Entrepreneur Bayoh’s vegan restaurant rebrands in honor of Newark

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Urban Vegan, a fast casual vegan concept founded by well-known entrepreneur Adenah Bayoh, is rebranding.

The restaurant – which is located at 915 Broad St. in Newark – is now known as Brick City Vegan, a change that Bayoh said was done to honor the spirit of its home city.

“Brick City is what Newark is known for— the housing complexes and the bricks. The name change was to pay homage to this beautiful, complex city that built itself back from the riots of the 70s and built itself up from brick city projects. It’s now one of the hottest cities in the country,” Bayoh said. “This is the city I grew up in. I grew courage from the people. Just like the city, the restaurant was built from the ground up. It was built from embracing Newark’s beauty, history and character.”

Launched in August 2021, Brick City Vegan’s all plant-based menu of scratch-made biscuits, burgers, sandwiches, power bowls, fruit shakes and cookies have made it a popular place to grab a bite downtown.

Besides offering affordable comfort food made with locally sourced ingredients, Brick City Vegan strives to address inequities in urban areas via job opportunities and access to healthy food.

“A lot of talk on food insecurity during the pandemic opened my eyes to inequities within urban America,” Bayoh said. “Through that journey, it became a matter of creating a concept that gives back to the community in a thoughtful, meaningful way.”

Many competitors in the plant-based dining space tend to favor high-priced menus, while others pride themselves on exclusivity and catering to affluent audiences, making them effectively inaccessible to the community. Brick City Vegan, however, is committed to bringing fresh ingredients and exciting, affordable plant-based dishes to anyone and everyone living in the heart and soul of Newark, she said.

Bayoh added that Brick City Vegan prioritizes creating an inclusive environment with fresh food for all customers, whether they are practicing a plant-based diet or not.

“Some people have this phobia to try vegan food. At Brick City Vegan, we just want you to enjoy a good meal that happens to be plant-based. People come here for the vibe,” she said. “We serve emotions on a plate and not everyone gets that. We are selling friendships and community, not just vegan food.”

Bayoh is a first-generation immigrant from Liberia who went on to become the owner of eight restaurants, including four IHOP franchises in northern New Jersey, and prominent local developer.

Brick City Vegan is located on the ground floor of an 84-unit residential and commercial building that Bayoh co-developed.

It’s also steps away from Cornbread Farm to Soul, a fast casual chain founded by Bayoh and Zadie Smith that focuses on traditional American soul food cuisine made with farm-to-table ingredients

In addition to a location in Newark, Cornbread has restaurants in Maplewood and Brooklyn, N.Y. The brand’s fourth unit is expected to open in Montclair during the second quarter of 2023, with more to follow as Cornbread begins offering franchise opportunities.