Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Tuscaloosa and Northport!
Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Nourishing Community at Veganish with Yasmin Rosier
When life handed Yasmin Rosier lemons, she made lemonade—or rather, she created Veganish, a plant-based café that's become Tuscaloosa's go-to spot for reimagined Southern comfort food. From surviving a stroke at the tender age of 23 to transforming a cozy dog bandana boutique into a culinary haven for vegans and flexitarians alike, Yasmin's journey is nothing short of remarkable. Sit back and savor the story of how her passions for photography, travel, and sustainable living are infused in every aspect of Veganish, where nourishment meets flavor in an eco-friendly embrace.
Venture with us to the heart of University Boulevard, where the doors of Vegan-ish swing open to a world of warmth and a community bonded over delectable plant-based meals. Yasmin's infectious spirit and dedication to kind, impactful living are the cornerstones of this local gem, which stands as a testament to the vibrancy of small businesses that dot our neighborhoods. So pull up a chair and prepare to be inspired by the soulful narrative of Veganish, where good food and great company are always on the menu. And should you find yourself with a cherished local spot in mind, our ears are always open at the Good Neighbor podcast Northport, where we celebrate the stories that make our community shine. #GNPNorthport #Veganish #Vegan #Pescatarian #Flexitarian #Vegetarian #TuscaloosaRestaurant #Restaurant #Foodie #PlantBased #EcoFriendly #HealthyEating #EatLocal #Tuscaloosa
This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Patricia Blondheim.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor podcast. I'm your host, patricia Blondheim, and today we have Good Neighbor Yasmin Rosear. Yasmin is the owner of Veganish, a restaurant here on University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa. Yasmin, how are you this morning?
Speaker 3:Good, I'm well. Thank you for having me, Patricia. Yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm doing great and I'm excited. I stopped in at Veganish and was excited to see what you're doing there, so I want you to tell me all about it.
Speaker 3:Okay, hello, veganish is a plant-based cafe. We specialize in Southern comfort food or traditional comfort foods, but healthier versions of that. So we provide food for flexitarians, which are people who sometimes eat meat, pescatarians, who eat fish, vegetarians and, of course, vegans. We opened in August 8th of last year, so we've been open a little bit over a year now and we're doing really well here. So, yeah, our atmosphere is very feminine forward. As you can see, the wallpaper in the back has a little island flare, which goes with our food style. We have street food here, if you will, but we have burgers, tacos, pizza, salads, all of the good. But one of the things that would be like our top sellers would be like our smoothies. So we have like a vibe standing with the traditional strawberry coconut smoothie. It's similar to the Hailey Bieber smoothie, but yeah, we have really good stuff here.
Speaker 2:See, this is how uncool I am.
Speaker 3:I don't even know what a Hailey Bieber smoothie is yeah, she's an influencer, so it's an influencer smoothie.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you caught me unaware on that one, but obviously this is your life, right? Yeah, Introducing people to a plant-based diet is your life. Tell me about your journey. How did you get there?
Speaker 3:Originally, I had a stroke when I was 23, so that motivated me to open something a little bit more healthy. There was a need for it too, and that's exclusive because I can only, off the top of my head. I know of like two or three other locations here that offer somewhat healthier options, and I felt that our community was lacking. So after the stroke I said, why not? You know you probably be on Tuesday and that's what I like to live by. So I saw the opportunity for it and created it, and originally it was a bandana. The concept was supposed to be like a bandana boutique, dog bandana boutique and it morphed into me adding smoothie bowls and then a plant-based eatery and then vegan issues was born.
Speaker 2:So yeah, but vegan issues was born out of bandanas. Yes, it makes a lot of sense, so yeah, that is one of the squiggly lines I've ever heard here, yeah, but I think that's great the way you just you felt your way into it. You felt the need, you took the time to think about it, you took the time to measure what a person's, what this city's response to it is going to be, and then you were brave enough to open it. So I think that's marvelous.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, there are a lot of people who don't know about plant-based diets here. Yeah, and not because they don't want to. Yeah, because it's just not available. So can we address some misconceptions about, I guess, plant-based diets, or maybe just about what you come across when you're standing at the counter at Veganish?
