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Responsible Allen Iverson

Responsible Allen Iverson

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This black-owned, women-owned vegan soul food cafe is looking for a second spot - CharlotteFive


This black-owned, women-owned vegan soul food cafe is looking for a second spot
By
Genevieve Nalls
-
May 24, 2019


Chic'n. Courtesy of Veltree Vegan

Fried chic’n drumsticks, mac n’ cheeze, cornbread, yams -— just hearing that list is enough to make your mouth water. Charlotte is no stranger to classic Southern food, but it isn’t your everyday classic Southern food — it’s all 100% vegan.

In addition to making vegan cuisine, VelTree has hosted open mic nights for spoken word artists and performers, and intimate concerts featuring Ayanna Gregory, continually seeking to create a cultural and communal place where everyone feels welcomed. Now, the University City restaurant is holding Charlotte’s first NC Soul-Full Vegan Fest, which sold out, and they’re even looking for a second location.

“Our mission is simply to provide plant-based food that feeds not only the body but also the soul,” chef and co-owner Velvet Kelty-Jacobs shared. Participants who got advance tickets for the festival are sure to get plenty of both Sunday, May 26 at the noon-8 p.m. event at Heist Brewery Barrel Arts, 1030 Woodward Ave.

image3-5.jpg

Courtesy of VelTree
After co-owning a vegan cafe in Maryland with her family, Kelty-Jacobs and her sister, Tree Kelty-Jacobs, moved to Charlotte about a year ago. Noticing there were no vegan soul food options in the Queen City, the two decided to join forces, combining their names to create and open the city’s first black-women-owned vegan soul food cafe.

image1-4.jpg

Courtesy of VelTree
Having two vegan restaurants under her belt might make you think the two have been vegan their entire lives, but that’s not the case. “A beautiful 17 years,” Velvet Kelty-Jacobs answered.

“My sister (who was the biggest carnivore) went vegan and “converted” me. When she got pregnant, I had to learn how to care and cook for my nieces and nephews (who have all been vegan since birth; the oldest is 22). Also, as a child I never really liked meat. My mother will tell you the story of finding meat in my pockets because I refused to eat it during dinner,” she said, recounting her reasons for going vegan.

Since opening their doors in October 2018, their signature chic’n drumsticks have been consistently selling out to both vegans and carnivores alike and receiving much praise from celebrities, including Anthony Hamilton, Cam Newton, Erykah Badu, Nick Cannon and more.

image5-4-834x1024.jpg

Nick Cannon with Chef Velvet Kelty-Jacobs and the VelTree crew. Courtesy of VelTree
Favorites on the menu? Kelty-Jacobs said she’s a little biased, but the ribz, jerk chic’n, potato salad — and of course their famous mac n’ cheeze — are some of her absolute favorites.

image2-5-1024x995.jpg

Anthony Hamilton and Chef Velvet Kelty-Jacobs. Courtesy of VelTree
 
Tribal Outkast

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Responsible Allen Iverson said:
This black-owned, women-owned vegan soul food cafe is looking for a second spot - CharlotteFive


This black-owned, women-owned vegan soul food cafe is looking for a second spot
By
Genevieve Nalls
-
May 24, 2019


Chic'n. Courtesy of Veltree Vegan

Fried chic’n drumsticks, mac n’ cheeze, cornbread, yams -— just hearing that list is enough to make your mouth water. Charlotte is no stranger to classic Southern food, but it isn’t your everyday classic Southern food — it’s all 100% vegan.

In addition to making vegan cuisine, VelTree has hosted open mic nights for spoken word artists and performers, and intimate concerts featuring Ayanna Gregory, continually seeking to create a cultural and communal place where everyone feels welcomed. Now, the University City restaurant is holding Charlotte’s first NC Soul-Full Vegan Fest, which sold out, and they’re even looking for a second location.

