In the new docuseries Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives., the former staff members of vegan restaurant Pure Food and Wine are the voices of reason. We caught up with the former servers, bartender, chef and others to see what they’re up to now, how Pure Food and Wine influenced their careers and whether they have any last words on everything that happened.
Still in the restaurant industry? No. Currently living in: Ashland, Oregon. What he’s doing now: “After the demise of Pure Food and Wine, I moved out west and I was in a couple different restaurants in LA, and then, out of love for my wife, I launched and created a hot sauce called Joey’s Hot Sauce.” How working at Pure Food and Wine influenced his career: “The most incredible thing that happened at Pure Food and Wine is that I got to meet my wife. I locked eyes with her, and I fell in love... Even the demise of Pure Food and Wine — if it wasn’t for that happening, I wouldn’t have started my Joey’s Hot Sauce business. Who knows what would’ve happened?” Any last thoughts? “Just stay connected to people that you love. Don’t isolate... There’s some incredible people in the world. Just stick with them, contribute, try to be of service.”
Still in the restaurant industry? No. Currently living in: Miami. What she’s doing now: “After Pure Food and Wine, I went on to be a founding member of a plant-based, health-focused meal-delivery program called Plantable that was based in Brooklyn. And then, following that, I decided to found my own company called Mostly Vegan... The work that we do is we go in and help existing businesses or new businesses learn more about plant-based food, menu development, restaurant setup, operations, etc. Mostly Vegan’s mission is just to have more people eat a more plant-based diet. I think it’s better for the planet, and I think it’s better for the general health of all humans.” How working at Pure Food and Wine influenced her career: “Overall, it was such a wonderful experience for me. It really set me up for my career. It was a lovely place to work. The bad stuff — it doesn’t fully take that away from me, and I feel glad about that. There are some really sad feelings. I feel sad for the staff that lost their jobs. Because, like I said, I’ve described it as a family. When Pure closed, everyone had to disperse, and everyone had to go off on their own. For that, I’m very sad because it was a really special place to be.” Any last thoughts? “No. [laughs] Not in front of the camera! [more laughter]”
Still in the restaurant industry? Yes. Currently living in: New York City. What he’s doing now: “Since leaving Pure Food and Wine, I bounced around a couple restaurants. The pandemic hit. And now, I’m currently working at a restaurant in Harlem, managing, still in the restaurant industry.” How working at Pure Food and Wine influenced his career: “They gave me the basis that I needed, just taking everything that I’ve learned from there and applying it to other places, and just growing. The journey from leaving Pure Food and Wine to where I’m at now... just going into different restaurants and applying that knowledge into it — service and how to treat people, especially people that have different dietary restrictions, and being able to deal with that.” Any last thoughts? “Man, I just want to shout out to all my Pure Food and Wine family. Miss you guys.”
Still in the restaurant industry? Kind of. Currently living in: Hudson Valley, New York. What he’s doing now: “I still work with restaurants. Right now I’m a baker, and I’m going to school online at Oregon State University. I’m pursuing a sustainability degree, and we’ll see what happens after that.” How working at Pure Food and Wine influenced his career: “At Pure Food and Wine... I did a lot of the behind-the-scenes things, including carting, which is garbage and compost and recycling, and I also dealt with a lot of the food sourcing. A lot of the food at Pure Food and Wine was sourced from all over the world, and all of those things have to do with sustainability. I think that operating a restaurant sustainably is an idea I got while I was at Pure Food and Wine, because I was constantly trying to think of the best ways, the best products to make the restaurant more sustainable. I honestly hadn’t heard the term sustainability, I don’t think, before I started working at Pure Food and Wine.” Any last thoughts? “I’ve had a lot of jobs, and I’ve learned a lot from a lot of different people along the way. The best example of a grateful employer was a gentleman who walked around every Friday and handed each person their check like he was happy to be paying them. It gave him great joy to pay his staff for their efforts in his establishment, and that taught me something. That taught me that you should appreciate the people who work for you, and you should appreciate supporting them, because that’s what it is. They’re supporting you with their work, and you’re supporting their lives, their families with the paycheck. When there’s a breakdown in that, there’s a lack of respect.”
Still in the restaurant industry? No. Currently living in: Denver. What he’s doing now: “I left Pure Food and Wine in 2007, and then I got diagnosed with cancer... [I] went through about eight months of chemotherapy and then started working in restaurants in New York again, but away from Pure Food and Wine. Then I started making some web series that got some attention... I tell a lot of stories at the Moth storytelling series. It’s a podcast that does these shows around the country and around the world. I’ve told so many stories [about] this time period and around these people that are involved.” How working at Pure Food and Wine influenced his career: “Pure Food and Wine was my early education in living in a big city, navigating a ton of ambitious people, dealing with clientele. Restaurants are invaluable for [these] sort of soft skills you develop in how to communicate and how to take criticism and how to not worry about it... Pure Food and Wine was an amazing place, but it was also very demanding, very challenging... I can’t thank Pure Food and Wine enough for being that perfect place to work at as a young man, just coming into my own.” Any last thoughts? “I think the biggest takeaway is: Be honest. Just be honest. What a sad thing it is to see such a heightened, scary result of dishonesty.”
Still in the restaurant industry? No. Currently living in: California. What she’s doing now: “I’m a funeral coordinator and bereavement minister and grief counselor... I’ve been a bereavement minister at my church for six years; I co-facilitate grief support groups... I love the work that I do. It’s such an honor to be with people in grief and to hear about their loved one, because there’s this great quote, ‘What is grief if not love persevering?’ And I feel that way — it’s silly, but I feel that way about Pure a little bit. No one died, but there was a lot of loss in this story, and we never had a funeral or a memorial or anything for Pure.” How working at Pure Food and Wine influenced her career: “Having had that experience really helps you in life, I think, in dealing with people and thinking about the fact that you never know what’s going on with someone else... There was this couple that would come into the restaurant — they had this sweet baby, and I ended up babysitting for her and spending time with this family. The dad told me that he was a hospice volunteer in New York, and I was really interested in that. So I did hospice volunteering there, and that really resonated with me.” Any last thoughts? “I hope people will take away from this that empathy is important — really important — in life. I’m not excusing anyone or anything, but you never really know what another person’s going through, no matter how well you think you know them.”
