by Channing Capacchione | WeINSPIRE Reporter

BOSTON, Ma. -- For businesses like B’Gabs Goodies Vegan Scratch Kitchen, the past few months have proven that community efforts can promote positive change. Gabrielle Darvassy has used her vegan based restaurant to benefit the Greater Chicago area and those who need it most during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Gabrielle Darvassy has been featured in a variety of news articles for her work within her community. “If I feel like there’s something I should be doing, I just do it,” says Darvassy in regards to her pandemic outreach efforts.

When Darvassy was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder, she knew it was time to change her diet. After several years of working in corporate finance, Darvassy left her job to start her own business and restaurant out of her own need. At the time, she had no idea of the impact her restaurant would have on the larger community. 

Pivoting during the COVID-19 pandemic has become crucial for Darvassy, as she sees more value in giving back than focusing on her own profit. 

“It’s really not that hard to give,” says Darvassy. “People have to stop saying that it’s your problem or their problem. What’s going on now is not a new problem, people have always been starving. It’s a human problem. I wish people would stop thinking that being humane is hard. It doesn’t mean that you give more than you can afford to give.”

Darvassy has shifted her hours of operation and has gone from 6 open days to 3 days per week, during times that are most convenient for both staff and customers. “My business is fine,” says Darvassy. “We have adjusted our structure like many have. We’ve gone from dine-in to full takeout.” While business as usual is not a reality, supporting those in need is.

“I have a giving campaign with one other restaurant that my friend owns, Smack Dab. We are both already giving organizations, so we are already giving all the time anyway,” says Darvassy. “During COVID we decided we needed to give more because people needed food and people were losing their jobs.”

Darvassy and her team of restaurant workers and owners deliver approximately 200-500 boxes of food at a time, recurring about every other week. “We have a good process and a fast system. We go in and get out,” says Darvassy. “There’s not a question about who has a need or doesn’t have a need, that’s not our business.”

All boxed items are vegan, mostly produce, and some canned goods are provided as shelf stable items. “Since me and my partner are both chefs,” says Darvassy, “we pack the boxes specifically to determine what types of meals can be made with each item from the box.” 

The food B’Gabs Goodies donates is all vegan, and is boxed accordingly for meal preparation; strategically packaging items like beans and pasta with other ingredients that will help turn the goods into “another type of magic.” While giving back Darvassy still tries to meet the needs of her regular customers.

“People are just happy to still have businesses around. People are changing their perspective on a lot of things. I think it’s a great time for businesses and people to look at what is most important to them and how to support what is important to them. It’s a time for businesses to learn how to not overwork the people who are working for them.”

“My team makes the business run, so what they need and how they need it is the only thing we can do,” Darvassy says. “I have a great team, so we don’t have issues. We do what we can and how we can and we keep each other safe.” She maintains her team in terms of the limitations that the COVID environment will allow. 

One of the main items B’Gabs Goodies has sold during COVID-19 is the immunity booster: seamoss.

“My first business was all raw food and juicing. And then we grew out of that space after about 3 years,” says Darvassy. Eleven years ago, Darvassy established her business in a food desert, to prove that all people desire to eat well. The first few years proved expansion was necessary after establishing a strong customer base.

“We moved into a different location and we started cooking as well. There was a stove there so I took it as a sign,” says Darvassy.

What began as a personal interest, has developed into a vegan-based eating and community giving initiative.” Food really did become my medicine,” says Darvassy, who now serves her customers about 5 blocks north of her original location, in the community where Darvassy currently resides.

“It was really about using food and building what I needed for myself because it was not available. I was doing it for myself at home,” says Darvassy. “To be doing that for yourself and other people and in your own house is very difficult. So I built what I needed.”

The evolution of B’Gabs Goodies was unplanned, but has benefited more than Darvassy has ever dreamed. “A lot of people have a grand plan when they start a business. That wasn’t the case for me, it was a business that was built around my own need and other people got to benefit from it.”

After 22 years in corporate banking and finance, “I shifted towards my own restaurant business and anybody who wanted to benefitted from it. Then I was able to see that there was an interest in what I was doing,” says Darvassy.

Before the pandemic, B’Gabs Goodies maintained a large-scale restaurant menu. However, due to the nature of change, the restaurant pivoted towards a menu focusing on the top features of each category within the menu, and weekly specials. Still, the menu remains committed to sell primarily soy and gluten free items.

“We have what I call ‘junk food vegan’ like nachos and alkaline bowls, smoothies, and raw food. We took our top items from each category and put them on our COVID menu along with a special every week that is generally a soul food plate with fish and chicken,” says Darvassy. “Comfort food demand has been very high.”

The restaurant also features raw food items and alkaline bowls for customers who are looking for healthier options.

Though the pandemic has shifted consumerism, there is still an overwhelming need to support local businesses, especially those who provide carry out. 

“I have a really great community,” says Darvassy. “They’re just as supportive now as they were before. I’m very fortunate, so whatever we do they’re supporting. The reason we started selling food again is because people on Instagram said they wanted it.”

Despite the shutdown, Darvassy realizes there is still a need and demand for the services her restaurant can provide. While people may be eating out less or in different ways, when the store-front is open, Darvassy reports seeing most customers regularly.

“Having a global shutdown is a life changing experience. I would hope that most people use this experience to grow in some way. No judgement in what that is. For me, it was learning to play video games with my 8 year old son. It doesn’t really matter what you learned to do, whatever it may be, you just have to learn to do something better and have a better appreciation for life,” says Darvassy. “We have a chance as a collective to come out on the winning side.”

The customer based support for Darvassy has been incredibly impactful for her personal  business and giving efforts.

“I had 4 young ladies come in the other day, wanting to thank me. They gave me a card with an envelope containing money they had collected for 9 different restaurants. Between the 9 restaurants, $1,600 was split. I’m not sure they realize how much product that money can buy, and it’s a lot. It really is a huge help. A guy came in after that, saw what we were doing, and left $300 in cash.”

While the majority of B’Gabs Goodies clients are from surrounding communities, they have continued to reach out during the turbulent times for small businesses like Darvassy’s.

“I own the business and write the checks, but it belongs to the people and community who say what they need and want.”

“Small business owners are realizing you do not have to work 500 hours a week for people to support you. Small business owners work all the time and there’s no huge capital,” says Darvassy. They work hard and their team works hard, which is not healthy. People are realizing, both clients and owners, that you don’t have to be accessible 24 hours a day and you don’t have to provide everything. Support other businesses that can help your client base as well without fear of losing. My hope is that this has created more of a work life balance for people. There’s a way to do both.”

Currently, the B’Gabs Goodies staff is working on creating a bodega in the back of their unused restaurant space. This will serve as a small vegan-based grocery market for locals to purchase food items to cook in their homes.

While the in-house restaurant portion of B’Gabs Goodies has decided to remain closed for in-house dining throughout 2020, and does not actively pursue donations, there are plenty of ways to get involved or make a difference yourself.

“We don’t actively pursue donations; they just randomly show up which is great,” says Darvassy. “We pack 500 boxes from my restaurant, we throw the boxes on the back of a Uhaul and we drive to the places we know have a greater need and deliver them.”

As a next step, B’Gabs Goodies and partner, Smack Dabs, are working to create an organization geared towards their giving initiative. Their giving continues to grow and their mission continues to unite people through the love of food.

“We’re going to go as long as we can,” says Darvassy.

To get involved with the efforts of B’Gabs, please consider donating here.

Follow B’Gabs Goodies Vegan Scratch Kitchen on Instagram to keep up with the latest news, menu items, and hours of operation.

Check out this list to find Black-owned vegan restaurants in your state.