A cafe owner claims she has been subjected to a “hate campaign” after she turned a greasy spoon into a vegan joint. Anna Southwell and her staff have been “abused” a dozen times for not selling bacon butties and other “traditional foods” since they opened the plant-based cafe in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, last June.
The previous occupant closed the summer-only business during the pandemic and had previously served up items like hotdogs and burgers, according to Ms Southwell.
The 44-year-old – who runs Weston’s other vegan restaurant Loves with her partner Josh Mousley, 32 – decided to speak out after a man sought her out at Loves last Thursday.
Anna said: “A man shouted at me at soon as he entered the cafe. He wanted to know what I was doing with the cafe in Grove Park.
“He said he’d come to tell me ‘what everyone was thinking’. How it was ‘disgusting’ that we’d opened a vegan business and how we should ‘shut it down’.
The business also employs some “marginalised or vulnerable” staff like refugees, autistic adults and people who are recovering from drug and alcohol issues and often work alone.
“The staff don’t deserve it,” she explained. “We’ve worked really hard to set up a vegan business.
“Now, when they’re working in what should be a beautiful location in the park surrounded by nature, they’ve got members of the public coming in and shouting at them for no reason. It’s abusive. It’s harassment and it’s having a really negative impact on us. It’s got to stop now.”
As well as being a cafe, Ms Southwell pointed out that she had held 12 music events in the nearby bandstand, which were attended by more than 3,000 people.
She has also received a grant from Sport England to put on put on walks and talks in the park, something she says points to the large role Sprout plays in the wider community.
She also dismissed his claims that there is no market for vegan food in Weston – and insisted the business is not there to preach about veganism.
Ms Southwell also said that people complaining that the business is never open are wrong because it is open throughout the year.
She said: “It seems non-sensical the things they’re having a go at us about.”
“It feels like a little bit of a hate campaign. A preconceived bias about what plant-based food might be like.
“They’re having a go at us and they haven’t even had a cup of tea in here.”
Ms Southwell also said her business is “absolutely” not trying to preach veganism.
She said: “We are not questioning anyone else’s decisions. We’re not telling anyone else to live a particular way.
“What we’re doing is running our business in the way we want to do because we believe it is the right thing for the future of the planet and people’s health.
“Even if they only eat here once, that’s OK but my friend said to me, ‘if they can’t find a bacon sandwich in Weston-super-Mare, they are going wrong somewhere’.
“There is no problem getting bacon sandwiches in Weston. There are probably 200 places within a mile radius where you can get a bacon sandwich. But we’re not selling them.
“We’re not doing it to offend anyone. We’re doing it because we want to make our part of the world a better place.”
