Eating vegan on the 600 Block is about to become more simple and affordable. Downtown St. Pete's Cider Press Café, a raw plant-based eatery that tapped into some cooked menu items not too long ago, is set to open a grab-and-go room next week.
"I listened to what the customers told me," chef and co-owner Johan Everstijn says. "The food that we carry at the restaurant they can't afford to eat everyday."
The new in-house grab-and-go operation is designed to be a daily lunch option, according to Everstijn. With everything priced under $10, the Cider Press menu has been tweaked to offer a more filling and less expensive take-away selection.
Though minor changes have been made to the ingredients for affordability, patrons can expect a larger lineup of wraps, sandwiches, salads, sushi and mix 'n' match sides.
"At the café, we don't use rice, we use jicama. But at the grab-and-go we will use rice in the sushi," he says. "And instead of gluten-free bread, it will still be craft bread, but with gluten."
The grab-and-go will also offer packaged versions of the café's eggplant bacon and kale chips, plus bottles of its own cold-pressed juices. Additional highlights include pastries, desserts and chocolates, as well as Kombucha 221BC and Mother Kombucha.
With additional access from the bar, the room will have its own entrance on 6th Street South. Initially, operating hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the grab-and-go plans to be accessible anytime the café's open.
"We want to be more accessible. We want to be available for lunch," Everstijn says.
This article appears in Jan 5-12, 2017.