{"id":350238,"date":"2026-07-23T19:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350238\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:18:11","slug":"three-tampa-bay-restaurants-proving-that-vegan-eateries-are-staying-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350238\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Tampa Bay restaurants proving that vegan eateries are staying alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Vegan International in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

When vegan restaurant Good Intentions opened in 2022<\/a>, Tampa Bay\u2019s vegan and vegetarian dining scene looked very different.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of vegans here; There were a lot of vegan businesses,\u201d Good Intentions co-owner Jenny Howe told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that trend kind of took a step back.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the mid-2010s, and continuing into the early-2020s, public interest in vegetarian and plant-based lifestyles grew exponentially\u2014arguably<\/a> sparked by an onslaught of documentaries and the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, the cost of living has reached a record high and pushback from the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-led Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Movement has fueled misinformation and negative associations with meatless diet staples like soy<\/a> and seed oils<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that we don\u2019t have the backing of the government like the beef and dairy industry to lobby, to make influencers eat sticks of butter and a raw piece of meat and convince hundreds of thousands of people that this is the new diet,\u201d Howe said.<\/p>\n

Four years later, Good Intentions<\/a> is entering its final days; it\u2019s the latest in a wave of vegan and vegetarian restaurant closures across Tampa Bay, including longtime favorites Golden Dinosaurs<\/a>, 3 Dot Dash<\/a> and Black Radish<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the Tampa Bay vegan and vegetarian food scene is far from dead. For proof of life, we talked to a few owners of vegan eateries about where the industry is headed.<\/p>\n

Click through the name of each restaurant to read more.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jenny Howe of Nah Dogs at Indie Flea in St. Petersburg, Florida on April 2, 2023. Credit: nahdogsstpete \/ Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Nah Dogs<\/a><\/p>\n

While closing Good Intentions, Howe is doubling down on her beloved vegan hots with a Nah Dogs brick-and-mortar opening this summer. Why?\u00a0 \u201cEveryone loves a hot dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

Vegan International<\/a><\/p>\n

Nick Alami, owner of Vegan International Co. in Tampa, also sees plant-based restaurant closures as an indicator of a broader issue.\u00a0\u201cPeople forget that this is not a vegan problem; this is a restaurant problem in general,\u201d Alami told CL. \u201cThe vegan industry just happens to be highlighted because everyone just wants to poke fun and people are just waiting for another vegan restaurant to close.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ASandra Cason inside WeVegan Cafe in Tampa, Florida on June 25, 2026. Credit: Ray Roa \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

WeVegan Eats\u00a0(Cafe)<\/a><\/p>\n

WeVegan Eats<\/a> owner Sandra Carson is proud to have celebrated the cafe\u2019s fifth anniversary this summer.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m still here right now,\u201d Carson told Creative Loafing. \u201cAnd I\u2019m just continuing to keep my blinders on and keep going and keep pushing\u2026 making sure I\u2019m providing something to our customers that I know that they want to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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This article appears in July 23 \u2013 29, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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