Video and photos courtesy of Meta Group Media for Vegan Fine Foods
Hundreds of people converged together at Vegan Fine Foods on April 20th to the 22nd to join in on the Grand Opening Festivities of Vegan Fine Foods, starting with the Friday afternoon big scissors carrot ribbon cutting with Mayor Dean Trantalis and Vegan Fine Foods founder, Steven Smith to officially open the market and café.
“Support from so many different communities made the Vegan Fine Foods Grand Opening something special.”
“Support from so many different communities made the Vegan Fine Foods Grand Opening something special,” said Steven Smith. “We thought the vegan community would engage, but we had the Fort Lauderdale Chamber and city officials, the supporters of the over forty local brands we carry, and the public who are interested in plant-based eating – they all came out. It was unbelievable, and we thank everyone so much for joining us.”
The Friday afternoon carrot cutting was followed by a happy hour wine and cheese tasting with live entertainment. Three different vegan wine vendors from different regions around the world poured free samples of their brands available for sale at the market. Several local and national vegan cheeses were sampled, and other exotic jams and delicacies were also purveyed.
Saturday and Sunday had more tastings all day. Eight sampling stations were set up all over the store and even outside. Chef Kriss Kofi and Chef Olga Keller did live cooking and food preparations for more free deliciousness. Live music and DJ sounds rounded out the party atmosphere. The tables and chairs were filled all day and night and people just had a good time.
“People were so excited and appreciative that an all vegan market and café was here in south Florida,” said Carly French, Operations Director. “We had people from Homestead to West Palm Beach, even a couple from Sarasota going to the Eagles concert stopped in because they heard about us. Everyone wanted to take part.”
One of the go-to-market philosophies of Vegan Fine Foods is supporting local brands. “Everyone talks about supporting local farmers, but we are taking it one step further and supporting local food manufacturers. From cheeses to chocolates to meat replacements to acai, the list goes on. Our forty plus local brands offer amazing food and drink. Better than many national brands, we are excited to help them grow with us as we bring best of class vegan food to market,” said Smith. “All of our local brands support each other as they share their wares, they all want to be a part of our ongoing weekend VegFest like atmosphere.”
A huge heartfelt thank you to all of our customers, vendors and the city of Fort Lauderdale for coming out to celebrate our opening. We had a blast and look forward to more events celebrating a plant-based lifestyle!
