Spilling the beans on Vegandale
I’m not ashamed to admit it: when I first learned of “Vegandale,” I thought it was the greatest thing to happen to Toronto. When Mythology Diner opened in late 2017, I knew it was going to be my kind of restaurant. It promised a smorgasbord of comforting, stick-to-your-ribs classics that also happened to be vegan. I hopped on the 501 streetcar and made my way into the heart of Parkdale.
The meal was everything I had hoped for—and more. I began my dinner with a rosemary gin and tonic. Then came my entrée: a juicy New York strip steak basted with garlic infused butter, mashed potatoes with plenty of chives and sour cream, and a generous serving of green beans and carrots. Of course, I couldn’t leave without dessert: a slice of chocolate cheesecake, drizzled with chocolate syrup (made in–house) and garnished with fresh raspberries, blackberries, and edible flowers. Soon I returned to Mythology Diner for birthday festivities, dragging two of my friends along. They were not vegetarian or vegan, but they thought the food was very tasty. I was still on cloud nine. This time: a Reuben sandwich (loaded with kraut, cheese, and Russian dressing) served with a side of perfectly seasoned French fries and a pickle spear.
Let me tell you a little bit about Vegandale before we continue. Vegandale represents the five vegan businesses between Dufferin Street and Brock Avenue along Queen Street West. These businesses belong to a parent company, The 5700 Inc., whose president, Hellenic Vincent De Paul, first made his mark in Parkdale when he launched the Los Angeles restaurant Doomie’s back in 2016. Within two years, one brand metastasized into five. Walking west down Queen Street, you first pass by Copenhagen Vegan Café & Bakery, a chic little eatery that sells a wide array of decadent desserts and savoury breakfast foods. Mythology Diner, an upscale “diner” that serves all the classics—veganized—is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. Directly across the street is The Imperative, a clothing shop that sells vegan leather jackets, winter coats, shoes, belts, and more. Finally, sitting at the corner of Queen and Brock rests The Vegandale Brewery, a beer hall that sells “Morally Superior” pilsners, lagers, IPAs, and sours. Oddly enough, you can have your drinks alongside vegan soft serves and bubble waffles. Within the brewery itself, you find Not Your Mother, a ’70s–inspired ice cream bar. Its slogan? “Exploiting Animals is not Groovy.”
When I approach Vegandale from the perspective of a gourmand, I can see its overwhelming appeal. Most vegetarians, vegans, and plant-based eaters don’t want their diets to consist solely of limp leafy greens. Like everyone else, they want cheat meals, fine-dining experiences, and food that’s going to guarantee them a good time. Finding indulgent treats can be incredibly difficult if you don’t eat meat, dairy, or eggs. Tim Hortons is not an option unless you’re willing to makeshift your own bagel concoction. Other places tend to offer the same kinds of vegan foods: chalky oat bars, meagre salads, and some kind of “health-conscious” cookie. It feels empowering to look at a menu that lists chicken and waffles, toffee sticky buns, cheddar scones, and black forest cake and know that you can order everything in good conscience. It also feels great not to listen to your meat-eating friends complain about eating “rabbit food” whenever you take them out. Vegandale provides options that are not readily available in other neighbourhoods of Toronto and normalizes them for plant-based and non-plant-based eaters alike. With Vegandale, you can have your (cruelty-free) cake and eat it too!
Or can you? Is Vegandale really as “Morally Superior” or as “Groovy” as it seems? Parkdale residents don’t seem to think so. There’s a darker side to Vegandale’s flashy signs. The 5700 Inc. has been accused of violently gentrifying Parkdale, a community that was historically made up of newcomers, ethnic minorities, and low-income Torontonians.
Queen Street West, a street that was once predominated by Tibetan, West Indian, and Indian/Hakka mom-and-pop restaurants, is rapidly becoming replaced by higher-end eateries and big corporations. Over time, these new businesses raise living costs and rent, forcing long-time local business owners to move elsewhere or to close up shop. A notable example of this gentrification is what happened to the West End Food Co-op. Formerly located on Queen Street West just past Dufferin, the co-op provided community members with locally-sourced, fair-trade, organic, and plant-based food. It featured workshops on how to live more sustainably and also offered summer positions for students to work and volunteer. Despite being around for nearly a decade, West End Food Co-op was forced to permanently close in July 2018 after the neighbourhood’s rising costs made it financially impossible for the co-op to stay open.
