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Home » Diets that Work » Dec. 9 – The Rooted Vegan sets roots in downtown Angola – FW Business

ANGOLA If youve ever been to the Steuben County Farmers Market, youve likely seen the black-and-white logo of The Rooted Vegan, a food brand with vegan selections made by Craig and Kristi Collins.

The Collinses have frequented the farmers market since beginning the brand last summer and have now expanded to a year-round operation with an official storefront in downtown Angola at 30 N. Public Square.

While they only had baked goods available at the farmers market, the Collinses are now able to provide meals and drinks all vegan.

We started it because of the lack of vegan options in town, Kristi said. Were vegan ourselves and thought theres got to be other people who are as well and have the same struggles, but it turned into so much more than that. There are so many people that have allergies or illnesses or whatever it may be that limits their diets in so many different ways, and we can accommodate that even.

The Collinses chose to go vegan three years ago after Kristi experienced a foot injury. Recovery was not going as she had hoped, and after being recommended a vegan diet and researching its effectiveness, she decided to give it a shot.

I was really skeptical, but there was tons of research out there that supported it, Kristi said. I thought, what have I got to lose? Im suffering from this, and nothing else that I was doing was working. So we made that change, and within about two weeks, the injury was gone and it hasnt returned.

Making the decision to switch diets may have been simple, but actually implementing a vegan lifestyle proved to be not quite so easy.

When we started, there were very limited options in the area as far as going out to eat. Even going grocery shopping was difficult. We had to go to Fort Wayne most of the time. It was the closest that we could find a lot of the products that we were eating or cooking with, Kristi said. As we decided that we were going to stick with it, the frustration that we felt with not having options locally grew.

The Collinses often had to visit stores like Fresh Thyme in Fort Wayne that offered satisfying substitutions for meals and experimental cooking.

Last summer, they decided to make the leap and create a local vegan option for themselves and anyone else who might benefit from it.

A lot of other restaurants in town, I think, are starting to accommodate more of those situations, but it may be one or two options that theyre limited to. Where here, they can come in, and everythings available to them, Kristi said. Theres people who have allergies to dairy or to eggs or to a lot of things, and they find they can come in here and they dont have to worry about running into any of those ingredients or the possibility of cross contamination because we dont even have them in the building. So theyre safe to eat anything.

While the Collinses had never owned a restaurant before, theyre not entirely unfamiliar with the culinary business. Kristi has almost 25 years in the food industry, and growing up in a family of 16 brothers and sisters, Craig had plenty of experience cooking with his mother. As such, Kristi handles most of the stores operations while Craig puts his skills to the test back in the kitchen.

Through trial and error, the Collinses have curated a menu of vegan options that can appeal to a variety of diets.

Yes, its different, but at the same time, we want the average person to be able to walk in and feel comfortable eating anything, Kristi said. We really go all out on developing our recipes, and if its not similar to what we would have had prior to being vegan, then we dont want it in here.

Kristi and Craig have found vegan substitutes for commonly used foods such as cheese, eggs and meat that retain the same texture, but a little creativeness is required to get the taste to match as well.

A lot of it comes down to just knowing the seasonings and spices and what will give it that authentic taste, Kristi said. We add ingredients to get that natural taste that somebody off the street who isnt vegan, when they come, they would say it tastes just like the real thing.

Many curious passersby have found the store already since it opened in late October, and regulars have started to migrate to the shopfront since the farmers market closed for the year.

The Collinses may have moved on from the market, but they are still grateful for the experience and people they met while there.

We didnt really know that there were people out there struggling with that kind of situation until we went to the farmers market and started meeting these people, Craig said.

The market helped establish an initial clientele with both locals and tourists who only stayed during the summer months and were looking for more diverse food options in the area.

They found out that we were at the market, so we were seeing people from Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Craig said.

Even further than that, Kristi added. We had some I would call them regulars throughout the summer that lived in Arizona and some that lived out in California. This stuff is common there, but here, when they come, they cant find it.

Many of the downtown Angola businesses have also been showing their support for The Rooted Vegan long before the shops opening, whether by purchasing something or passing on the name by word of mouth or simply encouraging the Collinses to pursue their goals.

Now with their own storefront, Craig and Kristi are excited to work with the other businesses on equal footing and contribute to the vibrancy of downtown Angola.

I want to increase the life of downtown, Craig said. Its beautiful down here, and we want to add to everybody else.

Of course, everybody wants their own business to succeed, but ultimately, their goal is, lets work together so that we all can succeed, Kristi said. We couldnt ask for or have dreamed of a better location, not only because of the traffic, obviously, but just the support from all the other businesses around. Its been overwhelmingly amazing, and we appreciate it so much.

For more information about The Rooted Vegan or to follow the shops daily updates, visit The Rooted Vegan on Facebook.

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Dec. 9 - The Rooted Vegan sets roots in downtown Angola - FW Business

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Home » Diets that Work » Dec. 9 – The Rooted Vegan sets roots in downtown Angola – FW Business