Lauren Magee/THE REVIEW
Two new vegan establishments, the first-ever on Main Street, have opened within the last eight months. Pictured here is Daily Veg.
BY
Staff Reporter
Two new vegan establishments, the first-ever on Main Street, have opened within the last eight months. Viva! Vegan and Daily Veg are the vegan destinations on Main Street, and they could be a sign of a changing culture.
Viva! Vegan is a vegan bakeshop that recently reopened after being closed since March due to the pandemic. The bakeshop initially opened on Jan. 1.
The bakeshop is owned by Evangelina Guajardo, a Delaware native. She became vegan in 2000 after she learned about the meat and dairy industries and their practices, deciding that she did not want to support those industries anymore.
Currently, Viva! Vegan’s menu consists of various baked goods and smoothie bowls.
“It’s a weird concept for a lot of people because you come in, and we have all these fruit bowls and stuff, but we also have vegan donuts, cupcakes, cookies and we make everything ourselves,” Guajardo said.
Lauren Magee/THE REVIEW
Viva! Vegan, one of the two new vegan establishments on Main Street.
Viva! Vegan is located at 280 E Main Street, Suite 110 and is open 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Daily Veg, another completely vegan restaurant, opened its Main Street location on July 17. Its first location is in Wilmington.
Its owner, Daniel Mckelvey, has been a vegan for two years, but has “always been passionate about proper nutrition through fruits and vegetables,” according to Daily Veg’s website. He said that he became interested in healthy eating — and particularly juicing, the extraction of juices from fruits and vegetables — after watching the fast food industry’s practices, as well as rising cancer rates.
Daily Veg’s menu consists of açai bowls, smoothies, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, milkshakes, salads, soups and various sides.
Lauren Magee/THE REVIEW
The interior of Daily Veg, one of the two new vegan hotspots on Main Street.
Mckelvey said he is focused on creating great quality food, rather than focusing on whether the food is vegan or not.
“That’s kind of our whole mission, is to make vegan food more approachable,” Mckelvey said. “90{c33c21346ff5e26ab8e0ae3d29ae4367143f0d27c235e34c392ea37decdb8bed} of our customers are not vegan by any means.”
Daily Veg is located at 133 E Main Street and 5335b Limestone Road. Its Main Street location hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday through Sunday.
Both Guajardo and Mckelvey said that they are looking forward to being a part of the university’s community and catering to students.
Allison Herr, a junior and the president of “Veg Club” at the university, said plant-based diets are especially prevalent among students.
Lauren Magee/THE REVIEW
Vegan baked goods on display at Viva! Vegan.
“I’ve actually had a couple of friends that I’ve met at UD who I’ve actually watched transition from a pretty traditional, omnivorous diet to a more plant-based diet over the time that I’ve known them,” Herr said.
Herr is also especially glad to see new vegan establishments opening up on Main Street.
“The main thing that excites me when I see a new vegan place opens up like this, is that it just gives the opportunity to people to try a plant-based diet,” Herr said.
She also said that the kind of vegan comfort food available at Daily Veg and Viva! Vegan are menu items most non-vegans assume would not be considered vegan. These establishments give the community the opportunity to see the comfort food side of a plant-based diet, such as baked goods and burgers, that’s often overlooked.
“It’s really great to see more vegan options becoming mainstream, especially in areas where there are a lot of younger people who are still trying to make important life choices and are still open to new ideas,” Herr said. “Because then, it gives people an opportunity to see that veganism isn’t as difficult as some people make it out to be, and it’s something that’s, you know, a relatively easy and fun change they can make, if they’re interested, and improve their impact on the world around them.”
