Vegan Ahava is a food truck serving delicious vegan comfort foods at 400 College St.
Tell us about your background and what inspired you to lead this company.
Vegan Ahava(means love in Hebrew) I was born and raised in Israel and my mother's name is Ahava so the business is named after my mom. It started with me building up my customer base by serving lunch and dinners from my apartment in westville . Coming to New Haven about 10 years ago and only having limited or no vegan options in the area gave me the push to start my business and provide delicious vegan food that you couldn’t get regularly.
What kind of person would enjoy your product or service?
All kinds of people have come and continue to come to my food truck! 99% of my customers aren’t vegan but they enjoy the flavor and love(Ahava) I put into the food. Customer usually will come up to the window and place their order and we will give them a time to pick up between 15-25 mins depending on what’s on the menu that day. Everything is always cooked fresh on a nice sunny day they would wait outside the truck on a cold day they will wait in the car!
What is one business that you look up to and why?
There’s a vegan food truck in Atlanta GA named “Slutty Vegan” they serve vegan burgers. The short amount of time they have been open and the progress they have made as a business is so inspiring– they motivate me daily to go harder!
What is your most popular service or product?
My most popular service and product is my “Jackson 5” soul food plate that is only available on Saturday. This plate comes with vegan Mac and cheese made from scratch, sweet potatoes, collard greens, drummies, and cornbread. People come from all over to try this meal, and my line is always down the street on Saturday.
Tell us about your day-to-day work routine. Tell us about your team.
New Haven has a huge vegan/vegetarian base so that’s what made me choose New Haven (plus I live here). I have one other person who helps me. Her name is Ahniyah, and she’s heaven sent. We both usually get to the truck around 10am to be set up and ready to serve by 12:30pm.
How has your business been impacted by COVID-19?
I’m proud that I have been able to stay open and do really well throughout the pandemic. I personally know some businesses that were forced to shut down, so being able to stay afloat is my accomplishment!
What makes your business unique?
My business is unique because we are the only vegan food truck in the area and we offer affordable vegan food. The most meaningful part of it all is seeing and hearing feedback from everyone and mostly those who are not even vegan. I make people happy through food.
What’s a long term goal you have for your business?
My long term goal that I’m working on now is to open a sit 5 star vegan restaurant/lounge with a full vegan bar. My goal for starting this business was to have more vegan options in the area. I see Vegan Ahava becoming a franchise and household name. I'm looking for a solid team to take the journey with me. I operate as a one woman show so it gets overwhelming and tiring at times. I would love to distribute some of the tasks and work to other reliable people.
Social media:
Website: under construction
Instagram: @veganahavallc
Facebook: @vegansoulfood1
