Cashew

Megan Zinger 

The practice of veganism is on the rise and is quite trendy amongst millennials. As a matter of fact, millennials are the driving factor of the global shift to move away from meat. So what does that mean? We need more restaurants that are based solely on veganism. Yes, Chattanooga does have restaurants that offer one or two “vegan friendly” items on their menus, but with the rise of veganism in the twenty-first century, vegans want to see more. 

So the next question is: What totally Vegan restaurants does Chattanooga have to offer? To answer that, not very many. 

One very popular vegan restaurant, owned by Bailey Cole and Kristiana Mallo, is located just steps away from one of Chattanooga’s most visited spots, Coolidge Park. Established in 2013, Cashew brought a new spin to the typical restaurants in Downtown Chattanooga and that is: they only offer foods made from plant-based ingredients. The restaurant stopped to focus on catering a year after opening, but soon reopened in August of 2016 due to popular demand.

“We opened Cashew to provide a restaurant experience you can feel good about,” Cole said. “Our mission is to serve you food that is fresh, delicious, and nutritionally sound.”

Native to only Chattanooga, Cashew is a Plant Based Vegan Café, meaning they use absolutely no meat products in their dishes. They also use no oil in their cooking, instead, they prepare their own in-house vegetable stock to enhance flavors without the extra sodium or fat. So, this is great news for Chattanooga’s fellow Vegans, who are usually limited to what they can order in non-vegan restaurants. 

“We pride ourselves in offering unique menu items with fresh and house made ingredients,” Cole said. “We don’t fry anything at Cashew, choosing instead to bake items. This allows us the ability to control flavor while still being mindful of adding any unnecessary oils.” 

Cashew also provides catering services and serves fresh baked goods at various shops around Chattanooga. You can find items, such as their Gluten-Free doughnuts, at Peet’s Coffee Shop and the Wildflower Tea Shop. You can also find their popular cashew cheese around town as well.

“Our house made cashew cheese is packaged and sold under the brand Cha Cha Vegan and is served locally at Mojo Burrito, Bleu Fox Cheese Shop, and Pie Slingers Pizzeria,” Cole said. 

Cashew is starting to spread their vegan items so other local restaurants can start to integrate vegan options onto their menus.

“Although there is absolutely no meat or dairy in any dish or baked good we prepare, we believe that everyone, no matter their usual diet, can benefit greatly from incorporating vegan plant based meals into their lifestyle,” Cole said.