Say cheese: The Vegan Cheese Lady Café celebrates soft opening Saturday in downtown Lafayette
LAFAYETTE, Ind.— The Vegan Cheese Lady will host a soft opening for a new café location on Saturday at 605 Main St. in downtown Lafayette, after years of catering and selling her hand-crafted vegan cheese and meat options around Greater Lafayette.
Julieann Davis, owner of The Vegan Cheese Lady LLC, said her business of artesian vegan cheeses, meats and cuisine began about seven years ago when she found dissatisfaction with the vegan products in local grocery stores. After some encouragement from a friend, Davis decided to begin selling her products, offering them weekly at area farmers markets as well as taking custom orders online.
Crafting all of her products from scratch, often with soybeans and cashews, some of Davis' products can take up to two months to create, such as her aged hickory smoked cheese. As a master gardener, Davis also grows all her own herbs that are featured in her products, making the vegan cheeses and meats even more local.
Opening the doors Saturday from noon to 7 p.m., Davis said the soft opening will feature a limited menu with a few fan favorites, such as her vegan grilled cheese and vegan ham and cheese, alongside several gluten-free options and caffeinated and non-caffeinated teas, cold brew and hot coffee and lemonade. Just in time for St. Patrick's Day celebrations, Davis said she also plans to be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday to offer vegan Rueben sandwiches and vegan shepherd's pie.
"Every week I'll be adding to the regular menu," Davis said. "I'm planning on offering breakfast on Sunday eventually."
Opening a café to offer her products was something Davis said she's always envisioned, and now she's reached that goal, she hopes to use her store as a platform to uplift and showcase local artists.
"Every two months the art on the walls will change, and it's all for sale," Davis explained. "The first artist happens to be my mom, which she'll be running the art side of things."
Davis said she plans to be open during all of downtown Lafayette's year-round events, as well hopes to gain foot traffic from those out and about on Main Street.
After the weekend's soft opening, The Vegan Cheese Lady Cafe's hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached by email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Say cheese: The Vegan Cheese Lady Café celebrates soft opening Saturday
