everyone wants bacon" attitude.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I never said everyone wants bacon, I said refusing to sell meat will put off a lot of customers. Stafford can't even support a Mexican restaurant and I love Mexican food, yet we have a surprising amount of Indian restaurants that thrive. A lot of Indians are vegetarian themselves or eat meat rarely, yet the vegetarian options are fairly insignificant when compared to the carnivorous. To me that says they know what sells around here.

Who knows, maybe one day Stafford will get a vegan restaurant, but you need someone to both want and be able to afford to open it. You're in the same boat as me with my cider I'm afraid, I'm happy to find a single option in a pub and will likely never see an actual cider pub in this town.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
THERE ARE NO PLACES. The nearest totally vegetarian takeaway that I know of is in Wolverhampton, the nearest restaurant is probably in Birmingham.

Likewise I can't get a good selection of ciders in Stafford, the nearest decent bar is Birmingham.
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
I know I'd love a veggie or vegan restaurant and would definately support one. Last summer we were in Krakow in Poland, hardly a nation known for it's vegetarian cuisine but we had multiple vegetarian and vegan restaurants available to us to eat in every day, and the food was excellent. So why can't Stafford support a decent restaurant for those who prefer not to eat meat or be in the proximity of it when eating?
 

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
Stafford isn't big enough to support such a minority restaurant.

It can barely support anything right now.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
But as stated earlier eating in a group means finding somewhere everyone wants to eat. People nearly always play it safe, hence me going out for a curry again tonight at Narvana as it was a work mates birthday. The minority can't support you, and it takes a brave person to open a minority restaurant with no previous examples to take lessons from. If I were to open a pub I'd still sell lager and bitter, I'd never go just cider as too many people don't drink it and don't want a sweet drink (irrespective of the fact most aren't, its what they perceive). Likewise I'd be amazed if someone went for a fully vegan restaurant, I'd wholeheartedly support them in spirit but I also doubt I'd eat there often as I nearly always eat in a group and therefore try to cater for everyone. Thats the problem, losing a customer base before they've even entered.

I'd love to see someone try it, it may well take off if the food is good and not merely vegan, but I wouldn't risk my own livelihood on the idea.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
It provides things everyone can eat yes, but in no way can it provide what everyone wants to eat as some people will want meat just like some people want a curry.

If there are that many who see it as a viable business have you ever looked at crowd funding? Only way I can see it happening if none of you can afford it, if a dozen people threw in a few grand each you'd be able to get off the ground.
 

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
The thing is it's not a minority establishment. Meat eaters can eat there too!
Yes of course it doesn't exclude anyone but how many people wouldn't go to a vegetarian restaurant because it didn't give them the choice of having meat?

It wouldn't stop me but I guess it would stop lots of people. There are a lot of people who don't see vegetarian meals as "proper" food purely because no meat is offered.
 

Lunar Scorpion

Anarchy in the UK
Yes of course it doesn't exclude anyone but how many people wouldn't go to a vegetarian restaurant because it didn't give them the choice of having meat?

It wouldn't stop me but I guess it would stop lots of people. There are a lot of people who don't see vegetarian meals as "proper" food purely because no meat is offered.

Their loss. It's not my fault they've never educated themselves on human nutrition.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
'their loss' is yours if you have a vegan restaurant.

Humans are omnivorous, I'm not even sure we can live healthily on a 100% local vegan diet without supplements? Of course we can fly food in from around the globe but it's hardly a natural diet, I'd rather eat a local pig than an Israeli vegetable. Otherwise vegans would rarely need to shop, they could grow everything in their gardens and greenhouses surely?
 
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