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Grace Affeltranger cares about your well being and well-being. So on March 2, 2020, she opened Botanical Vegan Café & Market in Aspinwall.
Her plan was to promote nutrient-rich meals and drinks to fellow plant lovers and supply a bar-like ambiance the place they may mingle with mocktails. Her proximity to UPMC St. Margaret was a boon to enterprise.
You don’t should sacrifice your well being to be social, she thought.
The pandemic modified that mentality.
Affeltranger overhauled her plan and spent many of the pandemic flying solo behind the counter at 209 Business Ave. in Aspinwall. Traditionally, the placement has all the time housed some kind of juice bar however didn’t provide sufficient wholesome bites to associate with the drinks.
Photograph courtesy of Botanical Vegan Café and Market.
Her menu, which can also be gluten- and nut-free, boasts recent juices, smoothies, frozen bowls, pictures, parfaits, botanical spritzers, hummus, soups, salads and varied sorts of toast. Prospects can even benefit from seasonal specials and top off on packaged merchandise, similar to oil, vinegar, olives and plant-based jerky and sweets.
The cabinets and coolers are stocked with many native manufacturers, together with Café Chocolade’s sunflower-based cheeses. Vegan, gluten-free charcuterie boards are a giant hit.
The area itself is full of as many leafy greens as there are on the menu, like a jungle oasis within the coronary heart of Aspinwall.
“I like entertaining,” Affeltranger says. “That’s what I like most about having a retailer. It’s enjoyable to have folks over, discuss to them and really feel good whereas doing it.”
You don’t should flash a vegan membership card to enter Botanical Café. People who’re on the fence about altering their consuming habits are welcome to cease by for recommendation, not lectures. They don’t have to vary their way of life, simply add more healthy eats to their regular routine.
Affeltranger tells skeptics to think about their physique is a brand-new Porche after which asks them if they’d fill the gasoline tank with 87 octane or premium gasoline?
Photograph courtesy of Botanical Vegan Café and Market.
Affeltranger grew up in Sewickley and her mom took a really holistic strategy to well being. Veggies have been revered for his or her energy-boosting and restorative powers. Whereas her buddies have been chowing down on Blissful Meals from McDonald’s (and feeling sluggish afterward), Affeltranger was studying books on antioxidants and strain factors.
Affeltranger went to varsity in Chicago after which moved to Nashville, the place she managed a well-liked juice bar.
Impressed to open her personal store, she moved again to Pittsburgh, a metropolis that’s slowly warming as much as veganism.
Along with opening a enterprise in a pandemic yr, Affeltranger additionally misplaced her mom — and largest supporter — in 2020. About to turn out to be a mother herself, she’s dedicated now greater than ever to serving to folks discover happiness via plant-based meals.
Search for Botanical Café pop-ups round city at gyms, yoga studios and farmers’ markets and on the Pittsburgh VegFest on Aug. 21.
Within the close to future, Affeltranger will open a bigger location that can be extra aligned together with her authentic plan of making an alcohol-free lounge surroundings full with bartenders slinging vitamin pictures as a substitute of whiskey and servers delivering nourishing fare.
“I simply need to provide folks a spot the place they really feel welcome, can ask questions and take a look at new issues,” she says.
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