Atlanta’s thriving vegan food scene got its start in the West End’s black communities

Although they are growing in popularity across America, vegan restaurants are not new to many Atlanta communities. Although the city has seen an increase in plant-based restaurants over the past decade, veganism is deeply rooted in the city’s westside neighborhoods and dates back several decades. This is especially true in the West End, where veganism is driven by the relationship between restaurants and customers and an intense need to nourish the community.

After the Civil War, half of the West End’s population was black, largely due to the influx of free black migrants to the area and its proximity to Atlanta University. Established in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, the school would become the first in the country to grant degrees to blacks. In 1988, Atlanta University merged with Clark College to become Clark Atlanta University.

“Atlanta is the cultural and spiritual heart of African-American life,” said Tassili Ma’at, owner of Tassili’s Raw Reality Cafe in the West End. “At the time, the word ‘vegan’ didn’t exist. It was vegetarian. Veganism grew out of the animal rights movement.

“In the 1990s to mid-2000s, the West End had very identifiable and vibrant clusters of diverse religious and spiritual groups involved in the community. Spirituality and culture have become the foundation of a way of life,” she explained. “My goal is to deliciously use food as medicine.”

According to Traci Thomas, founder of the Black Vegetarian Society of Georgia, veganism is at the heart of the West End community as longtime residents strengthen interpersonal connections through education.

“African Americans developed our beautiful and unique culture and history that I think the West End builds on in terms of heritage and culture,” said Spelman College garden specialist and educator Sariyah Benoit. “Thinking about the Black Panther Party and the Free Breakfast Program, this call to feed our community, to serve our community through accessible food and safe spaces where we can consume the food and feel cared for, I think it t’s a heritage that the Occident End cultivates very well.

The Spelman archives contain photos of students growing a garden on campus, Benoit said, including one image taken in front of Giles Hall without a gate. The absence of a gate is significant. This meant the college had a closer connection to the community beyond its campus.

“Any time there is an urban garden, an urban farm and no gate, the community is nourished. It’s not just the students here on this campus, but (the community) that is nourished,” she said.

Related link: Sylvan Hills restaurant Life Bistro keeps regular Joseph Watkins on track as a vegan

The combination of heritage, born of political rebellion, and the consumption of good food can be seen as customers queue and create pockets of safe spaces inside and outside West End restaurants.

Benoit said this is largely reflected in the black communities living in and around the West End, who often share resources, including food. Veganism, grocery co-ops and vegan restaurants in these communities, she said, are “people-focused” and “grassroots solutions” for neighborhoods that are often politically and economically neglected. This neglect often leads to the development of food apartheid within many black neighborhoods.

Founding restaurants like Soul Vegetarian and Tassili’s Raw Reality Café in the West End are more than just places to eat, they function as food justice centers and community spaces. Restaurants like these could also sell books and host educational and political events to engage with area residents.

“Information is shared in the queue while people wait and when they eat at restaurants. They’re all within walking distance of places where people are physically organizing,” Benoit said. “You start talking about housing and gentrification. Then you start talking about politics and not necessarily lobbying, but trying to educate the community with political education.

“It’s a rare part of town where you can walk,” she added. “This ability to walk around, grab food, feed yourself, chat over a meal, all of that is possible in the West End.”

Below, you’ll find three West End vegan restaurants to know about, plus three new Atlanta restaurants to check out, that continue the city’s long-standing vegan food heritage.

Three Vegan West End Restaurants You Should Know

Vegetarian soul #1
879 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, West End

Soul Vegetarian is a staple in the West End community when it comes to vegan food. Opened in 1979 and operating under the auspices of the Jerusalem Hebrew Israelite Community, it originally resided on Peachtree Street before moving to the West End. Here you’ll find everything from vegan pizza and breaded cauliflower to meatless brunches and the restaurant’s signature kalebone, a proprietary protein recipe made with wheat gluten and all-natural spices. There is also a Soul Vegetarian location in Poncey-Highland.

Tassili raw reality café
1059 Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, West End

Tassili’s Raw Reality Café opened in 2011 and quickly became one of the West End’s vegan dining institutions. The restaurant specializes in raw vegan dishes and its main goal is to help guests achieve optimal health through a nourishing diet. Owner Tassili Ma’at’s menu features savory dishes such as kale wraps, kale salads, and other signature raw dishes like Moroccan couscous, vegan pad thai noodles, and curried plantains. If you’re craving something sweet, there’s a Banana Coconut Cream Pie and a Mango Cream Pie for dessert. Fresh juices include carrot, ginger, sorrel and berry blast.

Healthy essence
875 York Avenue, West End

In business since 2008, Princess Dixon and Kwadwo Kephera offer a diverse menu of vegan Caribbean dishes including cooked and raw foods such as goat curry, barbecue tofu, fish brown stew, nori rolls, and more . These dishes are colorful and full of flavor, including curried vegetables and lasagna. Be sure to order a smoothie, fresh sorrel juice or fruit mousse drink to accompany your meal.

Three New-School Vegan Atlanta Restaurants You Should Know

Local Green Atlanta
19 Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard, Vine City

Local Green Atlanta resides in the west side of Vine City, an area of ​​Atlanta considered the birthplace of the civil rights movement. What started as a food truck in 2018 by Atlanta hip-hop industry veteran Zachary “Big Zak” Wallace has morphed into a restaurant serving vegan and vegetarian dishes like barbecued jackfruit sliders , vegan pizzas and a quinoa and mixed greens salad named after the old Atlanta. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom. Part of Wallace’s mission with Local Green is to continue to reduce health disparities and food deserts in underserved communities by providing healthier food choices.

La Vie Bistrot
2036 Sylvan Road, Sylvan Hills

Chef and owner Issa Prescott opened Life Bistro in 2016. The native Atlantan grew up in Sylvan Hills and wanted to offer his neighbors an affordable vegan restaurant with healthier food choices. Life Bistro’s menu includes everything from seafood gumbo made with konjac shrimp and a Philly portobello mushroom to grilled oyster mushroom carbonara and sorrel herbal tea made by local, Black-owned brand Majestea . Later this year, Prescott will open a vegan restaurant in the upcoming Switchman Hall food hall in Peoplestown.

La Semilla
780 Memorial Drive, Reynoldstown

Chef Reid Trapani and Sophia Marchese have made their popular vegan pop-up, Happy Seed, permanent in 2023, opening vegan restaurant La Semilla in Reynoldstown. It has since been considered one of Atlanta’s best new restaurants. Serving a menu of Latin American and Cuban vegan dishes, look for vegan chicken tamales, croquetas de jamon made with seitan ham, and main dishes like bistec de palomilla made with local Lion’s Mane mushrooms. Don’t forget to also order the sikil pak (spicy pumpkin seed and tomato dip) served with tortilla chips and the chochoyotes (masa dumplings with mashed corn). The bar offers classic cocktails, natural and biodynamic wines, local beer and soft drinks. The lively atmosphere and flavor-packed food will keep you coming back again and again. Reservations strongly encouraged.