For his Ph.D student's, Dr. M. Stanley Whittingham was the reason they came to Binghamton University Maggie Gilroy, mgilroy@pressconnects.com | @MaggieGilroy

Parlor City Vegan, a 100% vegan restaurant and plant-based foods company, is settling into its permanent home on 81 Clinton St. in Binghamton.

The eaterywill open for the public Wednesday. The restaurant's Kickstarter backers, and key community supporters, will get a sneak peak of the cafe during a ribbon cutting and grand opening Friday.

Beginning next week, the restaurant will be open regularlyand offerlunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. It will offer special brunches on select Sundays.

Parlor City Vegan has sold vegan specialties throughout the region since 2016, a regular staple at the Broome County Farmers Market and regional festivals, but has not yet had a permanent brick and mortar location.

Parlor City Vegan is located at 81 Clinton St. in Binghamton.(Photo: Maggie Gilroy / Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin)

We started small, and the response to our vegan comfort food options has been overwhelming, saidSara Liu, Parlor City Vegan owner, in a statement.Were so thankful for our loyal customers, who have been asking us to open a restaurant for the past three years. We are excited to plant roots in Binghamtons burgeoning food scene, and to make Binghamton a plant-forward food destination.

The restaurant will feature scratch made plant-based comfort food and featureseasonally changing dishes.

The menu willoffer a variety of small plates, entrees, and desserts, including loaded Truffle mac & cheese skillets, house made Upstate hot fried vegan chicken sandwiches, First Ward seasonal pierogi and the cafe'saward-winning butternut arancini stuffed with house made cashew mozzarella.

Parlor City Vegan's popular house-made vegan cheese products will also be available to purchase on-site, along with other local goods.

The cafe is also taking orders for Thanksgiving, which can be placed onlineand picked up at the Clinton Street shop. Included in the menu is a $25 individualfeast ofhouse made roasted stuffed seitan turkey, truffle mac and cheese, garlic mashed potatoes andmushroom sage gravy, maple dijon roasted autumn vegetables andold fashioned cranberry sauce.

Individual items are also available to purchase for Thanksgiving.

Parlor City Veganwas founded by Sara and Lei Liu after Sara's father suffered a major heart attack.

"Sara, a long-time vegan, delivered her signature comfort food dishes to him weekly. This former 'meat and potatoes'lover was converted," a Kickstarter campaignfor the cafe stated."With her father convinced, Sara and Lei decided to share their vegan comfort dishes with the community, starting at the Broome County Farmer's Market."

Parlor City Veganhas operated out of small, shared rental kitchens.

In addition to the Farmers Market, it has expanded to catering throughout New York and Pennsylvania and developed a line of artisinal vegan cheeses.The cheeses have been sold in stores and restaurants as far as Austin, Texas.

According to a video posted on the Kickstarter, 50 percent of Parlor City Vegan Kitchen's customers are not vegan.

Parlor City Vegan is a 100% vegan restaurant and plant-based food company.(Photo: Maggie Gilroy / Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin)

In May of 2018, the kitchen earned $5,000 after itwas selectedas the year'swinner of the City of Binghamton business plan competition, beating out a half-dozen other applicants. In an article by the pressconnects.com / ThePress & Sun-Bulletin, Sara said she planned to use the winningsto pay for a shelf-life study and to commission professionally designed packaging for her product.

In addition to the money from the Binghamton Local Development Corp., Sara received five free hours of accounting and legal assistance, and gratis website design services, among other services.

More: Vegan 'cheese' producer wins Binghamton business plan competition

More: Parlor City Vegan Kitchen will open a cafe, but first it needs your help

"Right now, I am cooking gourmet foods on a George Foreman grill," she said following the check presentation ceremony at Binghamton City Hall.

In January,vegan kitchen announced its plans to move into a space on 81 Clinton Street in Binghamton through aFacebook post.

The kitchen also launched a $7,000Kickstartercampaignto help raise the remainder of the funds needed to open the 100 percent vegan cafe. It surpassed its goal, raising a total of $11,803 with 149 backers.

For more information, visitfacebook.com/ParlorCityVeganor emailparlorcityvegan@gmail.com

Follow Maggie Gilroy on Twitter @MaggieGilroy.Support our journalism and become a digital subscriber today. Click here for our special offers.

More: Artisanal pizza lounge opening in former Zona's

More: Opening date for The Boho Comedy Club scheduled for November, following death of Giordi DeAngelo

More: Gordon Lightfoot concert rescheduled to June after injury forced postponement of Oct. concert

Read or Share this story: https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2019/10/17/parlor-city-vegans-binghamton-cafe-open-next-week/4006793002/

View post:

Parlor City Vegan's Binghamton cafe will open next week - Press & Sun-Bulletin