San Diego’s First Vegan Breakfast Café Is Black-Owned

It’s been nearly a year since we started social distancing, staying home to make mountains of sourdough, Korean whipped coffees, and focaccia bread art. But for all the at-home deliciousness we’ve mastered, we’re ready for our favorite restaurants! So although travel is still off the table, we’re celebrating with a mouthwatering tour of the stories and recipes from some of the best-loved, Black-owned vegan restaurants in America. From soul food in Detroit to Ethiopian eats in Brooklyn to the first plant-based breakfast café in San Diego, get ready because it’s time to eat.

Hungry brunchers lucky enough to have a snack Todd Anderson and Samantha Aaron’s waffle-wrapped meatless sausages and plant-based McMuffins at San Diego’s Spoiled Vegan Cafe probably don’t know they owe their good fortune to a gnarly two-day hangover

But when Anderson returned home from a bender in Vegas feeling downright terrible, he knew something wasn’t right. So he began looking into ways to heal and found that switching to a plant-based diet was the answer.

Things then moved quickly. He dove into veganism, made like-minded friends, and eventually set out on a plant-based adventure to Costa Rica with a group that dubbed themselves the Spoiled Vegans. So when an opportunity arose for Anderson to start a vegan food pop-up, he had just the name. And the rest is history.

At the city’s earliest fermented breakfast café, vegan handhelds would be the eatery’s backbone. Spoiled Vegans’ menu boasts sweet and savory dishes such as the customer-favorite Spoil Yourself, an English muffin piled with a crispy hash brown, breakfast sausage, sliced vegan egg, melty cheese, along with housemade walnut mustard. For an Instagram photoshoot, the Let Go of My Diego–a breakfast strategy for corn dogs (with waffle instead of corn batter and breakfast sausage rather than a hot dog)–would be the best bet.

After conducting a pop-up in a neighborhood coffee shop and appearing at SoCal vegan events, Spoiled Vegans has found a home in its brick-and-mortar space. What can hungry patrons look forward to? Anderson and Aaron are making indulgence a bit fitter by devoting the menu to being air-fried, plus they are working on a lunch and dinner menu, too. But don’t worry, this breakfast café is not doing away with the main meal of the day. Keep your eyes peeled for more extended breakfast specials, such as marshmallow-chocolate and jalapeño-cheddar waffle dogs.