Milwaukee’s Twisted Plants wins grant from Feed The Soul Foundation

Milwaukee-based vegan restaurant Twisted Plants has been selected for the 2024 Feed the Soul Foundation cohort. The eatery will receive a $10,000 grant and six months of business development services. Twisted Plants’ journey began in 2016 when co-founder Arielle Hawthorne faced a lymphoma diagnosis. This health challenge prompted Arielle and her husband, Brandon, to explore plant-based diets.

Inspired by their dietary shift, the Hawthornes launched a food truck in the spring of 2019. Their vegan comfort food quickly gained popularity across Milwaukee. In May 2020, Twisted Plants opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Cudahy. The restaurant features cannabis-inspired decor and cleverly named menu items.

The Feed the Soul Foundation, now in its fourth year, supports marginalized culinary businesses nationwide. This nonprofit arm of Black Restaurant Week and Latin Restaurant Weeks was awarded $850,000 in 2024. 30 small businesses, including Twisted Plants, will receive $10,000 stipends and development services, totaling $25,000 per selected business.

The program addresses critical challenges faced by restaurant owners. These include rising food costs, labor shortages, and intense competition. Comprehensive support will benefit cohort members. This includes financial literacy training, business operations guidance, and marketing assistance.

Other selected businesses span diverse cuisines and locations. Autentica Taqueria in Miami and Black Coffee Lounge in Cincinnati are among the recipients. The Grubhub Community Fund and Stella Artois have partnered to support this impactful grant program. Their contributions bolster the foundation’s efforts to level the culinary playing field.

Since 2021, Feed the Soul Foundation has supported over 100 marginalized culinary businesses. The program offers valuable networking opportunities and expert consultations.

Juana Collins, Executive Director, emphasized the program’s importance. She stressed the need to support small culinary businesses facing shrinking profits.

The initiative addresses industry challenges highlighted in the National Restaurant Association’s 2024 report. This report states that 98 percent of culinary business owners say higher labor and operations costs are an issue for their restaurant, 97%t cite food inflation as a challenge, and 38% expressed their restaurants were not profitable in 2023. This underscores the financial pressures facing restaurateurs.

Here is the full list of the restaurants in the cohort:

1. Autentica Taqueria (Miami, FL) 
2. Black Coffee Lounge (Cincinnati,OH)
3. Cocina Consuelo (New York, NY)
4. Comfort Foodies (Houston, TX)
5. conVIDA Cocktail Lounge (Caguas, PR)
6. Cranky Granny’s Sweet Rolls (Pflugerville, TX)
7. Darrow’s New Orleans Grill (Carson, CA)
8. Farina Pasta and Noodle (Philadelphia, PA)
9. Fluffy’s Sno-Balls (Long Beach, CA)
10. Fonda Santa Rosa (Houston, TX)
11. Foode (Fredericksburg, VA)
12. FruiTea Bubbles Cafe (Smyrna, GA)
13. Gold Coast Ghal Kitchen (Seattle, WA)
14. Kwench Juice Cafe (Apex, NC)
15. Luliet Creamery and Bake Shop (Spring, TX)
16. Lulu’s Sweets Boutique (West Chester, OH)
17. Mamajuana (Houston, TX)
18. Meek’s Vegan Pizza (Houston, TX)
19. R & R Breakfast Spot (Chino, CA)
20. Slutty Salsa (Memphis, TN)
21. Sugar Euphoria (Raleigh, NC)
22. Tea’s Me Cafe (Indianapolis, IN)
23. The Jibarito Stop (Chicago, IL)
24. The Oven Pizzeria (Seaside, CA)
25. The Palm Coffee Bar (Burbank, CA)
26. Townie Bagels (Palm Springs, CA)
27. Tre’s Street Kitchen (Baton Rouge, LA)
28. Twisted Plants (Milwaukee, WI)
29. Win Win Coffee (Philadelphia, PA)
30. Yaya Empanadas, (Austin, TX)