not your average vegan
Source: Urban Vegan Kitchen
Samantha Bailey is one of the Managing Partners at Urban Vegan Kitchen (UVK), a vegan soul food eatery located in New York City’s West Village. Samantha has been with UVK since its inception, seeing the vision and believing in the mission from the start. Aside from her work at UVK, Samantha is a nutritionist and health coach, and shares her expertise on plant-based eating, health, and wellness through educational programs, focusing on youth in underserved communities as she believes change will spark with children.
UVK is not your average vegan restaurant. Graffiti and pictures of icons such as Marvin Gaye cover the walls, and the sounds of Madonna and Prince lure passers by into the restaurant. They don’t believe veganism should be exclusive and actively work to ensure their cuisine is accessible to all, caters to different cultures, and exemplifies the diversity of New York City.
Their clientele reflects that as well and stands out from other eateries, even those on the same block. While the restaurant is situated in the West Village, people come from all over to get a taste of their chicken and waffles, po’boys, tacos, and other dishes so many buzz about. UVK actively works to give back to communities of color and create a space that not only feels like home but is a place to discuss, break down barriers, and facilitate change. “We were just always the antithesis. We didn't mean to be the antithesis, but we became that way.”
When did you first become vegan and why?
When my mother died, I lost health insurance, so I decided to look into what it meant to be healthy. As I started studying, it became apparent that the more you stay away from animal products, the better you stay away from chronic health issues.
As I started to look into statistics, I found that a higher percentage of black people are vegetarian and vegan than any other group of people [in America]. With vegan organizations, like PETA, you know, the representation isn't that at all. The way they market trying to get people to be vegan is very pointed at a white center and a white focus.
Growing up, my mom would tell me things like, “We didn't eat meat during the week because it was expensive. We didn’t have a refrigerator, so there was no dairy. We would eat fruit from the fruit trees on the way to school.” I'm just like, oh, now we call that veganism. I started understanding, we know it better, and I started to really hone in on that.
How did you get involved with Urban Vegan Kitchen, and what led you to work there?
I was working at a steakhouse. I was really unhappy. I met a friend of a friend who said to me, “Hey, this vegan restaurant I'm working with is going through some type of transition. They're looking for people.” I saw the vision of where they wanted to go. From the beginning, it was about being part of the community. [The team], we’re all people of color, we’re all from New York, and we thought - everyone needs to feel comfortable here because we all know what it feels like when we're not welcome. Like at certain types of vegan restaurants. People would say it when they come in. “You're not like other vegan restaurants.”
That's interesting. I was going to ask you about that too. How do you feel the clientele of Urban Vegan Kitchen is different?
We've been very inclusive from the beginning. The array of people is incredibly diverse. We get a lot of, "I've never been to a vegan restaurant before, but I heard you guys were dope." And if they're hearing we're dope, it's for a reason. Whether it's the music, the graffiti, the pictures. It's the vibe of the people or the vibe that we have energetically and spiritually placed within the walls of this restaurant.
Also, we train the servers to make sure they understand there's no wrong question a guest can ask. We know people may have never heard of tempeh. So we make sure the staff is always welcoming and friendly, and like it's home.
How do you think we can bring veganism to more communities of color?
I really think the taste of our food gets anyone in. But you have to find the link that will be the aha for them. For a lot of people, I have found its something linked to health. So I tend to keep my conversations geared around that.
You just have to meet people where they are. The amount of people that come in and are like, “Oh I just started a month ago, I just started two months ago, I’m just really trying to dip and dabble a little bit.” Change comes slowly and it's ok. We all should be patient for it.