“Our mission is simply to provide plant-based food that feeds not only the body but also the soul,” chef and co-owner Velvet Kelty-Jacobs shared. Participants who got advance tickets for the festival are sure to get plenty of both Sunday, May 26 at the noon-8 p.m. event at Heist Brewery Barrel Arts, 1030 Woodward Ave.

image3-5.jpg

Courtesy of VelTree
After co-owning a vegan cafe in Maryland with her family, Kelty-Jacobs and her sister, Tree Kelty-Jacobs, moved to Charlotte about a year ago. Noticing there were no vegan soul food options in the Queen City, the two decided to join forces, combining their names to create and open the city’s first black-women-owned vegan soul food cafe.

image1-4.jpg

Courtesy of VelTree
Having two vegan restaurants under her belt might make you think the two have been vegan their entire lives, but that’s not the case. “A beautiful 17 years,” Velvet Kelty-Jacobs answered.

“My sister (who was the biggest carnivore) went vegan and “converted” me. When she got pregnant, I had to learn how to care and cook for my nieces and nephews (who have all been vegan since birth; the oldest is 22). Also, as a child I never really liked meat. My mother will tell you the story of finding meat in my pockets because I refused to eat it during dinner,” she said, recounting her reasons for going vegan.

Since opening their doors in October 2018, their signature chic’n drumsticks have been consistently selling out to both vegans and carnivores alike and receiving much praise from celebrities, including Anthony Hamilton, Cam Newton, Erykah Badu, Nick Cannon and more.

image5-4-834x1024.jpg

Nick Cannon with Chef Velvet Kelty-Jacobs and the VelTree crew. Courtesy of VelTree
Favorites on the menu? Kelty-Jacobs said she’s a little biased, but the ribz, jerk chic’n, potato salad — and of course their famous mac n’ cheeze — are some of her absolute favorites.

image2-5-1024x995.jpg

Anthony Hamilton and Chef Velvet Kelty-Jacobs. Courtesy of VelTree
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They are amazing to me:wow: I highly recommend going to Veltree
 
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Skillz

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I hit the Speed Street, it was cool. I got caught up in Latta Arcade after work and missed the Rose Royce concert. Walked over and seen a few old heads.

Taste of Charlotte next weekend. Seems cool, you have to purchase Coins to buy the food. You can get 15 for $20. 7 for $10. Restaurants and their menu/coin prices is on the site.

I'm trying hit that and try some new eateries.

Taste of Charlotte
 
Tribal Outkast

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Skillz said:
I hit the Speed Street, it was cool. I got caught up in Latta Arcade after work and missed the Rose Royce concert. Walked over and seen a few old heads.

Taste of Charlotte next weekend. Seems cool, you have to purchase Coins to buy the food. You can get 15 for $20. 7 for $10. Restaurants and their menu/coin prices is on the site.

I'm trying hit that and try some new eateries.

Taste of Charlotte
Click to expand...
I love Taste of Charlotte man. I’ll be in there myself.
 
Bryan Danielson

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Excelsior Club named one of most endangered places in US. Is this enough to save it?


The Excelsior Club, a decades-old landmark that once stood at the heart of the African-American community in Charlotte, was added to the list of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic places Wednesday.

The list from the National Trust for Historic Preservation includes sites that are “at risk of destruction or irreparable damage,” according to a press release from the group. And it’s the first North Carolina property to ever make the list, said Dan Morrill, director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.

Morrill said being on the list will help make Charlotte’s cultural community aware of the club’s significance, and help influence future plans for the site.

“There come moments in the history of a community when it makes fundamental decisions that reflect what it really is,” Morrill said. “What Charlotte decides to do with this building is going to be very reflective of what exactly this place is.”

Cunningham told the Observer in April that nearly $400,000 was needed to restore the property, which requires extensive repairs and has building code violations.

Barbara Pahl, senior vice president for field services at the National Trust, said the organization’s goal is to raise the profile of the sites on the list. Fewer than 5% of the more than 300 places that have been on the list over the years have been lost, the National Trust said in its press release.

“There’s more at stake here than just real estate,” Pahl said. “There’s a story and a place associated with the story.”
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