Some of you may remember last summer I reviewed a little vegan shop in Birmingham called The One Earth Shop. Well, they sadly closed down a few months ago but it has now reopened with a brand new owner, new design, new name and new products... I give you... The 100% Vegan Shop in Birmingham!
I went along recently to meet with Ray, the owner, and to see what the new shop offered.
Ray took over the lease for the shop around Christmas and opened the store at the beginning of February, 2014. The inside of the shop has had a make over, with the counter being moved, a new hot food display and lots of new stock. Ray wanted to create a shop which sold the type of vegan products he would like to be able to buy, not just whole foods, pulses, seeds and nuts (although he does sell these too!). The great thing about the whole food items he does sell is that he portions them up himself into packets which are the perfect size for a meal or two rather than you having to buy a 1kg bag of pulses. He is very aware of the other vegan delights that are available nearby and leaves those foods to the experts. For example, the store is a few minutes walk from the fabulous fresh fruit and veg markets and Birmingham's Chinese Quarter. For this reason, Ray doesn't sell fresh fruit, fresh vegetables or many types of tofu as they are all available competitively so close by. He does, however stock those hard to find (in Birmingham) vegan ingredients and snacks, like Henderson's Relish, Space Bars, Amy's Rice Mac & Cheeze, 25 different types of vegan cheeses, vegan steaks, nutritional yeast, Pudology, whipped cream, good organic teas and coffee, Razzle Dazzle Ices, vegan Bakewell Tarts, cupcakes, snack wraps, sos rolls and good vegan chocolate. He also stocks vegan and eco friendly household products such as bamboo toothbrushes, cleaning products, toiletries and even vegan guitar straps!
Ray is very passionate about his business and is open to suggestions, if there are vegan ingredients, snacks, food items or household items which you would like to get hold of, he will try and source them for you, and will look at importing goods not yet sold in the UK if there is enough interest.
There are a range of vegan pastries, wraps, hummus and cakes delivered in fresh several times a week, and whilst I was there I was given a gorgeous Banana Choc Chip Muffin to sample :-)
Here are some of the items I purchased whilst on my visit:
So if you are in the Birmingham area and fancy a quick snack, some lunch, some ingredients for tonight's dinner or just to say hi to a lovely friendly vegan shopkeeper, pop over to The 100% Vegan Shop, located next to The Warehouse Cafe - a vegetarian restaurant with vegan options, in Allison Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 5TH.
You can also follow the shop on Twitter
Big Vegan Love,
VVx
