SWEET SPOT: Veg Out

In the spring of 2020, amid the intensity of a pandemic and global unrest, a new all-vegan bakery operation called basta. gained a following as a result of the owner’s desire to bring comfort food to friends and customers. But basta. isn’t the first Greenville bakery offering items made with plant-based ingredients; for several years, vegan-friendly baked goods have been available on a variety of menus around town. Today 6 percent of U.S. consumers profess to be vegan, a 500 percent increase over the last seven years. Greenville continues to ride this wave that’s sweeping the country, bolstered in 2020 by a growing focus on sourcing sustainable ingredients.

Here are some standouts that either specialize in vegan items or continue to innovate and expand their plant-based options—which taste just as good as their conventional counterparts.

Vegan banana bread as a cure for global ills? It might be if baker Alexis Krcelic has her way. She started baking vegan banana bread in 2020 to raise money to help restore the damage done by the wildfires in Australia. She chose the name “basta” (“enough” in Italian) as an expression of how she feels about many worldwide problems—enough is enough; it’s time to do something about it. Each month, Krcelic chooses a different charity to receive a percentage of sales from her custom orders, pop-ups, retail accounts and farmers market appearances. Keep up with monthly changing flavor announcements via her website. bastabakery.com

Bossy Bakers

A self-professed lover of butter, Jeannie Hall turned her pop-up bakery into a brick-and-mortar shop two years ago with a goal of catering to dietary restrictions. While the majority of Bossy Bakers’ menu is not vegan, Jeannie continues to include vegan items, such as naturally leavened breads and the chocolate buckwheat cookies that are a menu staple. Vegan custom orders are also an option. 1540 Wade Hampton Blvd, Ste G. bossybakers.com

Exchange Coffee Co. 

A pastry case brimming with vegan baked goods awaits customers each day at Exchange Coffee Co., where owners Michael and Roxanne Bacaro determined at the outset that their allergen-free cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, and other confections needed to taste as good as the “real deal” if they were to make the menu. The assortment of seasonal vegan and non-vegan items varies daily at their coffee shop, which is open for breakfast and lunch. 110 S Main St, Simpsonville. exchangecoffeeco.com

Jenauri’s Vegan Bakery

Jen Evans started a from-scratch special-order vegan bakery to recreate her favorite desserts with all-natural ingredients and no animal products. Cupcakes, cake pops, and chocolate chip cookies all figure on her weekly pick-up menu. Otherwise, you can find Jen’s chocolate chip cookies at Wing Crave (155 Augusta St) in downtown Greenville, and Moe Joe’s coffee shop in Clemson carries her cupcakes (gluten-free and regular), chocolate chip cookies, and brownies. jenaurisveganbakery.com

Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery

One word: stecca. Swamp Rabbit Cafe’s baguette-like “stick” bread has developed an almost cult following over the last decade and is appreciated by the local vegan community as well. The grocery store and café, a popular stop along the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, also keeps a rotation of vegan sweets on the menu, like the wildly popular peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies and seasonal donuts, all of which are also gluten-free. 205 Cedar Lane Rd. swamprabbitcafe.com

The Spatula Café

Just around the corner from Swamp Rabbit Café sits The Spatula Cafe, opened by Roberto Gonzalez, a non-vegan chef from Mexico City, and Dionisio Camacho, a vegan musician from Miami. The Spatula was created to connect Greenville’s vegan and non-vegan communities, and to be a place where all can enjoy a diverse selection of pastries—don’t miss the vegan cinnamon rolls—and savory dishes. Check out the weekly specials posted on their social media. 118 Smythe St. thespatulacafe.com

 Illustration by Timothy Banks