We’re all familiar with the typical rebuttals to the vegan diet. ‘You won’t get enough protein’; ‘it doesn’t really do that much good for the environment,’ say many undeservedly authoritative middle-aged men; ‘I could never be vegan – I just love cheese too much! ’ This reasoning isn’t baseless: going vegan does require a level of effort and self-discipline. But, nestled away by the Grafton centre, Thrive is changing the game: their unique menu attests to how simple, nutritious, and exciting vegan food can be. I sat down with a staff member to discuss the inner workings of this hidden gem.

Please introduce yourself!

My name is Jo, and I am one of the managing directors at Thrive.

Tell me the story of Thrive’s founding. How did it all begin?

Well, we got the lease in March 2020, which was a pretty hard time to open a café! We opened on July 5th, with a team of 5 founders. Karina, our head manager, was very involved with vegan activism beforehand, and Thrive was born out of a desire to have a welcoming place for vegans to come.

“We attract a lot of students, and people who, even if they’re not vegan, know about the movement and aren’t against it”

As a vegan café, do you find that you attract primarily vegan customers, or a more wide-ranging clientele?

We attract a lot of students, and people who, even if they’re not vegan, know about the movement and aren’t against it. Lots of people are willing to come in and say “yeah sure, I’ll have an oat latte this time!” We have a small customer base who come in because our café doesn’t scream that it’s vegan, but often they’re really receptive. A tiny amount of people are a little bit disrespectful sometimes, but it’s really nothing compared to the rest of our customers.

What sort of doubts do you encounter from that small subset of customers? What would you say to those who are unsure about vegan food?

Because the food is comfort food, like burgers, fries, and salads, we sell stuff that even non-vegans eat! So for the most part, it’s really not a big deal. The small amount of backlash we receive is mostly about the milk. People come in and ask for dairy, and some of the older audience can be sceptical. But usually when they try it, they change their minds!

Thrive is also striking because of its collaboration with other local businesses like Mill & Mouse Stationery and Bimble Books. Why is sourcing local products and exhibiting the work of local artists so important for your café?

We use local suppliers for sustainability reasons. But also, we want to give back to the local economy as much as we can. Often your local companies also sell great quality items, so it’s like, why not? In terms of artwork, our café is really big, so we thought that it would be easy to exhibit local artists’ work. We have had a lot of uptake! The local community as a whole is really important to us. There’s a room upstairs for meet-ups: everything from mothers’ meetings to trans liberation group gatherings take place here!

“The small amount of backlash we receive is mostly about the milk”

The events you host are really wide-ranging, from yoga classes, to songwriting circles, to basement music events. Which do you find the most exciting?

We host afternoon teas regularly. We have a vegan chef who is French, like me! I love those, because afternoon teas were something that, coming from France, I thought were really cool. It’s fully vegan and she does amazing stuff.

If you could only eat one food item and one drink on Thrive’s menu, what would you choose?

For a drink, my regular order is a coconut flat white. However, in summer, the berry matcha is also really nice! One food item, ooh, there’s no impact on my health or anything? No? Then I’d have the tempeh bacon and tomato toastie with fries. And don’t forget the garlic mayo.

What’s in store for Thrive’s future?

We have recently sent an application to become a community interest company. That would make it official that we don’t make any profit, and if we do, it will be put back into the business to run more events or given to our benefactors. This change would allow us to host more community events, like an open kitchen where we will offer free plant-based food to anyone who can’t afford to eat. I know it sounds like marketing, but it’s really true – the reason we’re still here is because of our community base. We got broken into a few months ago and the community was so generous. It really saved us. So even though the rents, the bills, all the costs keep rising, we really want to stay afloat and give back to the community.