San Francisco and Oakland may be hotbeds of vegan restaurants, but in the Bay Area town of Danville, plant-based options are a bit rarer to find.
However, that’s about to change — Sally Virgilio, a chef at Michelin-starred plant-based Restaurant KLE in Switzerland, is planning to open the first entirely vegan restaurant in her hometown of Danville, reported the East Bay Times. The restaurant will be called Blossom & Root, which Virgilio is opening with consulting chef Sean Baker of popular Berkeley restaurant Gather. They are still in search of a chef de cuisine.
The focus of the menu will be on from-scratch cooking and seasonal ingredients that are family-friendly and vegetable-based — everything from pasta and salads to a grain-and-legume burger. Desserts will include oat milk soft serve ice cream, cookies and more.
“It will be a very different concept for Danville and we feel a lot of pressure to do it right,” Virgilio’s mother Susan told the East Bay Times. “We want it to be relatable.”
Blossom & Root will be located at 411 Hartz Ave. in Danville, replacing the former Basque Boulangerie. Once the 1,620-square-foot space is remodeled, Virgilio and her team plan to open in May 2023 for happy hour, dinner and weekend brunch.