The business plan for Kravegan is to make food from scratch, emphasize flavor and create a menu that just happens to be vegan.
“I knew if nonvegans liked it, vegans were going to love it,” said chef and menu creator LaTasha Kaiser.
Kravegan opened July 1 at 1520 Hendricks Ave. in San Marco. Its grand opening is 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 5.
The restaurant started as a small catering business run out of the Jax Kitchen commercial rental kitchen. It then operated from a food truck, moved to the Orange Park Mall food court and now is a sit-down, 2,900-square-foot restaurant that seats 90.
Owners LaTasha and Llewellyn Kaiser closed the 978-square-foot Orange Park location June 24.
Because the menu is from scratch, it is labor intensive. They have 18 full-time and part-time employees.
They put the food truck on hold until Aug. 15 to concentrate on the new restaurant.
Those who follow vegan and plant-based diets abstain from eating animal products, such as meat, dairy, eggs and seafood. Some also avoid honey.
Several items on the menu are smoked. The Smoked Kravyback Ribz are made from jackfruit and mushrooms. The Italian Sausage in the Italian Sausage and Peppers are made with potatoes and cabbage. Smoked Beefless Roast is smoked beets and mushrooms. Nacho Chick’n Tenders are chickpeas.
The menu includes hoagies, tacos, appetizers and a kids menu.
The restaurant serves smoothies, tea, beer and wine and is waiting for a full liquor license.
The couple’s food journey started in 2017 when they worked at Bank of America. A colleague from church encouraged them to watch “What the Health” on Netflix.
The documentary is about the ties between nutrition and health. They were barely done watching when the couple decided to adopt a new lifestyle.
“When it was over, I was ready to make the switch,” LaTasha Kaiser said.
“I looked over to my husband and asked him, ‘What do you think?’ He said he’d be a fool not to agree to do this.”
At first, LaTasha bought prepared vegan food from the grocery store. She found the offerings expensive and not very pleasing.
“I can’t keep buying this stuff. I flipped over the bag and looked at the ingredients. I said to myself, ‘I can make this,’” she said.
She did not attend culinary school, but as a little girl her father taught her how to cook from scratch.
It was her way of life. Creating recipes from a list of ingredients was nothing new.
Becoming a restaurateur was.
The couple, who have four children, made a rather comfortable living. She was up for a promotion. She had four weeks of paid vacation and the usual benefits.
The office had a gym where she started every weekday at 6 a.m.
LaTasha decided to give up that comfortable lifestyle during a long car ride.
“The idea just didn’t budge. So I called my husband and told him I’m supposed to open a small catering company,” she said.
She knew she was on to something while still employed at the bank. She’d take her creations into the office and have coworkers sample the food. Most of the tasters were not vegan or vegetarian. They found the dishes pleasing and she was encouraged by their response, she said.
She started the catering business as a side job in 2018. In spring 2019, the couple set up a tent and portable kitchen at the Riverside Arts Market hoping for additional business.
They sold 120 meals between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“That day we sold out of food. It was crazy madness,” she said.
It cost them about $85,000 to make the restaurant their own. The previous restaurant, Green Erth Bistro, a restaurant that sold vegan options as well as nonvegan meals, suddenly closed in 2021. The owner simply locked the door and turned in the keys.
Left behind was all the furniture, cooking equipment, glasses, plates, utensils and even some food. The Kaisers are using some of the equipment and furniture.
While LaTasha’s dislike of packaged vegan food inspired her new career, she has plans to branch out into that field in a few years.
She already sells several of her sauces at the restaurant and food truck and at Native Sun in Jacksonville Beach. She would like to expand their distribution.
Later, the couple will sell their “meat” products made from vegetables.
She stresses that the entire menu is of her making and is adamant that none of the recipes contain tofu. Instead, she uses combination of vegetables that provide more nutrition than tofu, she said.
“I don’t use tofu in any of the alternative Meatz, as it simply isn’t required.”
A successful restaurant should also have a catchy name
The Kravegan name is a play on words combining “crave” with “vegan.” Replacing the “C” with a “K” is a nod to their last name.