Vegan News
Fort Worth vegan-juice spot Boulevard of Greens bowls over Near Southside
There's a new vegan restaurant and juice haven now open in Fort Worth's Near Southside: Called Boulevard of Greens, it's at 1515 W. Magnolia Ave., in a former poke shop, and is the sibling to a mom-and-pop that first debuted on the west side of Fort Worth.
Boulevard was founded by Marcus Brunt and Charlsye Lewis, who are passionate about health and nutrition as well as animals; they previously founded Metro Animals, a dog daycare, boarding, and grooming chain, and also own Roots Coffee.
Boulevard of Greens does cold-pressed juices, super-food smoothies, and healthy plant-based meals.
"We've been vegan for a long time, and our love for animals manifested into the food industry," Lewis says. "We wanted to help animals lead better lives and also help people be healthy, so this represents a great way to match our passions."
Their first location is in a low-profile center off I-30, and they became resourceful about finding an audience.
"We’re tucked away next to a 24 Hour Fitness, and people didn't notice us, but we were still able to build a robust following on social media by getting the word out about what we're doing," she says.
What they're doing: everything from bowls to soups to coffees and smoothies to amazing vegan desserts.
Their menu includes
- Pomona Bowl: Quinoa, brown rice, farro, sweet potatoes with spicy red miso, portobello mushrooms, shallots, broccoli pesto, cucumber relish, arugula
- Delta Bowl: Brown rice, black-eyed peas, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, shredded kale, house-made poppy seed dressing
- Graceland Sandwich: Gluten-free bread with berry jelly, peanut butter, almond butter, banana
- Quinoa Tabbouleh: Quinoa, cucumbers, parsley, mint, Himalayan pink, salt, lemon, olive oil, black pepper
They just introduced three scrumptious new sides: Sweet Potatoes with red pepper miso dressing, Black-eyed Peas with poppyseed dressing, and Broccoli with curry dressing.
Pastries include muffins, croissants, cupcakes, and brownies, but all miraculously free of sugar.
"Our chef Robin DeThample-DeFalco is also our pastry chef -- she has a degree in baking from a culinary college, and comes from a culinary family," Lewis says. (DeThample-DeFalco's sister Rachel DeThample is author of a famous London plant-based cookbook, More Veg Less Meat.)
They replace sugar with alternate sweeteners like applesauce, maple syrup, and dates. "The result is that our pastries are not sickeningly sweet - you can really taste the ingredients," she says.
Lewis and Brunt met at TCU where they both graduated, then founded Metro Animals in 2005. They now have four locations plus two locations of Happy K9, a pet wash and grooming concept; and two locations of Roots Coffee, on South Main and in North Richland Hills.
That coffee savvy translates into an amazing coffee program at Boulevard, with of-the-moment trends such as pour-overs and lavender lattes. The selection of smoothies includes decadent and creative options such as Sunset Boulevard with strawberry, pineapple, ginger, house-made cashew milk, and agave.
Boulevard of Greens is also part of the Blue Zones Project, a community well-being improvement initiative implemented by North Texas Healthy Communities and spearheaded by former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.
"Our entire menu is blue zone verified and low-sugar certified," Lewis says. "Everything we do is as whole and raw as possible, with high-quality super-food ingredients, not just the 'rabbit food' stereotype. Everything is ultra-healthy and you can relax knowing everything doesn’t have sugar, animal, or sodium. That means a lot to people."