Starting your own vegan cafe - Alex Sarandis, Sable

Alex Sarandis grew up in a tightknit Greek family, in the western suburbs of Melbourne.

Alex ate a relatively omnivorous diet throughout her teenage years, however she remembers disliking the taste and texture of meat from a young age. In her mid twenties, Alex questioned why she was forcing herself to eat meat and from that point, she started removing animal products from her diet.  Shortly after, Alex and her brother Jonathan watched Gary Yourofsky videos and made the decision to go vegan.

Alex has worked in the hospitality industry since she was 16, working in cafes after school and during her university study. She studied a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Professional Writing and Literature and then conducted post graduate study in Early Childhood Teaching. After finishing her studies, Alex worked as a Kindergarten teacher for a few years.

Alex was not satisfied with her chosen career path and after quitting her job, she fell back into hospitality. Having realised she was truly happy in the industry, Alex proposed the idea of opening their own vegan cafe to her partner Matt and brother Jonathan. The idea for Sable was spoken into existence over the following months, sharing ideas, concepts and research.

Sable, a New York inspired vegan cafe opened in March 2020 and has gone from strength to strength, despite opening within a few weeks of a global pandemic. Sable is spreading it's wings, with a larger, second location opening in Thornbury in April 2022. Alex, Jonathan and Matt hope to be able to build the business enough to give back to animals and their vegan community.

In this episode, Alex shares advice for starting your very own vegan business, ignoring the negative self talk and pivoting during COVID19.

https://www.instagram.com/alexandrasarandis/
https://www.instagram.com/sable_org/
https://sable.org.au/