Speaker 3:Well, I named Veganish to be exactly what it is Vegan-like and most people they just stop at Vegan and don't even see the ish part. So we do have proteins on our menu we have salmon, we have bacon, we have chicken. So we wanted this to be an inclusive space, but also for that community of vegans who do it because of health reasons, not necessarily ethical reasons, providing something for them. But vegan food does have flavor. That's the biggest misconception that it's mostly plant. But I promise you we season our food very well here. If anything, we oversees it. So, yeah, it's good for you, good for the planet, good for the environment. Yeah, we also practice eco-friendly practices here. So we turn off the lights in the bathroom, we use biodegradable products, so we have all those things going for us. So, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2:So good for you and good for the planet. Yeah, so aren't we all concentrated on that now? I mean that we all realize that we have an impact.
Speaker 3:Yes, I think if you get a splinter in your hand I always like to miss anything A splinter even though it's so small, it has the biggest impact on you because you fill it. So, whether you are replacing meat for fruit and veggies or going eco-friendly and just using reusable tote bags, that small impact makes the largest difference, and I think that's important for future generations to realize that we aren't do it for yourself and do it for others, or just be a kind human.
Speaker 2:Well, I agree, is there? Do you ever have time outside of being a restaurateur to have fun? What do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:I enjoy hanging with my friends. I really love photography or just taking iPhone photos. I love traveling. I plan to go out of the country this year or next year, but Love the Beach, which obviously, again, this place was inspired by Miami, which is where my dad is from, so a little beach vibe, so I love the water, even though I'm now five hours away from it. I created a little beach moment in Tuscaloosa, so yeah, Well, what about something formative that happened?
Speaker 2:I think you mentioned that you had a stroke. You of course, brushed past it like it was nothing, like every 20-something has a stroke, right yeah? So I guess this might. I don't want to direct you if you've got another thing you want to talk about, but let's talk about a hardship, Something that has made you.
Speaker 3:Well, I guess the stroke I had to mature really fast With. Having had that, I was temporarily paralyzed on the right side of my body, had to learn how to walk, how to read, learn how to speak. I was Basically trapped in my body like I couldn't verbally speak, or like I knew what I want to say in my mind, but getting the words out I couldn't. So it's frustrating for me. I'm a car and a brave buddy around me and at that point I just shut down. And Once I got out of that I realized I never wanted to experience that again. For one, I wanted to bring awareness to it. For two, and I wanted to help people create healthier lives for themselves so they'd never have to experience what I experienced.
Speaker 2:I think that's wonderful and I found. There are quite a few entrepreneurs out there who Develop, develop their offering to this city based on Something that has happened to them, like their darkest moment Became their gift. Yeah to everyone else, and so you join a what I think is a very elite club here of People who do it for for all the right reasons, thank you. So what? What's the one thing you want to leave our listeners with about vegan ish before we go?
Speaker 3:Well, one, our location. We're located on the 22nd and University. I Would like to say that Don't be intimidated by the term vegan ish. It's for everybody, the concepts for everybody. Although we're very small, it's very homie in here. We the tables are relatively close together for communicative purposes and to create gatherings and among people you don't even know, strangers even, but just that conversation. It's a conversation space is also lgbt plus a friendly space. So we encourage, you know it's a safe space for everybody who wants to visit us.
Speaker 2:So yeah, so a safe place, a healthy place.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and a place for community right, yeah, yes, that's all we are.
Speaker 2:So tell our listeners how they can contact you.
Speaker 3:They can for one hour. I keep saying for one. But our Instagram Hello the vegan ish market. Our email Hello at the vegan ish market. On our website that, the veganshmarketcom. But yeah, also, our phone number is 205 248. Sorry, no, it's not too great, it's 205 454. 2144 is our number. So, yeah, just reach out if you have any catering inquiries or anything like that. I'm pleased to be email, but I look forward to serving you guys and bringing something really healthy to this community.
Speaker 2:Or just stop by vegan ish on University Boulevard and chances are you'll find Yasmin right there at the cash register and Just you know, just talk to her. She's a she's a great girl. You're gonna love Yasmin. All right, that's my pitch. That's how I feel. Anyway, yes, it's been great having this time with you, and thank you for stopping by. Yeah, I'm really enjoyed it. I'll talk to you later, I'm sure. Yes, ma'am, we'll see you soon.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast Northport. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GnpNorthportcom. That's GnpNorthportcom, or call 205-809-4910.