The people have spoken, and Cashew listened.
After shuttering most of the vegan restaurant’s operations earlier this year to focus more heavily on marketing their homemade cashew cheese, the owners are reopening the eatery on a limited basis starting Aug. 18 due to overwhelming customer support, they said.
“[Reopening] was always something in the back of our heads,” said Bailey Cole, who co-owns the restaurant and its brand with Kristiana Mallo. “Things have been falling into place to move in that direction for a while now, and it’s obvious that people want us back.”
According to Cole, an informal poll by Chattanooga vegans on Facebook recently ranked Cashew as the No. 1 vegan restaurant in the city, despite it having been closed as a daily eatery since the end of January.
In the interim, in addition to focusing on the brand’s cheese, Cashew served and catered large events on a case-by-case basis, as well as doing pop-up lunches for groups.
“We’ve found a balance with our cheese and our restaurant,” said Cole, noting that the cashew-based cheese product recently made it into Chattanooga’s three Mojo Burrito locations, where it has gotten rave reviews from local vegans.
In addition to the “tremendous support” they’ve received from the community, Cole said their old employees have called and said they’d be happy to return to the restaurant.
The biggest upcoming change for the reopening will be the menu. Cole and Mallo are narrowing down the restaurant’s options to only those of which they are most proud.
“We don’t want anything coming out that wouldn’t be an award-winning vegan dish,” Cole said.
Such a menu, she explained, will enable the restaurant to focus heavily on its best dishes, which the owners hope will make the kitchen staff’s lives easier, as well as provide a better experience for their customers.
But don’t worry. Their specials, widely beloved by patrons when the restaurant was last open, will find their way onto the condensed permanent menu. Cole also said the entire staff is hard at work coming up with new specials to impress diners.
“We’re putting so much effort into our recipes,” said Cole. “The people obviously appreciate it, and we’re happy to oblige.”
The restaurant will be open Thursday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., though Cole said they’re considering staying open later on Fridays.
Cashew is located at 149 River St. and can be reached at 355-5486.
Contact Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.com or 757-6506.