Spotlight Sessions: Dave Gray, Founder of PLANT Cafe and Bar
In light of the massive success that Veganuary has had this year, I sit down with vegan cafe and bar owner, Dave Gray to discuss his journey to veganism, why he opened PLANT Cafe & Bar and how his environmentally conscious business is making a difference.
Hello Dave how are you today?
Hi Ruby, I’m very well thanks!
Good to hear! Why did you decide to open a vegan-only cafe?
So since I was 16 I was planning on being a teacher, but I did some classroom experience while studying at university and decided I didn’t agree with the teaching system, and didn’t want to be teaching things I didn’t necessarily agree with. I was scratching my head for a while thinking about the future, since I’d already been accepted on to a PGCE teacher training course. I was actually at a techno festival in Wales in 2016 when I had a bit of an epiphany of sorts.
“ I’d been out for a few meals in Derby since I’d become vegan and was pretty disappointed, so thought I’d do my own thing.”
I’d been vegan for about 6 months, and always had in the back of my mind the thought of running my own cafe. I’d been out for a few meals in Derby since I’d become vegan and was pretty disappointed, so thought I’d do my own thing. When I got home from the festival I told my ‘rents I was sacking in the teaching thing and opening a cafe!
Where do you get your protein from? Just kidding! What was it that prompted you to join the vegan lifestyle?
I was in India volunteering and visiting the birthplace of my mum, and ate exclusively vegetarian food there which really pushed me towards the diet and lifestyle. I also had a school friend, Nathan, who was vegan and from conversations with him, I figured it was the most ethical lifestyle I could go for. I loved animals and felt a bit uneasy telling myself that, but then paying for them (especially pigs! They’re more intelligent than dogs!) to be killed so I could eat them when I didn’t need to.
How do you promote sustainability within your business? And why is being vegan good for the planet?
Every business decision we make, we consider the environmental impact it will have. We use 100% recycled copier paper, toilet paper and napkins. We get our electricity from 100% renewable sources. We minimise food waste to the best of our ability, and the food waste we do generate is getting sent to The Down To Earth Project, a local community allotment project I’m connected with.
We’re actually working with them in 2020 to buy a load of organic fruit and veg off them for the cafe menu, to reduce food miles and our overall carbon footprint. We use plant-based, non-toxic cleaning chemicals, use LED lighting around the whole building and triple certified, organic coffee. The three beers we have on draught at the moment (we open as a bar five evenings a week!) are all locally brewed here in Derby. We even stock locally produced fruit juice drinks made 5 miles north of us!
To be honest, I don’t think the vegan diet is automatically good for the planet. I think it helps and 9/10 times it’ll be better than an omnivorous diet, but it would be hard to argue that a pound of avocados flown over from California would be more environmentally sustainable than a pound of grass-fed beef from a smallholding down the road. Mass animal agriculture is the issue when it comes to the environment I think. If we really want to save the planet then we need to start sourcing food locally and, better yet, growing our own organic fruit and veg where possible.
You hold a lot of events at your cafe, I can see you’ve got a few coming up about mental health and self-care, is this something that you’re passionate about as well?
We’re starting to! Before Christmas, we were just focussing on getting the cafe and bar up and running and smoothing out the teething problems. We’ve got a great space here with lots of character, and I always wanted the place to be a hub of sorts for the ethical community in Derby. We’ve started hosting meetings for local animal rights and Extinction Rebellion groups, and soon we’ll be starting special evening food and drink events.
“I’ve been deeply affected by mental health issues personally, and I want to enable those going through stuff to have somewhere to talk about it. I never had those opportunities when I was trying to deal with my stuff. ”
In terms of the mental health support groups we’re hosting, I’ve been deeply affected by mental health issues personally, and I want to enable those going through stuff to have somewhere to talk about it. I never had those opportunities when I was trying to deal with my stuff. Mental health support, especially for men, is massively underfunded and I’m now able to support grassroots organisations like Men’s Mind Gym by hosting spaces for them to hold their events. We’re also hosting an event this month by a local CIC called WiLD Derby, supporting young businesswomen in achieving their goals and finding work that suits their lifestyle, skills and passions.
Which vegan dish has gone down the best so far?
The buffalo cauliflower wings have gone down an absolute treat! The batter is so good and our chef, Fern, whips up an amazing homemade vegan ranch dip for them. We also do a Winter Power Bowl that sells really well with marinated tofu, heritage beetroot, kale, and all that healthy stuff.
Our best seller though is the PLANT Breakfast. It’s our take on a Full English, with sweet potato hash browns, homemade smoky baked beans, scrambled tofu, veggie sausages, vine tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach. We’ve had no complaints so far and it looks amazing on the plate.
“Veganuary is a scheme to encourage people to try a vegan lifestyle for a month. They had their most successful year to date in 2020, with over 300,000 people in the UK pledging to go vegan for January. It’s definitely had a positive effect on business.”
What does veganuary mean? And has it had a positive effect on business so far?
Veganuary is a scheme to encourage people to try a vegan lifestyle for a month. They had their most successful year to date in 2020, with over 300,000 people in the UK pledging to go vegan for January. It’s definitely had a positive effect on business. I was invited for an interview on my local BBC Radio station on New Years’ Day, and people have come in saying they wanted to try the place out based on them hearing about it on the radio.
We’re running different offers each week of January, to encourage people to try something they may not be used to. I’m not trying to shove veganism down anyone’s throats, I’m just presenting an alternative option to all of the meat-centric eateries in Derby.
“I struggled with accepting help at first, because I wanted to be able to do it alone, but I soon realised I lacked the experience and knowledge that those around me had and were kind enough to share with me.”
If you could give one piece of advice to someone who’s thinking about starting their own business venture, what would it be?
Take up all the offers of support that are given to you. There’s no way I’d be at the point I am by myself. I’m lucky to have been supported by The Prince’s Trust, a charity that helps young people set up their own businesses. Without their guidance, I’d have planned the whole thing a lot less and I have no doubt that this would have negatively affected my business. I struggled with accepting help at first, because I wanted to be able to do it alone, but I soon realised I lacked the experience and knowledge that those around me had and were kind enough to share with me.
Also find staff that believe in your vision! I’m really lucky to have found managers who want this to work as much as I do.
What’s your biggest achievement so far with PLANT Cafe and Bar?
I think the moves we’re making in terms of sustainability and ethics compared to the rest of the industry really makes me feel like this whole thing has been worth it, no matter the final outcome. We’ve been open less than 2 months and we’ve already had loads of people coming in because they admire that the driving force of PLANT Cafe and Bar is the ethics - whether that’s to do with animals, health or environment.
Any last words of wisdom?
I don’t consider myself very wise, but believing in yourself is so important when it comes to setting something up like this. I faffed around a lot in the first year of planning PLANT because I wasn’t completely confident that I could do this, but after a lot of encouragement from people around me, I somehow managed to bring PLANT to life.
You can keep up to date with Dave’s cafe over on his website or his Instagram.
