Running a vegan restaurant poses a few more challenges than running a typical restaurant. Your menu requires some extra creativity, and your advertising must reach a specific crowd. However, knowing that the food you’re providing is better for people and the planet makes facing those challenges worth it.
Another step you can take to improve your restaurant is growing a culinary garden. Once you know how to start, you can grow almost anything and include it on your menu, taking your dishes to the next level.
Find the Perfect Spot
Depending on the setting of your restaurant, you may think you have no room for a garden. However, there’s always room for a garden if you know where to look. Restaurants in urban settings can use flower boxes and sidewalk planters to grow herbs and edible flowers, such as roses. You can use roof space for bigger plants, such as large vegetables and fruit trees.
If concrete surrounds your suburban restaurant, you can do the same, although you may not have roof access. This means you may have to add larger planters to your outdoor spaces.
Country restaurants, on the other hand, should already have the space they need to start gardening.
Decide What You Want To Grow
What foods do you feature most on your menu? These are the foods you should try to grow if they will thrive in your environment. Growing your most popular foods will help you save money and give your customers a true farm-to-table experience.
If these popular items don’t grow well in your area, you still have options. Carrots, green beans, garlic, lettuce, and tomatoes will grow almost anywhere and are probably in at least some of your dishes. Most types of beans can grow anywhere, too, which means you can easily source the protein you need for your menu. Fruits are more finicky, so you’ll need to research what grows well in your area.
Compost Your Food Waste
Culinary gardens aren’t just a great option for saving money on food costs; they can also help you reduce food waste! Many restaurants aim to put an end to this waste, and as a vegan restaurant, you can contribute even more to ending food waste. Since most of your menu items are already organic and biodegradable, they’re easy to break up and put in your garden.
Create a compost box or pile in a separate area of your garden so that your waste can break down into natural fertilizer. If you don’t have any extra space, you can store the box in your freezer or bury it in your garden before it fully decomposes. Once you know how to start a culinary garden at your restaurant, you can grow the food you need and serve it to delighted customers. Even just a small window-box herb garden can cut down on food costs, provide fresh flavor for your patrons, and give you the opportunity to compost. No garden is too small to make a difference in the world and in your restaurant.
