How to “Krush” the Vegan Hospitality Game: Interview with Owner of Organic Krush Lifestyle Eatery on Long Island

This article was written by Christina Finkel, Certified Vegan Hospitality Consultant in New York

I met with Michelle Walrath, the Co-Founder of Organic Krush along with Fran Paniccia, at their beautiful and spacious Plainview location, to share my gratitude for their vegan-friendly offerings and learn more about the journey of running a vegan-friendly food business.

It’s not often that a vegan on Long Island finds themselves feeling at ease while dining out in this omnivore-majority world. At Organic Krush, vegan guests can feel not only at ease, but welcomed and understood. They opened their first location eight years ago and have now expanded to eight locations. You can visit an Organic Krush in many neighborhoods across the island, with a wide range of vegan options to choose from for any food mood you may be in!

Organic Krush’s Thai Tofu with citrus marinated organic tofu, carrots, red peppers, broccoli, and scallions, over brown rice with thai dressing

Christina: Tell me the story of how you got started with Organic Krush

Michelle: It started out of a personal frustration for Fran and I, in that we couldn’t find the type of food we wanted for ourselves and our kids while we were out and about in the day. We were home cooks, we knew we could meet all our needs at home, as well as our high criteria of where food comes from, but as our kids got older and you’re busier, it's hard to find options when you’re out. We were like, “we should just do it ourselves!” 

I love that your work is so self-motivated. What sparked the interest to include vegan options on the menu?

Michelle: Even though Fran and I are not vegan, we were always very into the core of our diets being vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats. When we were planning the menu, we were being specific to what we wanted for ourselves and our family. Including vegan options on our menu wasn’t a major hurdle for us, it was something we included from the get-go. When we first opened, we started with eight wraps, eight salads, eight bowls, and at least two in each of those categories were vegan. We worked with a chef who had an amazing palate to create versatile, delicious dishes.

I think it goes to show that when you are genuine and true to yourself, success and loyalty will follow. I’m so thankful that you sought out to serve people with various healthy lifestyles. How did you prepare your staff and to serve vegan guests?

Michelle: We tend to attract a type of staff that cares about the various ways of healthy eating. And because we know that our customers might be looking for health advice or wondering what they can have, everyone gets training. Every dish starts in a new pan or bowl, so we don't have any cross contamination issues in the kitchen. We also spent a lot of time and effort labeling and notating our menu to make it easy to know what people can have, which I believe was time and effort well spent. 

Coming soon, Organic Krush will be launching a separate vegan menu for ordering, which features all of their current vegan offerings with some tweaks to other original dishes to make them vegan. This will make it even easier for vegans to order, and I am very much looking forward to this launch.

Organic Krush’s Success Salad with apple, chickpeas, craisins, red cabbage, cucumber, carrots, mixed greens, walnuts, parsley, scallion with lemon-herb vinaigrette

I know the vegan community goes crazy for a menu that is well-labeled and makes it easy to know what to order, so major kudos for that! That’s also incredibly smart to have your kitchen processes streamlined from the start to avoid cross-contamination regarding any dietary or allergy needs. What are your favorites amongst the vegan options on your menu?

Michelle: Lately I have been loving our Success Salad, I eat that like four days a week, I just love it. I do love the Thai Tofu with brown rice noodles. I like to swap out the peppers for sweet potatoes in that dish. The salted caramel bite is a nice little treat. You can’t go wrong with a chocolate zucchini muffin which I recommend popping in your oven at home, so good!

So many delicious choices! I love how fresh and customizable everything is. My last question which I really want to get your thoughts on is: What advice would you offer to businesses looking to expand their menu offerings to serve vegan guests?

Michelle:  Restaurant owners should know that this is not a health trend that is going away. People do want this kind of food option. It lets people come to your restaurant in a crowd and ensure there will always be something for everyone, when you have a vegan option. Get consulting on how to make it taste delicious; you want the dishes to be colorful and tasty. We have many loyal customers that are vegan.

Organic Krush’s Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with zucchini shreds, chocolate chips, and coconut

There was a lot for Michelle and me to find common ground on, including our interest in local ingredient sourcing and sustainability. She was extremely knowledgeable about every detail of the menu, and shared with me how she taps her own maple trees to make their maple syrup! As Michelle said, “There’s a common thread between the way we source our food and the people who care about their lifestyle - it's all connected.” My appreciation for Organic Krush has grown even more after our conversation.

To learn more about Organic Krush, visit their website or follow them on instagram @organickrush

To work with Christina Finkel, or to find a consultant in your region, fill out our form here for a free 30 minute consultant to discuss your needs and how we can support you. Follow us on instagram @vegan.hospitality and follow Christina at @v.is.for.vegan

Check out the additional resource included below: A Vegan’s Guide to Organic Krush