Cafe 1610 | Photo by Grace Ramsdell | The Wright State Guardian
In the midst of a global pandemic, Cafe 1610 opened as Dayton’s one and only all-vegan restaurant. The Cafe sells delicious items including doughnuts, sandwiches and entrees from their location on Wayne Ave.
Evolving operations
Co-founder Molly Blackshear, along with Cafe 1610’s two other founders, decided there were not a lot of breakfast places to go and eat for those following vegan diets. Thus, Cafe 1610 was born out of wanting a good vegan breakfast restaurant.
“So, the idea was hatched and then sort of brought to life in less than two weeks. We officially opened Sept. 5,” Blackshear said.
“We have sort of been a chameleon, you know, it's like we open with just breakfast, then we added lunch, and then we took the breakfast menu away and eventually added dinner. We have done everything from closing the dining room to reopening it. So, through this whole thing, we've sort of morphed and changed,” Blackshear said.
Cafe 1610 welcomes all
Customers that walk into Cafe 1610 do not usually need a lot of convincing.
“When people have tried our food for the first time, they say things like ‘I didn't even know it was vegan’ or ‘I was super shocked’,” said Blackshear. “So really, the food speaks for itself.”
A recent customer at Cafe 1610 and junior at the University of Dayton, Emily Lyles, shared her experience with the restaurant and how beneficial it is to her lifestyle.
“There are limited options sometimes on Dayton’s campus. A lot of my friends are gluten free, and dairy free. Cafe 1610 provides us an opportunity to try all these different things that are still within our diets and within our dietary restrictions,” Lyles said.
One of a kind
Co-founder Cathy Mong stressed the importance of Cafe 1610 in the Dayton community as being the only all-vegan restaurant in the area.
“We have people come in every day and the looks on their faces when they see something that looks so good on our menu, or when they see our doughnuts...it is priceless,” Mong said.
“We have different ethnicities come in, who may be religiously attached to the vegan diet, and they can come in and they can feel like we are not going to sneak something in on them. Does this contain chicken broth? Does this contain something with meat? And it's like, no, we are 100% vegan. And it's the best feeling to know that we are really offering our community something that they cannot find in many other places,” Mong said.
Cafe 1610 is located at 521 Wayne Ave. in Dayton, OH and is open Wednesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For menu options, contact information and general restaurant inquiries, click here.
