Campaign Launched to Keep Australian Vegan Butcher Shop Open

Suzy Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher—a meatless butcher shop and café in Sydney, Australia—has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help keep the four-year-old veg establishment open after its lease expires in May. Owner Suzy Spoon Cantrell is looking to raise approximately $23,000 ($30,000 AUD) to allow the business to move to a larger production space—a necessity, the 29-year vegan cook said, in order to meet the demand of her growing clientele. “The demand for our products is growing every day with customers wanting more,” Cantrell said. “But we can’t grow another inch in the space we’re in. Our building lease expires in May so we move or we close. The team and I want to move!” A larger space, Cantrell said, will allow the business to increase its product range to “[help] more people eat less meat,” expand its wholesale availability throughout the nation, and move toward retail sale in grocery stores across the nation. The business has won a number of awards—including a people’s choice award for best vegetarian/vegan food in all of Australia in 2014—and serves breakfast items, burgers, chili dogs, and pasta dishes, as well as its signature in-house sausages in flavors such as Vienna-style Schnitzel, Homestyle Bolognese, and Kale and Cauliflower. More than $14,000 has been raised so far, with another $8,800 needed in the next three days.