Vegandale did not intentionally or even directly contribute to this business’ demise—that’s the mantra that Hellenic Vincent De Paul repeats when he is met with criticism. His explanation makes sense, to an extent. His brands are not the first or only businesses to gentrify Parkdale. More and more restaurants and bars now serve funky, Westernized fusion food at higher prices, hoping to attract wealthier customers from other neighbourhoods. Vegandale becomes the scapegoat (pardon the pun) of a long-term systemic issue because some people simply find the word “vegan” to be offensive. The president of The 5700 Inc. affirms that Vegandale does not wish to takeover Parkdale. His restaurants and shops only seek to provide Torontonians with cruelty-free, ethical options.
That’s not what the official Vegandale website says, however. On the “About Vegandale” page, the website describes Vegandale as a “mecca for the ethically minded,” with four “Cities Taken Over” (this statistic is related to the Vegandale Festivals—which is a whole other fish to fry) and millions of “Non-Vegans Converted.” While Parkdale landmarks close their doors, Vegandale aims to open a new restaurant in 2019: a vegan pizza joint to be named Promiscuous Pie. It is especially interesting to note that when I recently searched “parkdale tibet vegan food” on Google, the first and third suggestions were Doomie’s and Mythology Diner. If these facts don’t constitute “taking over,” I don’t know what does.
On August 4, 2018, Parkdale residents and guests formed an open forum in Milky Way Garden to draft and ratify five community demands for The 5700 Inc. The corporation must 1) Stop “Vegandale” branding and expansion in Parkdale, 2) Remove all moral imperative messaging from exterior signage, 3) Commit to a long-term financial contribution to an existing food security/justice initiative, 4) Commit to 60 percent local and equitable hiring, and 5) Remove all unnecessary security guards and stop the investment in security technologies. The forum accused Vegandale of failing to make its spaces accessible to marginalized members of the community.
Further, many residents cannot afford to eat at the restaurants. While the products may be delicious, they are also exorbitantly priced. It is outrageous to spend 20 dollars on a burger or 7 dollars on a soft serve if you live on or below the minimum wage. Furthermore, by refusing to hire Parkdale residents and by boosting security tactics, Vegandale puts marginalized community members, including newcomers, Indigenous and racialized peoples, LGBTQ2SIA peoples, people living with disabilities, low-income parents, and formerly incarcerated people, at a higher risk of criminalization and violence. It should be noted that The 5700 Inc. responded to these demands by committing $100,000 to local charity programs to help residents with “food security issues and justice initiatives.” However, it is not clear which community groups received these proceeds. It must also be stressed that big corporations cannot hope to make long-term beneficial change to a community by merely chucking money at it. Employing community members and making their goods and services accessible are the only ways to enact permanent progress.
Vegandale is, in many ways, not as cruelty-free as it claims to be. The more I think about it, the more I recognize these businesses’ holier-than-thou marketing strategies. They emphasize the deliciousness, coolness, and superiority of their products. They mask the iron grip of their influence with class connotations and snarky posters. They conceal exploitation by reinforcing the pleasurable experience of the food they are serving. It’s hard for me to distinguish these characteristics from the abhorrent gentrifying tactics of Tyson, Hormel, or Burger King.
I want to stress that the Vegandale model should not be the figurehead of vegetarianism, veganism, and plant-based eating in Toronto. The following meals are healthily portioned and worth every cent. Little Tibet offers a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan options: ten vegetable momos for $7.99 and Sweet & Spicy Tofu for $8.99 are some great choices. Om Restaurant serves a vegetarian special (tofu, broccoli, and mushrooms in a garlicky tomato sauce) for $11.99. Mother India offers chana curry with rice and aloo gobi with rice for $10.95. Shangrila, a Tibetan/Hakka fusion restaurant with stunning décor, serves a vegetarian thali: unlimited rice with tofu chili, lentil soup, vegetables, and pickled radishes. Affordable and mom-and-pop vegan options are all around the city. King’s Café and Saigon Lotus in Kensington Market serve dim sum and Vietnamese classics respectively. Ital Vital Kensington Market packs large containers full of wholesome, delicious, plant-based Caribbean food for only $11. There are so many options besides Vegandale that are not only cruelty-free to non-human animals, but also cruelty-free to human animals.
